The Beatles Make it To the 21st Century

The Beatles are notorious for keeping a tight grip on their musical catalogue. They with held from being on iTunes and rarely sell the rights to their songs. This changed when the remaining members of the band worked with MTV Games and Harmonix to create a video game. The untitled game will released next year. 

Fans everywhere will be able to rock out to the Beatles, while playing a game they helped develop. This means the band's legacy will continue, which is lucky for us.   

Originally reported by the BBC. 

Gas Prices Hit Three-Year Low

For 42 days gas prices have fallen, according to a nationwide survey of credit card swipes at gasoline stations. This is a 37 percent decline from the highest price, $4.114, set on July 17th. Today the average cost of a gallon of gas is $2.589 a gallon.

Despite the lower prices, gas consumption is down, which may have to do with the economy and lack of consumer confidence. Compared to last year, Americans are driving 5.6 percent less, said the U.S. Department of Energy.

So not only is gas cheaper, but people are consuming less. This is win-win news for Wednesday.

Originally reported by CNNMoney.

Second Best Day Ever for the Dow

The markets have been plummeting for some time now, but today the Dow rose 906 points, making today the second-biggest one-day gain in history. The big rally created an 11 percent gain. Likewise, the Standard & Poor 500 gained 91.6 points, amounting to its second-biggest one-day point gain as well. The NASDAQ followed suite and gained 143.6 points, or 9.5 percent. 

Despite these gains, October may remain one of the worst months in Wall Street's history. However, these surges offer hope to investors who haven't seen positive action since the summer. Even if the markets take much longer to pull out of the recession, marking the good days promotes optimism - something we need right now.   

More New Homes Sold

The economy is on everyones' minds, as is the housing market, which appears to be rebounding. Sales of newly constructed homes were up in September. According to the US Census Bureau, the sales rate for new homes rose 2.7 percent from August's rate. The annuzliazed rate for September, 464,000, was above consensus forecast of 450,000, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

New homes sales are still down compared to last September, however real estate agents are seeing pick-up in housing markets were prices fell. Economists and real estate agents agree that new home sales will remain low, but the numbers are getting slightly better. This news from the Census Bureau is a glimmer of hope.

Originally reported by CNNMoney.

Penguin Release in South America

Due to changing ocean currents a large number of penguins ended up in Brazil, where it's too hot for them to survive. Knowing this, the government and volunteers rounded up the penguins and released them into cooler waters. Check it out on YouTube: 

New Drug May Help MS

Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating disease, but there's hope for those who have suffered brain damage from the illness.  Alemtuzumab, a drug originally developed to treat leukaemia, may stop the progression of the MS and even enable the body's ability to repair previous brain damage. The drug helps patients with early stage active relapsing-remitting MS, which is the most common form of the disease. 

Researchers at the University of Cambridge stress that more research needs to be done and their results are not conclusive. However, the drug cut the number of attacks from the conduction by 74 percent among the 334 patients with early stage active relapsing-remitting MS who participated in one clinical trial. People in the trials also regain functions thought lost after taking the drug. 

Originally reported by the BBC.  

Wal-Mart Set Standards for Chinese Suppliers

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is making an effort to protect its customers. The company plans to set new quality standards for its China-based suppliers. The standards come after a string of toxic products, including milk that has sickened tens of thousands people in China. 

Wal-Mart will require its Chinese suppliers to reveal what factories made a product, as well as what factories produced ingredients or components for an end product. The company will use the news standards with apparel first then apply the standards to other goods. 

Likewise, the United Nations released a report that recommends China increase the government's oversight of the food production system and hold offending companies responsible.

Although Wal-Mart isn't known for its humanitarian efforts, this news is comfortingly and casts the company in a better light. 

Originally reported by the Associated Press.