RICHLAND -- Wayne Jones, professor of chemistry at the State University of New York, will discuss "How Small Can You Go? Molecular Wires and Devices" on Wednesday in Richland.

TULALIP -- In this day and age, it's not enough for farmers to grow food.

MILWAUKEE -- The creators of the "Got Milk?" campaign are getting ready to make a big push to keep chocolate milk on kids' minds and on school lunch menus, a plan that has some educators and obesity activists none too pleased.

TACOMA -- It wasn't much of a surprise when Boeing announced that it would build a second production line for the 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina. But it was a shock nonetheless to the Northwest's collective psyche.

NEW YORK -- Some of fashion's best-known names are playing musical chairs.

KENNEWICK -- Showcasing the Tri-Cities to visitors has been a mission of the Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau since its inception in 1969.

The manager for St. Vincent de Paul food bank is looking forward to getting a donation of nonperishable food items collected by car dealers in the Pasco Autoplex with the help of Yoke's Fresh Markets and Tri-Cities Prep High School.

Work has begun on the interior fittings of the Hanford vitrification plant's largest building as it continues to rise.

SEATTLE -- Personal computers are changing -- and not just because of the recent launch of Windows 7. Visit an electronics store and you might also find laptops are missing a familiar component. You could experiment with new ways of controlling some computers. And you'll see portable PCs slimming down.

LONGVIEW -- With glasses, a plaid shirt and blue jeans, John Koehler doesn't fit the image of a modern-day bootlegger.

LOS ANGELES Michael Jackson's mother withdrew her objections Tuesday to the appointment of two longtime Jackson associates as executors of the singer's will.

NEW YORK Two Bear Stearns executives who ran hedge funds that crashed in 2007 amid the subprime mortgage meltdown were acquitted Tuesday of lying to investors about the looming crisis on Wall Street.

Oil prices fell Tuesday as workers headed back to deep sea platforms that were bypassed by a rapidly weakening storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON Former President Bill Clinton told anxious Senate Democrats on Tuesday to pass a health care bill soon because the U.S. economy can't resist the toxic combination of exorbitant medical costs and nearly 50 million uninsured for much longer. "My argument was that this is an economic imperative," Clinton said after the closed-door meeting.

ATLANTA The parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air believes the company's smaller size relative to some of its bigger rivals is an advantage in a financially challenging environment.

NEW YORK Google, Yahoo, eBay and Microsoft, competitors on the Web, all have the same idea for marketing themselves this holiday season: temporarily providing free Wi-Fi access in airports, airplanes and public places.

NEW YORK Fitch Ratings lowered its outlook for Sun Microsystems Inc. to "evolving" from "positive" on Tuesday after European regulators objected to Oracle Corp.'s plans to take over the company.

ATLANTA Federal authorities say they've cracked a sophisticated computer hacking ring that stole more than $9 million within 12 hours last November, securing indictments against eight people from Russia, Estonia and Moldova.

LOS ANGELES Ryan Norwalk cleared his schedule.

SINGAPORE Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Carol Bartz promised Tuesday to turn around the struggling Internet company after this year's "terrible" performance.