Charlotte ranks second on ZipRealty's best metro places for families to live in the country. The standout school district in the area is Fort Mill. The study was created by looking at school districts and the cost of real estate.

In an effort to save dwindling sales, Family Dollar announced that its stores will start selling beer and wine. The news comes at a time when the company announced quarterly profits dropped by a third.

Microsoft will cut as many as 18,000 jobs as it integrates the recently purchased Nokia cellphone business into its ranks. Many of the 12,500 job cuts will come from Nokia, which is based in Finland.

A temporary cease-fire in the Hamas-Israel conflict lasted only five hours before a rocket attack and military strike broke the peace. The humanitarian request was made by the United Nations to allow aid into Gaza after more than a week of airstrikes. Since Israel began its anti-Hamas military operation on July 7, 230 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,600 have been injured.