Stocks edge higher...Southwest fined over ads...Cost of vehicle crashes tallied

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are modestly higher in early afternoon trading on Wall Street after the government reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits sank last week. Hillshire Brands soared after Tyson Foods made a rival bid for the company.

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines is being fined $200,000 for advertising a fare sale too good to be true. The Department of Transportation says that in TV ads last October the airline promised flights from Atlanta to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles for just $59 — but didn't make any seats available at that price. Southwest is being required to pay an extra $100,000 that was suspended after a similar offense last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economic and societal harm from car and truck crashes amounted to $871 billion in a single year, according to a study released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The economic cost was the equivalent of nearly 2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2010, the year the study examined. Factors contributing to the toll include productivity losses, property damage, cost of medical and rehabilitation treatment, legal and court fees, emergency services and costs to employers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tanning beds and sun lamps will now have to carry warnings that they should not be used by anyone under age 18. That's part of a government action announced today aimed at reducing rising rates of skin cancer. The Food and Drug Administration is also requiring manufacturers of tanning machines to warn about the cancer risk in pamphlets, catalogues and websites that promote their products.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — SpaceX is set to unveil a spacecraft designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. The California-based rocket maker is one of several private companies vying to develop "space taxis" for NASA to replace the retired space shuttle fleet. It will reveal its version this evening at SpaceX's headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport. An unmanned SpaceX ship has made several cargo deliveries to the space station. The new craft would carry crew.