Ken Stanford

The Obama administration has given the go-ahead for insurers and employers to use a new cost-control strategy that puts a hard dollar limit on what health plans pay for some expensive procedures, such as knee and hip replacements.

Investors retreated from U.S. stocks Thursday after disappointing earnings from Wal-Mart and mixed news about the economy.

Dasan Machineries, a Korea-based manufacturer, will locate to Duluth, creating 150 jobs and investing $30 million into the project over the next three years.

U.S. stocks fell sharply at midday Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average slumping more than 200 points, as disappointing economic data and Wal-Mart earnings sent investors scrambling for safer assets.

Facing calls to resign, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said Thursday that he hopes to have a preliminary report within three weeks on how widespread treatment delays and falsified patient scheduling reports are at VA facilities nationwide, following allegations that up to 40 veterans may have died while awaiting treatment at the Phoenix VA center.