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Bank of America is offering about 200,000 homeowners a chance to wipe out a big chunk of their mortgage debt. The offers are part of the settlement Bank of America and other major banks reached with state and federal regulators earlier this year, and it's one of the biggest principal forgiveness opportunities so far.

Beatles tunes are very hard to license — the surviving band members and heirs have been choosy about who can play their songs. AMC's Mad Men made the cut. For a reported $250,000, the show was allowed to pay "Tomorrow Never Knows."

The 17-inning game went so long, that for the first time since 1925, two Major League teams had non-pitchers on the mound. Baltimore won with pitching from Chris Davis, who's trained to play first base.

West Virginia will soon hold its annual Liars Contest. Last year, college professor Adam Booth won. He's been a contender five times according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Cash-strapped states are embracing the millions of dollars in new tax revenue coming from shale oil and gas development. But there aren't enough inspectors to make sure the sites aren't polluting. The problem seems especially apparent in Colorado, which now has more than 47,000 active oil and gas wells but the state employs just 17 inspectors.

The Marvel Comics superheros smashed the domestic revenue record with a $200.3 million debut. It's by far the biggest opening ever.

Vice President Joe Biden said he is "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples who marry getting the same civil rights and liberties as heterosexual couples. President Obama does not publicly support gay marriage.

The world's second biggest maker of personal computers Lenovo Group has announced it will invest nearly $800 million over the next five years to build a mobile device facility in China. The company will develop and manufacture products like smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices to meet growing global demand.

In France Sunday, Socialist Francois Hollande defeated conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande has railed against austerity measures and urged national unity.