Applicants sought

Applicants sought

WARREN

YWCA Warren is taking applications for its Step Up career-training program.

Step Up is a free, yearlong program, primarily funded through the Workforce Investment Agency, serving women age 16 to 24 who are at risk of poverty, currently living in poverty or may have dropped out of high school and are interested in pursuing their GED or diploma.

Assistance and preparation for earning a high-school diploma or GED as well as financial literacy, life-skills, health and wellness and job readiness training are included in the program.

Information sessions will be at the YWCA Warren, 375 North Park Ave., at 4 p.m. today and next Thursday. Interested applicants should contact Lea Dotson at at 330-373-1010, ext. 18, for more info.

Initiative to begin

WASHINGTON

Cable companies said Wednesday they will offer Internet service for $9.95 per month to homes with children who are eligible for free school lunches.

The offer will start next summer and is part of an initiative by the Federal Communications Commission to get more U.S. homes connected to broadband.

About 35 million homes don’t have broadband.

The initiative, called Connect-to-Compete, also includes Microsoft Corp., which pledges to sell PCs with its Office software suite for $250 to low-income families. A firm called Redemtech is offering to sell refurbished computers for $150.

GM income falls

DETROIT

The fragile European economy is dragging down General Motors’ profits, forcing its management to look harder for cost cuts and ways to boost revenue in the struggling region.

GM said Wednesday its third-quarter net income fell 15 percent from a year earlier, pulled down by losses in Europe and South America and weak earnings in all areas except North America and China.

The company’s shares fell nearly 10 percent to $22.55 late Wednesday as GM executives backed off an earlier prediction the company would break even before taxes in Europe this year.

Vindicator staff/wire reports