USA
The rate of US existing home sales in July fell slightly to a 5.75 million unit annual rate and the supply of unsold single-family homes hit its highest point since 1991, the National Association of Realtors said in a report Monday. Total existing home sales, which include condominiums, fell 0.2 percent in July from an upwardly revised 5.76 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in June, first reported as 5.75 million.
Dunkin' Donuts is trying to refresh its image by eliminating trans fat across its menu. The chain says it has developed an alternative cooking oil and reformulated more than 50 menu items, including doughnuts. Dunkin' says its menu will have "zero grams trans fat" by Oct. 15 across its 5,400 US restaurants in 34 states.
Home Depot has tentatively agreed to sell its wholesale distribution business to a group of private equity firms for $8.5 billion, or $1.8 billion less than originally planned, according to the Associated Press. The deal is expected to allow the home improvement chain to go ahead with its plan to buy back up to $22.5 billion in company stock.
Two-time FIFA Women's Player of the Year Mia Hamm has been inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame, along with teammate Julie Foudy. Hamm has won two Women's World Cups, as well as two Olympic titles between 1991 and 2004.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has raised more than $40 million to pay poor families small amounts of money to get them more involved in their children's overall education and health. Families can receive $50 for getting a library card or $100 to take a child to the dentist. The experimental program, called Opportunity NYC, is based on a 10-year-old Mexican program called Oportunidades, which has reduced poverty in rural areas there and has been adopted by more than 20 countries, among them Argentina and Turkey.
Broward County, Fla., officials are exploring pulverized glass as an option to control beach erosion. Recycled glass would be crushed into tiny grains and mixed with regular sand on the county's beaches, to prevent them from washing away. Officials say the mix would be natural, since glass is made from melted sand.
Michael Vick pleaded guilty Monday to a federal dogfighting charge and awaited a Dec. 10 sentencing date that could send the NFL star to prison for up to five years.
