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A year after President Obama announced his plan for myRA retirement savings accounts, they are finally a reality. According to CNN Money, the accounts are geared toward middle- and low-income Americans who may not have access to a retirement plan otherwise. Between the years 2000 and 2010, the number of employers that offer retirement fund options for their employees dropped by 20%. Retirement is the storied conclusion of the American dream, but that future is not as dependable as it used to be. One in four Americans these days believes that they will have to work until the age of 80 to be able to retire comfortably, and 2% of retired Americans are actively seeking employment. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that sign-ups for the myRA (my retirement account) had begun, but t...

A California man was arrested in North Carolina last week after law enforcement found over 30 pounds of marijuana hidden in self-storage units across the state. Takaaki Ishibashi was arrested on January 16th and is being held on $2 million bond. The ordeal began on January 13th, when agents from the Homeland Security Investigations Task Force intercepted a package en route to a storage unit in Mooresville, North Carolina. The package was addressed to a Nathan Yong, of Dallas, with a return address of Long Beach, California. It contained approximately seven pounds of marijuana sealed inside metal cans. The mailing information was found to be incorrect, and investigators were unable to identify a suspect from the information. An additional 3.5 pounds of marijuana were seized from the storag...

Before Republican lawmakers get to work this year, there's just one thing left to do: take a retreat. The annual retreat, which is actually a three-day conference for the purpose of establishing policy agenda and planning for achieving goals in the coming year, will take place in Hershey, PA. Republicans in both the House and the Senate are attending the retreat this year, which hasn't happened in 10 years. The topics on this year's retreat agenda are expected to be the Affordable Care Act, immigration, budget issues, and transportation. The group is staying at the Hershey Lodge, which is one of Hersheypark's official resorts. The resort also boasts three swimming pools and a few full-service restaurants. The resort, which is a couple of hours outside of Washington, D.C., gives lawmakers...

A franchisee of frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry that owns several franchise locations around the Washington, DC area has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. According to the Washington Business Journal, Pinkberry Mid-Atlantic LLC listed debts totaling more than $1.2 million, with assets of more than $820,000, in its bankruptcy filing. The franchisee is controlled by Stavros Roberts who, along with attorney John Goetz, filed the Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on December 26 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Pinkberry Mid-Atlantic currently operates locations in Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Arlington, Fairfax, Tysons Corner, Gainesville and National Harbor. The franchisee's store in Leesburg closed earlier in 2014. Unlike a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows businesse...

The cost of shipping large items may be more affordable than ever before, thanks to plummeting oil and gas prices across the world, but there's another major factor that is stalling the shipping industry in the U.S.: weather. According to recent reports, the Great Lakes -- which provide affordable water transportation options for countless shipping and travel services -- experienced such freezing temperatures during the winter of 2013-2014, that the U.S. shipping industry was forced into a standstill. Overall, experts note, the industry experienced over $705 million worth of economic losses, as well as 4,000 individual jobs lost, due to the frozen lakes. This season, the Lake Carriers' Association (LCA) is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard to avoid such trouble during the current...