TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — This past winter, farmer Mike Adams made a bid to buy his neighbors’ farmland and expand his own operation. But like all his other attempts to add land in recent years, the price was too steep, and he was outbid by another investor. “You just can’t go any higher,” Adams said.…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The parking’s easy and there are no lines at the concession stand: Most Americans would now rather watch films at home than in theaters, according to an AP-AOL poll. At the same time, almost half think movies are getting worse. Hollywood is in the midst of its longest box-office slump in…

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — It is said that youngsters in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington never forget the misspelled word — like “trouvaille” or “odylic,” to name recent troublemakers — that knocks them out of the competition. So why not try to set things right as a grown-up? As youth spelling bees grow…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Both college towns, Boston and Boulder, Colo., share another distinction: They lead the nation in marijuana use. Northwestern Iowa and southern Texas have the lowest use. For the first time, the government looked at the use of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and various other substances, legal as well as illegal, by region rather…

By CHRISTY LEMIRE / AP Movie Critic “Your anger gives you great power — but if you let it, it will destroy you.”Advice from the manipulative Chancellor Palpatine to malleable Anakin Skywalker, as the young Jedi teeters on the edge of becoming Darth Vader in the most recent “Star Wars” prequel?Close.Those words of warning actually…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard Charlotte McGregor and her daughter Stacey Love have done well with their clothing store, Trends. (Charles W. Johnson photos) When mother-daughter team Charlotte McGregor and Stacey Love decided to go into the clothing business, they were lucky enough to find an already established store…

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard MATT ELLIS There’s no shortage of chores for the do-it-yourselfers of the world. They can change their own oil, do a little painting around the house, even construct their own deck.But do-it-yourselfers should not try to sell their own timber. At least that’s the advice from…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Tammy Hedgecough, left, and Denise Osborn have found success selling Mary Kay products. Osborn says the job has helped to put her kids through college. (Duane Sherrill photo) With Mary Kay Cosmetics reaching nearly $2 billion in sales last year, a pair of local sales…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Marci’s Shoes and Consignment Shop owner Marci Adcock sells name-brand clothing for less in Northgate Shopping Center. Her phone number is 474-1959. (Amy Satterwhite photo) Almost two years ago, Marci Adcock broke away from her 20-year career as a dental assistant and started her own…

CHICAGO (AP) — Apparently energy-packed sports drinks aren’t enough. Now there are vitamin-laced jelly beans and ginseng-stoked chews. The nation’s candy makers are targeting fitness enthusiasts seeking to boost athletic performance or quickly grab a jolt of energy. Industry insiders and analysts who gathered this week in Chicago for North America’s largest candy trade show…