As part of the White House's new "Joining Forces" campaign to rally support for service members and their families, First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis visited the Sears Distribution Center in Columbus, Ohio today.

As shown in the clip above, they applauded the retailer's ongoing commitment to the military, and a new "Permanent Change of Duty Station" policy that enhances the company's recruiting and HR programs that already support miltary service members and their families.Continue reading...

Best Buy's 20,000-plus Geek Squad agents answer tech questions around the world. The tech support brand is undergoing contraction (looming layoffs at its service centers in Ohio) and expansion, as it prepares to take on tech support for the Ford Focus electric vehicle. Best Buy will sell 240-volt home charging stations (at $1,500 each) for the Focus, while its Geek Squad staffers will install the home chargers when Ford's EV model goes on sale next year.

More AOL advertising execs bolt.

At long last, the Fiat 500 arrives.

Geek Squad gets into the electric car business.

Google Docs available for iPad, mobile phone.

FCC chief less than thrilled with Google-Verizon proposal on net neutrality.

GM's IPO price of $30/share raises $20.1 billion in one of the biggest US stock offerings.

HP unveils its own brand of video conferencing software and hardware.Continue reading...

* RIM falls to 17-month low as India's BlackBerry ban looms; suggests forum to resolve standoff.

* HP tops Dell's bid for 3Par again, this time offering $1.8 billion.

* Toyota and GM are recalling 1.3 million vehicles, impacting GM's Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Corolla and Matrix models.

* Google is testing real-time search - here's the link.

* All Nippon Airways is now Japan's top carrier, knocking JAL to #1.Continue reading...

Best Buy has joined the long line of brands that has trademark enforced its way into some unwanted publicity.

It seems Father Strand, a Wisconsin man who spends his days spreading the word of God, drew the ire of the retailer when he painted his VW Beetle orange, white and black with a Geek Squad-esque logo design and font reading "God Squad." Best Buy issued a copyright infringement cease and desist letter. Father Strand called the papers.Continue reading...

Some call it the "Wal-Mart of Weed." The reporters (above) compare it to Home Depot and IKEA. But the store’s official brand name is IGrow.

IGrow is a massive, 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Oakland, CA. General manager Justin Jorgensen describes the retail space as "a one-stop shop for everything you’ll need for indoor hydroponic cultivation of marijuana - medical or otherwise - everything but the plant itself." This includes resources from soil to hydroton to boxes.Continue reading...