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LOS ANGELES - He was forced to toil in enemy mines as a prisoner of war, but James Murphy wasn't angry or bitter. He was just happy to have lived long enough to hear the Japanese apology he had sought for seven decades.
Murphy, a POW during World War II and now 94 years old, accepted an unprecedented apology from Mitsubishi Materials Corp.

Despite some of the recent ominous-looking clouds and thunderstorms, things are drier than normal across much of Volusia and Flagler counties and could stay that way well into the fall, raising some short-term drought concerns for the area.Conditions have been warmer than normal and drier than normal for weeks, the National Weather Service reports. Even the storms that disrupted the racing at Daytona International Speedway this month didn’t deliver that much rain.

Is Indy the last natural place for a Gordon win?Given Jeff's Hoosier racing background, yes, Indianapolis would be a proper place.

Welcome to Economic Development Quarterly, a publication brought to you by the Volusia County Economic Development Division. This publication is being produced for people who have an interest in the area's business, economic development and real estate market.Our goal is to use this publication as an economic development tool, to keep you informed and to provide information and statistics that have meaning to your business. This publication is owned by Volusia County Government and is produced and sold by the Volusia/Flagler Business Report through contract.

Fender benderNASCAR Cup drivers need to be on their toes at all times, considering how Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon banged fenders in the garage area last week. Gordon was backing up and, BANG! He got whacked by Bowyer. “It's a wonder that stuff doesn't happen more often,” Bowyer said. On the clockDrivers are hearing their mechanical clocks ticking. Ten drivers have straight-up qualified for the 16-driver Chase playoffs, plus Kyle Busch is charging toward a berth.

Can Jeff defend?This could be Jeff Gordon's last ride at Indianapolis and he will return to the famed Brickyard as the defending race champion. Drivers put an Indy win right on the rear bumper of the Daytona 500. If he wins his sixth Indy race Sunday, Gordon won't be back. If he doesn't, he left the door open to running there in 2016. Maybe. Sorta. Kinda. That Indy-title thingThe Crown Royal 400, originally known as the Brickyard 400 when it debuted in 1994, has a way of identifying championship contenders. Since 1998, the race winner has gone on to win the NASCAR Cup title eight times.

NEW YORK - The parent company of Ashley Madison, a matchmaking website for cheating spouses, says it was hacked and that the personal information of some of its users was posted online.
Toronto-based Avid Life Media Inc. says it has had the hackers' posts, which included personal information, taken down and has hired a technology security firm.

Hearing a ton of clatter? It might be because bombs are dropping in the Ocala National ForestNaval Air Station Jacksonville has issued an alert to the public that it is planning several training runs over the next few weeks that might get one's heart racing.From 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday the Navy is expected to be dropping inert bombs - ones that don't explode but instead emit smoke so the pilots can see where the devices have landed - at the Pinecastle Range Complex within the Ocala National Forest.

Under oath in a hotel - away from the TV cameras and the soapbox where he did his public moralizing - Bill Cosby sketched a very different image of America's Dad: a philanderer who plied young women with quaaludes, claimed to be adept at reading their unspoken desires and tried to use his wealth to keep "Mrs. Cosby" in the dark.
The portrait comes from Cosby's own words in a transcript of a 2005-06 deposition taken in Philadelphia. It is the only publicly available testimony he has given in response to accusations he drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women over four decades.