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From the archive, we pose a question that's still as relevant as ever: Why has Memorial Day, like so many of our national holidays, been reduced to appliance sales, fast food specials, and vacation deals? With the recent near-collapse of our economy, the ways in which we understand and celebrate national holidays seem particularly challenged. This erosion of meaning is just one of many examples of the growing gap between the promise of America--freedom and opportunity through sacrifice and unity--and how people experience Brand America

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Japan's Kiyoshi Murota's 66 gives him a one-stroke lead over Nick Price and Trevor Dodds after completion of the rain-delayed first round Friday at the Senior PGA Championship.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong didn't have to go very far to discover his company was struggling. He just asked one of his employees

1. Sony's hack woes have deepened--now its Canadian version of the eShop has been hacked by a self-professed grey hat Lebanese hacker, and 2,000 customer records have been acquired (evidence for around 1,000 posted online).

The Fast Company reader's essential source for breaking news and innovation from around the web--updated all day.

CLICK THE FIRST LETTER OF THE STATE to browse 51 -- yes, we included the District of Columbia! -- bold ideas and brilliant urbanites who are helping to build the cities of America's future. .article { padding-left:0px; font-family:Arial, Helvitica !important; } .article .content{ width: 640px !important; } .article .p { font-size:13px !important; color:#444444; font-family:Arial, Helvetica !important; line-height:17px; padding-bottom:15px; } .title-head{ font-size:18px !important; display: inline-table; margin-bottom: 5px; } .article a { color:#009694; text-decoration:none !important; } .article cite, #article-top-wrapper { display:none; } .article h1#hdr_article-headline { display: none; } #article-deck { display: none; } #article-bucket { display:none; } #content .timestamp { display:none; } .blue { color:#009694; } #adunit { width:97px; float:right; text-align:right; position:absolute; top:-1px; right:0px; padding:0px; } #header { position:relative; width:640px; height:175px; } h1#title { width:640px; height:59px; text-indent:-2000em; background-image: url('http://images.fastcompany.com/magazine/155/features/fastcities/fastcities-united-states-innovation-head-in.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:3px; } #anchor-links { font-size:16px !important; font-weight: bold; display:block; } .back-to-top { font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; display:block; text-align:right; } UNITED STATES OF INNOVATION Illustration by Peter Oumanski CLICK THE FIRST LETTER OF THE STATE to browse 51 -- yes, we included the District of Columbia! -- bold ideas and brilliant urbanites who are helping to build the cities of America's future.

Climate change has yet to diminish crop yields in the U.S. corn belt but scientists expect drought to become more common due to global warming in coming years.

The Fast Company reader's essential source for breaking news and innovation from around the web--updated all day.

Tech giant acquires the Internet phone service for a staggering $8.5 billion.

Defending the $8.5 billion

Microsoft is bringing Skype--the firm that basically kicked off the home VoIP revolution--into its ever-expanding universe. Will it be worth the huge price tag? Microsoft 's purchase of Skype for a reported $8.5 billion is as good as done

1. Microsoft is poised to announce , maybe later this morning, that the rumored acquisition of Skype is actually true. New hints suggest the price may have pushed as high as $8.5 billion, and Microsoft is obviously imagining how Skype will plug into its enterprise offerings

Lock up your fryer grease! When oil prices skyrocket, there are ripple effects that go far beyond the price of gas. When oil prices skyrocket, there are ripple effects that go far beyond cutting into your spending money and making Las Vegas seem like a less attractive weekend getaway (for people who like that kind of thing). High prices at the pump can also make your fryolator a prime source of income, cause you to spend more time online, and make your motorcycle a target for thieves.

Removing subsidies for both dirty and clean energy would force everyone to compete on their own merits. The federal government should get rid of permanent energy subsidies for all energy sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear, solar, wind, biofuels.

The geopolitical ramifications are, of course, the vastly more important ones, but the world economy shifted slightly last night as word of Osama Bin Laden's death hit the airwaves. If the markets are accurate, we're looking at world where there is less unrest in the Middle East, and, generally, less of a chance of everything coming completely apart at the seams.