By DEE DePASS, Minneapolis Star Tribune

New headhunter research this week offers hope that the job market is tightening -- at least for select job candidates in information technology.

Ashley Cassidy has spent most of her career trying to find a way to support herself without her parents' help.

So far, it hasn't been easy.

Travelers Cos. Inc. says it will pay at least $1 billion in insurance claims and suffer a second-quarter operating loss from tornadoes and hailstorms that pummeled 13 midwestern and southern states in April and May.

When the recession hit, pharmacist Joelle Blasig made a trade-off. She would cut back on eating out but wouldn't give up her $65 hair treatments at the Progressions Salon at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

More than a third of U.S. employees don't get paid when they get sick and have to stay home.

Those without paid sick days also tend to be the lowest-paid workers on the job, exacerbating wage inequalities in the private sector, said a report released Monday by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research organization in Washington, D.C.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. - Temple Grandin wants more autistic people in your workplace. If they don't become part of the work force, your company will lose out.

That was the key message from Grandin, an industrial designer and fellow "ASpie" (a term referring to the "autism spectrum") who designed Cargill's slaughterhouses across the United States and Canada.

Bryn Collins paid nearly $10,000 for a facelift and eyelid surgery 10 years ago. Now, at age 65, she could have another, but opted instead for "facial fillers" -- at $1,500 injections that smooth eye wrinkles and marionette mouth lines for 18 months.

Imagine dancing with joyous abandon, grooving and gliding into soul-kissing bliss. That's what my morning was like when I took my first "Nia" class.

Holly Marshall remembered how anxious she became about making loan payments when laid off from a job seven years ago. So when she was offered "involuntary unemployment insurance" as part of a car loan three years ago, she jumped.

OK, listen up, bakers, cooks, stressed-out Santas and overworked elves. This week is the final stretch of the big meet. So get ready. We're talking about the ultimate gift for you. Holiday survival.
Exercise cuts stress and prevents you from turning into the evil elf -- you know, the one tempted to lunge at Aunt Betty when she bashes your figgy pudding recipe.