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HONOLULU (AP) — A search is under way off the Hawaiian island of Oahu for the 12 people who were on board a pair of Marine helicopters that collided overnight. Search crews that arrived on the scene shortly after midnight were able to spot a debris field. Military officials say each of the choppers had six people on board. A Coast Guard spokeswoman tells a Los Angeles radio station (KNX) that search conditions have been challenging because of darkness and high surf.
NEW YORK (AP) — How much worse can January get on Wall Street? We may find out today, with stocks plunging in the opening minutes of trading. The Dow lost about 400 points in the first ten minutes. The price of oil sank below $30 a barrel today. It's trading at the lowest level since 2003. The slump in crude -- which was selling at over $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014 -- has slashed the profits of energy companies, making it much harder for them to pay off their debts.
NEW YORK (AP) — There are some disappointing sales numbers today from a retail group that's been looking at the holiday shopping season. The National Retail Federation says shoppers flocked online -- but that overall sales in November and December didn't meet expectations. They rose about three percent, below the group's forecast of a 3.7 percent gain. This, even as stores aggressively pushed discounts throughout the season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, more than half of them in the United States. The other 115 locations are spread over Latin America, mostly in Brazil. The stores account for a fraction of Wal-Mart's 11,000 stores worldwide, and less than 1 percent of its global revenue. The move will affect 16,000 workers -- 10,000 of them in the United States.
NEW YORK (AP) — There have been plenty of hoax claims online from people who say they have a winning ticket from Wednesday night's Powerball drawing. And now, a Tennessee couple has gone on NBC's "Today" show, after showing up at the studio with a ticket that had the winning numbers from the drawing. They live near the store where a winning ticket was sold, and say their lawyer told them to go on TV so they can control the story. They say they'll reach out to Tennessee lottery officials later today. Lottery officials haven't yet announced that any of the three winners has come forward.
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