FCC ENDS LOCAL STUDIO RULE FOR TV, RADIO

Regulators eliminated a nearly 80-year-old requirement for TV and radio stations to maintain a main studio in or near the communities they serve, a step that broadcasters welcomed as trimming unneeded rules and critics called a step toward homogenized programming.

The rule is no longer needed to keep stations in touch with their communities since email and social media have replaced visits to a studio, supporters of the change say. The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to eliminate the rule adopted in 1939.

Sears drops Whirlpool. Sears will no longer sell Whirlpool-branded appliances, curtailing a business relationship that dates back to 1916. Sears said it will now only sell its Kenmore products and other brands such as LG, Samsung, GE, Frigidaire, Electrolux and Bosch.

Trump takes poll on Fed chair. WASHINGTON» President Donald Trump asked for a show of hands from Republican senators as he nears a decision on naming a new head of the Federal Reserve. Trump made the request during a lunch with GOP senators at the Capitol on Tuesday, said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Mexico urged to raise wages. CITY» The MEXICO Mexican Employers’ Federation said Monday the minimum wage should be raised 19 percent, to the equivalent of about $5 a day.

Twitter to make all ads public. FRANCISCO» SAN Amid federal investigations

into Russian meddling in the U.S. election, Twitter is making all of its ads public, along with who published them and how much was spent, the company said Tuesday.

Interior plans largest oil and gas lease sale. WASHINGTON» The Interior Department says it will propose the largest oil and gas lease sale ever held in the United States — nearly 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. — Denver Post wire services