- Stock prices ended today's trading session narrowly mixed. The Dow edged down 33 points to 13,482. The S&P gained one point, while the Nasdaq added nearly 7 points.
- The nation's largest retail trade group looks for a little more than a 4 percent rise in holiday sales this year. By its own admission, the National Retail Federation says it is a challenging forecast because there are so many uncertainties.
- American Airlines says passenger seats on a third flight have become loose while one of its planes was airborne. American is inspecting other planes and the Federal Aviation Authority also says it is looking into the matter.
- A trial is set for just over a year from now for five of Bernard Madoff's former employees who are accused of conspiring in history's biggest Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors say some defendants were helping Madoff carry out his fraud as far back as the early 1970s. Now serving a 150-year prison sentence, Madoff has said he acted alone.
- Education Secretary Arne Duncan says printed textbooks should become obsolete within the next few years. Speaking in Washington today, Duncan said the U.S. is failing behind other nations in the transition from print to digital educational materials.
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