Sales of new cars in the U.S. were up by 14 percent last month. One reason is more consumers are getting access to car loans — including those with less than perfect credit.

Corporate America is jumping on the opportunities to make people healthier, while keep their bottoms line strong. Leaders of supermarkets, hotel chains and restaurant groups gathered in Washington this week for a summit aimed at shaping private sector solutions to the obesity epidemic.

Catholic bishops are lobbying the Obama administration to change new regulations requiring most employers to offer prescription birth control at no cost as part of their health insurance plans. They say it violates their religious beliefs, but many Catholic universities and hospitals are already providing such coverage.

A discovery of at least 2 billion barrels of oil in the western part of the state has led to an oil boom. That means a low unemployment rate of 3.5 percent, but residents question the cost. "To expect a county of 20,000 people to overnight absorb another 20,000 people is ludicrous," one official says.

Retirement benefits are being cut at every level, both in the U.S. and in Europe. Economic and demographic pressures may have made cuts inevitable, but they are generating strong opposition.

Thursday, public television veteran Gary Knell takes the helm at NPR, becoming president and CEO after more than 20 years with PBS. Knell assumes the post after a period of turmoil at NPR. He joins NPR's Neal Conan to share his plans for leading the company.

European leaders are considering a major step toward ending the region's debt crisis. They hope that by agreeing to tougher penalties for countries that break budget rules, they can entice the European Central Bank to do more to stem the crisis. But are countries willing to give up control of their budgets to preserve the eurozone?

A Malaysian developer plans to spend more than $3 billion to build a Miami casino that it says will be the world's largest. The gaming industry says its plans for the city's waterfront are a big win for the local economy. But critics, including The Walt Disney Co., are betting against them.

Gene Sperling, head of the president's National Economic Council, talks to Steve Inskee about extending the payroll tax cut. The Obama administration is pushing Congress to extend the cut before it expires at the end of the year. Republicans are expected to vote no because it calls for a tax on the wealthy.

At a high school in Scranton, Pa., Wednesday, President Obama exhorted Republicans in Congress to extend the pay roll tax cut. He said putting money in the pockets of working people is more important than partisan politics.