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Many small-business owners have had a tough time securing credit since the start of the economic downturn. "I couldn't understand why they wouldn't be willing to give us a loan," one owner says. A new website aims to help such owners, grading banks based on the percentage of deposits that are used for small-business loans.

Brian Banks spent more than five years in prison. Then for the past five years, he had been on probation and wearing an electronic monitoring device. But his accuser recanted. Now he's hoping to get his life back together.

Cuban President Raul Castro's economic reforms are taking on a new urgency as the island's biggest benefactor, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, battles cancer and faces re-election. Havana says nearly half of Cuba's economic activity will shift to the private sector in the next several years.

The possibility that French Socialist Francois Hollande may unseat President Nicolas Sarkozy in Sunday's election is making waves. Hollande's promise to boost growth and job creation would mark a change from the fiscal austerity pact championed by Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel.

Insurgent candidates won contested congressional GOP primaries in two states Tuesday. In a Kentucky district, the favorite for the fall prevailed thanks to some assistance from a wealthy 21-year-old benefactor.

Less than two weeks before Russia's presidential elections, the country's independent media are in a state of anxiety. Government-run news outlets seem more open than ever to divergent viewpoints — but Russian officials may be targeting independents they think go too far.

Dining was a very, very, big deal in Edwardian England. And the food was pretty sophisticated. So why was British food derided as boring, tasteless fare for much of the 20th century? Here's the story.

There area a lot of bad movies out there. Some movies are so bad that they're good. For some reason people love them. Is there an art to making films that are deliberately bad? Can a company be successful by producing bad movies?

The 1-800-GET-THIN marketing campaign and its affiliated surgical centers, which implant the Lap-Band for weight-loss, are being investigated by local, state and federal authorities. At least three wrongful death lawsuits have been filed and the Department of Insurance has launched an investigation into allegations of insurance fraud.

Japan's Miyage prefecture was one of the hardest hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami. There, the coastal community of Yuriage remains practically deserted. What was once a beautiful harbor filled with boats and a bustling community is now a desolate and deserted place, Doualy Xaykaothao reports.