A city shouldn't have to go to bed amid gunfire and explosions and wake up under lockdown for the information it's receiving to matter.

One would have thought that bombs going off in the middle of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people and maiming nearly 200 others, would have signaled the end of play time for the press corps and the start of patient, fact-based journalism.

A teenager in Revere, Mass., who's still afraid to leave his home after being labeled a suspect in the marathon bombing by News Corp.'s (NWS) New York Post can attest to the contrary. As can anyone who watched Time Warner's (TWX) CNN erroneously report on Wednesday that a "dark-skinned male" suspect had been arrested.

 

The Boy Scouts of America is proposing to lift its ban on openly gay scouts, but it wants to continue barring gays as leaders. 

The scouting organization said it would submit the proposal to its National Council, a group of 1,400 voting members, at a meeting next month, The Associated Press reports.

The decision marks an about-face of sorts for the 103-year-old organization, which had been under pressure from lawmakers and some sponsors such as Chipotle (CMG), which said the ban didn't mesh with their own antidiscrimination policies. 

But by proposing to lift the ban on children only and not for leaders, the organization is likely to face continued pressure for its antigay policies. 

 

Travelers at the nation's largest airports could start seeing flight delays as budget cuts related to the federal sequester kick in.

The Federal Aviation Administration must trim $637 million from its budget as part of the sequester cuts, according to The Associated Press. With few options available, officials targeted air traffic controller payrolls and will cut staffing by 10%. Nearly 15,000 controllers will see one furlough day every other week through Sept. 30.

Fewer air traffic controllers will mean fewer planes will be able to move in and out, leading to some airport bottlenecks. The average delay will be about 11 minutes, the FAA said, but some airports could see far longer waits. Travelers could be waiting for up to 210 minutes at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is the world's busiest in terms of passenger numbers and will likely see the worst delays. 

Boeing's (BA) 787 Dreamliner will soon take to the air once again.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Federal Aviation Administration "is expected to move as soon as Friday" to end the three-month grounding of the fuel-efficient aircraft after a series of embarrassing lithium-ion battery fires.  Chicago-based Boeing has redesigned the batteries and has convinced the FAA that they are safe.

Shares of Boeing rose nearly 1.5% to around $87.40 in Friday trading. They have gained more than 15% this year.

Boeing probably spent about $600 million to address fix the mechanical glitches on its 787 that caused the FAA to take the unusual step of ordering the grounding of the entire fleet, something it hadn't been done since 1979. 

On Thursday afternoon, billionaire and philanthropist George Soros was pronounced dead by Reuters. 

There was one big problem, though. Soros is still alive and kicking at age 82. The obituary was published by mistake and included dummy text for his age and place of death.

While some folks might enjoy getting the chance to read their obituary while still alive, Soros probably isn't too happy with Reuters' take on his life. That's because the news service gave a scathing assessment of the financier's career, calling him "predatory" and accusing him of hypocrisy. 

While Reuters pulled the obituary and apologized for the error, the full text of the article is available here. 

 

McDonald's (MCD) franchisees aren't exactly lovin' it. 

Owners of McDonald's outlets are increasingly pessimistic about their ability to turn a profit, given the fast-food chain's heavy discounting and Dollar Menu items, reports the Nation's Restaurant News, citing a survey from Janney Capital Markets. 

McDonald's has turned to its value menu to boost traffic to stores amid soft global demand, but so far that doesn't appear to be having the desired effect. 

The company on Friday reported a first-quarter profit that was little changed, although same-store sales in the U.S. dropped for the first time in a decade, according to Bloomberg. McDonald's also warned that sales would drop in April, The Associated Press reports. 

 

General Electric (GE) reported earnings early Friday that sounded pretty positive. Net income at the Fairfield, Conn.-based conglomerate rose 16% to $3.5 billion, or 34 cents per share, from $3.03 billion, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier as the company benefited from the sale of its remaining stake in NBCUniversal to Comcast (CMCSA). At $35 billion, revenue was little changed from a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, profit was 35 cents per share, matching the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Still, the company's shares are falling in morning trading. Why? CEO Jeffrey Immelt's cautious statements spooked investors.

In the company's earnings release, Immelt said business in Europe was even worse than GE had expected. 

When the Greeenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair became the first legal medical marijuana seller in New Jersey last year, it thought it would have plenty of company. Unfortunately, New Jersey's conservative approach to medicinal marijuana has hampered the industry's growth, leaving the Montclair dispensary to serve the whole state. That has resulted in huge wait times for patients.

But that may change. Recently, state officials have said they may double funding for the program to $1.6 million, which may lead to the opening of more dispensaries, the Asbury Park Press points out.

Sate Health Commissioner Mary Dowd told New Jersey legislators that the challenge of moving forward with the program "largely has to do with federal scrutiny," the newspaper says.