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In his State of the Union speech earlier this week, President Obama pitched a plan to boost what he called "middle-class economics." He asked Congress to help him make community college free, cut taxes for the middle class — and also do this: "Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave," Obama said. "It's the right thing to do." Many in the business lobby aren't likely to agree with that. Lisa Horn, a lobbyist with the Society for Human Resource Management, says that businesses would prefer flexibility for workers to choose how to spend their leave — whether that means sick time or vacation. Horn asserts that the effect of a federal paid sick leave rule would be that businesses will cut back on other benefits. (Noguchi, 1/22)

The United States and Papua New Guinea are the only countries in the world that do not provide any paid time off for new mothers. Why haven’t maternity leave laws kept pace with the increase of working parents? Economics correspondent Paul Solman explores the debate on whether time off for new parents is also good for business. (1/22)

President Barack Obama's push for more personalized medicines, articulated in his State of the Union address, comes at a time when the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing more narrowly targeted therapies and policymakers are questioning whether the agency is capable of evaluating the safety and efficacy of next-generation medicines. (Gustin, 1/22)