Social Security loophole closed, but couples still have options to maximize benefits and other top stories.

• Social Security loophole closed, but couples still have options to maximize benefits

  

  The Social Security “file-ocalypse” came and went, and the system is still standing. Workers are claiming benefits and the Social Security Administration still is making payments. The big event? The closing of a legal loophole last month that permitted married couples to game the system of spousal retirement benefits through joint claiming strategies. So-called file and suspend and restricted claims were worth around $35,000 to $60,000 in extra lifetime benefits. You would have been forgiven fo..

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• A day after selling city's Old Main Post Office, Bill Davies dies - Chicago Sun

  

  British real estate mogul William “Bill” Davies died Friday, a day after closing a deal to sell Chicago’s historic old Main Post Office building, a former employee said Saturday. Davies, 82, had been ill for several weeks before the sale of the long-closed building that straddles Congress Parkway in the West Loop, according to Vicky Flores, who ran the Chicago office of Davies’ International Property Developers. Davies was hospitalized in Barbados more than a month ago after suffering “some so..

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• China's Steelmakers Push Output to Record Rate After Price Rally

  

  China’s daily crude steel output jumped to a record high in April as mills ramped up production to take advantage of rising prices and the best profits this decade.Output over the month rose 0.5 percent to 69.42 million metric tons from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. While below March’s record monthly figure of 70.65 million tons, the daily rate of 2.314 million tons was higher due to fewer producing days and surpassed the previous best set in June 2014.Apri..

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• Gov. Scott Walker announces new CWD steps

  

  By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel Manitowoc— Gov. Scott Walker on Friday announced six steps to address the spread of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin, including more frequent fence inspections at captive cervid farms and a comprehensive study of deer in an area of high CWD prevalence. "We want whatever we do to be science-based, based on facts," Walker said. "And we know we won't be able to do anything without the support of hunters." Walker made his remarks at the annual convention..

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• Pfizer says it's blocking use of drugs for lethal injections

  

  In a story May 13 about a pharmaceutical company's refusal to sell states drugs used in lethal injections, The Associated Press erroneously spelled the last name of the director for Reprieve, a civil rights group opposed to the death penalty. Her name is Maya Foa, not Maya Foia. A corrected version of the story is below: Pfizer says it's blocking use of drugs for lethal injections News that Pfizer is blocking use of its drugs in lethal injections comes as executions continue to decline in the U..

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• After Flint, lawmakers study $165M for other infrastructure

  

  LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Lawmakers confronting the cost of Flint’s water crisis and the Detroit school district’s enormous debt are also being asked for an initial $165 million deposit to upgrade aging underground infrastructure across Michigan.It’s not just the lead pipes that carry water into older homes and businesses that eventually need replacing. Water mains, sewer lines, wastewater treatment plants, the electricity grid, oil and natural pipelines, and telecommunications infrastructure will r..

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Charter Communications abuses customer rights, wins approval for big cable merger anyway .	Traditional retailers stumble in their efforts to compete with Amazon .
Nissan to take key stake in scandal-hit Mitsubishi Motors, sources say .	Walker Wins First Nonpartisan Election to the W.Va. Supreme Court .