The mountain of debt accumulated by Greece and Italy crushed those countries' prime ministers. Spain, too, is ushering in new leadership after Sunday's parliamentary elections. Spaniard Jorge Belena says, "All politicians are very boring," but incoming Prime Minister Mariano Rajo is "especially boring."

Oil prices briefly rose above $100 a barrel last week on news of a pipeline deal that would cut a glut of U.S. inventories. There are plans to reverse the flow of the Seaway pipeline. Prices have dipped since then, but not enough to soften historic highs for diesel or home heating oil.

Many brick-and-mortar retailers have tried to sell on the web. And now one of the biggest e-commerce companies is setting up a brick and mortar store — if only a temporary one. eBay is opening a pop up shop in a busy commercial area of London next week with that hope that people will stop by and make online purchases.

Battelle isn't exactly a household name but the Ohio nonprofit is responsible for everyday items like the Xerox copy, compact discs and even bar codes. Those are the inventions Battelle publicly takes credit for. There are countless others, but the Columbus-based organization stays under the radar because it develops these products for large corporations confidentially. This report is from the Midwest reporting project Changing Gears.

McDonald's and Target have severed ties with Sparboe Farms, one of the country's main egg producers, after an animal rights group released video of workers treating the chickens cruelly. Meanwhile, investor Warren Buffett is in Japan for a factory opening in Fukushima Prefecture, the area hit hardest by the March earthquake and tsunami.

The electric car was just as popular as its gasoline counterpart when it first went into production around the turn of the 20th century. But with the advent of highways, people wanted to go farther than their battery life allowed. Today's electric cars face similar challenges.

Using a mobile gas sensor, researchers have found more than 4,000 significant natural gas leaks while driving through Boston-area roads. The city's gas infrastructure is currently being fixed up, but methane in the leaked natural gas has the potential to harm trees and dry out soil.