By Thomas Vaughn The music world lost another legend last Thursday. Eddy Arnold died at age 89 in Nashville. Nicknamed the ‘Tennessee Plowboy,’ Arnold rose from grinding poverty to shining success on the world stage. Born on a farm May 15, 1918, he knew how to plow behind a mule ‘ and he rode one…

NEW YORK (AP) ‘ Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time Friday, bringing its advance this week to nearly $10, as investors questioned whether a possible confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela could cut exports from the OPEC member. Gas prices, meanwhile, rose above an average $3.67 a gallon at the pump,…

WASHINGTON (AP) ‘ Democrats’ plans to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners struggling with rising subprime mortgage rates and plummeting house values could be sidetracked by President Bush’s threatened veto and the opposition of many congressional Republicans. Opponents of the plan say more prudent homebuyers and renters shouldn’t be called upon to bail out borrowers…

Consumer Reports If there’s a phrase that characterizes the latest crop of desktops and laptops, it’s ‘going to extremes.’ Consumer Reports recently tested the thinnest, smallest and largest laptops it has ever tested, along with laptops and desktops of unprecedented processing speed. According to CR’s editors, even component integration is getting extreme, as more manufacturers…

By Ric Edelman The stock market’s continuing volatility is causing many investors to sell their investments. Have you sold the stock mutual funds you own, figuring you will ‘get back in’ when prices resume an upward path? If so, here’s a lesson from last year. I examined the 2007 performance of the Standard & Poor’s…

NEW YORK (AP) ‘ Wall Street ended the week with a big decline as investors grappled with two of the biggest threats to the economy ‘ fallout from turmoil in the credit market and surging energy prices. All three major indexes suffered losses for the week. Insurer American International Group Inc. helped send the Dow…

DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) ‘ An official says the Wiregrass area won’t be getting the new Volkswagen plant. Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver says he has learned the area had been eliminated from an update sent out by Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce president Matt Parker. Culver says he believes the competition for the plant…

By Bruce Williams DEAR BRUCE: I am 27, and my wife is 24. We currently live in a home owned by my mother, and we are paying her $350 a month, which is inexpensive by any standard. The home meets our needs now ‘ and even when we have children in the future. I am…

By JAMES CLARK If you’ve been wondering when Sonic is going to get a new look, the answer is Monday. In what promises to be a whirlwind of activity, construction crews will descend on our local store and totally revamp it in roughly a week. ‘In five to seven days, they’re going to change the…

By JAMES CLARK The Ming’s hibachi chef cooks your food in front of your eyes. You get to pick the meats, vegetables and sauces that you want and it’s prepared fresh. After months of anticipation, Ming’s Buffet opened its door to the masses on Thursday and the masses charged in. I was one of the…