Pythagoras Solar Turns Windows Into Panels Of Energy

A start-up in Northern California is working on creating "solar windows" that could act as solar panels at the same time as blocking sunlight from entering office buildings to reduce their energy needs, according to a Sunday story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The company Pythagoras Solar is based in San Mateo, California, and it won an award from the "GE ecomagination Challenge," award of $100,000 last week for its idea.

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US auto sales up in June

DETROIT (AP) — Gas prices hit a sweet spot for automakers last month. They fell far enough to spur pickup truck sales, yet remained so high that small cars sold well, sometimes just hours after reaching dealers' lots. That made June a good month for General Motors and Ford, which have traditionally relied on truck sales and now have strong line-ups of smaller, fuel-efficient models as well.

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. both said their sales rose 10 percent. And the Chevrolet Cruze small car vaulted past perennial best-sellers like the Toyota Camry and the Honda Civic to become the best-selling car in America. Chrysler Group's sales increased 30 percent thanks to popular new products like the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 200 sedan.

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'Made In America' Store Capitalizes On Patriotism

Dozens of tour buses have added the tiny town of Elma, N.Y., as a stop this year. On their way to scenic sites like Niagara Falls, these tourists are squeezing in a visit to the Made in America store.
Shop owner Mark Andol climbs aboard a bus and tells the riders that shopping here is a patriotic act.

"When you walk through them doors, I guarantee when you're shopping — the homework's been done — it's 100 percent made-in-America products. Made in this country by American workers, and the money stays in our economy. So, enjoy yourself," he says.

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Healthy Changes at Carl's Jr. starting to pay off

The company that owns the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast-food chains is getting more healthy — and a little less skanky.

Led largely by the popularity of turkey burgers — a product that would have been heresy at Carl's Jr. in past years — sales have been increasing at those restaurants, the company said Tuesday. And in a break from the past, near-naked women are nowhere to be found in the company's latest ad campaign for a chicken sandwich — instead, it stars a robot.

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