Unicorn Media inks MSNBC deal
MSNBC Digital Network has signed a deal to use Unicorn Media’s online media technology to track and distribute its Web content. Tempe-based Unicorn will provide its technology, Unicorn Once, to help MSNBC deliver content from its numerous Internet properties. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Unicorn Once is a patented technology that allows for Web content to be encoded for uses on multiple devices including smartphones and tablets. MSNBC controls the digital content for such sites as msnbc...

Steerman joins Klehr Harrison firm
Family law practitioner David Steerman has joined Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg from Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel. Steerman brings with him an associate and paralegal and will chair Klehr Harrison’s family law practice. Klehr Harrison said it decided to sharpen its focus on family law in 2008, as many of its private equity and real estate clients became family law clients as well. According to Chairman Bill Harvey, the firm began to commit resources to growing the practice, including some of his own time, in 2010...

National Oilwell Varco says its close to 2 new acquisitions
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) is close to releasing plans for two new acquisitions valued between $250 million and $750 million, Bloomberg reports. The Houston-based oilfield equipment supplier is looking to increase its supply capability for facilities that pump oil and gas in deep waters, according to Pete Miller, the company’s chairman and CEO. National Oilwell Varco also is expected to increase sales in its fracking gear and drilling fluids, bits and pipes, Bloomberg reports. In 2011, the company chose not to acquire fracking gear producers, and instead it made its own gear...

Slideshow: National Gallery of Art's East Building gets a facelift
Plans to reconstruct the facade of the National Gallery of Art's East Building have been under way since 2005, when issues were discovered on stone panels throughout the building. Rather than fix just part of the building's exterior, museum officials decided to remove and reinstall all the stone panels, among other fixes — an $85 million project. >>>Check out the slideshow to the right for photos of the project's construction and progress.>>>

World’s best brewer ranking raises glass to Boulevard
Kansas City-based Boulevard Brewing Co. is 33rd in a ranking of the world’s best brewers. RateBeer, an independent craft beer information website, included 100 brewers on its 2012 list. No. 1 on the list was Three Floyds Brewing Co. of Munster, Ind., followed by Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids, Mich. Boulevard has been a hot topic of late with the limited release of its Chocolate Ale flying off Kansas City-area shelves.

Catholic groups upset with Obama birth control mandate
The Catholic Church including Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted is upset with an Obama administration rule that requires some religious charity and social service groups as well as universities and schools to offer and cover birth control in their health insurance plans. Churches are exempt from the federal rule but church-run schools, hospitals and charities are not. Other Christian groups opposed to birth control are also upset with the new health insurance mandate.

C-130 cuts jeopardize Oklahoma City's planned new Boeing jobs
The Boeing Co. had planned to transfer about 550 jobs from its operation in Long Beach, Calif., to Oklahoma City. However, about half those planned jobs might not arrive after all because of a proposed 2013 Pentagon budget that would cut $487 billion in spending over the next decade. The Oklahoman reports the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program is among those that could be scrapped. Of the 550 jobs set to move to Oklahoma City from California, 232 would have involved the C-130 program.

Historic front pages of USA Today
Gannett Co. Inc. introduced USA Today in 1982 as the “nation’s newspaper.” The McLean-based company (then based in Arlington) changed the newspaper business forever -- with its bold colors and photo-packed designs. Check out a collection of front pages from USA Today -- including the first edition and ones from presidential elections -- in the gallery to the right.

Southwest Airlines' Wichita subsidy usage likely temporary
As Southwest Airlines moves into the Wichita market, taking over for AirTran Airways, it plans to take advantage of the Kansas Affordable Airfares program that has been subsidizing AirTran's operations at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. But Southwest's intention is to eventually break away from the subsidy. The Wichita Business Journal reports that subsidies are typically not a part of Southwest's business model, and that according to Sedgwick County Commissioner Dave Unruh, who attended a meeting with Southwest officials, the airline might only use the program for two years.

Southwest Kansas wind project could be worth $600 million
The Grant County Commission in southwest Kansas is in discussions with Lenexa-based Tradewind Energy about a wind project that could be worth up to $600 million. The Garden City Telegram reports Tradewind has worked for several years securing long-term leases for 40,000 acres where it hopes to build 100 to 200 wind turbines. If it reaches full capacity, the project could generate enough electricity to power 65,000 homes. Assuming the local government agrees to move forward, the scope of the project will depend on whether Tradewind can find electric utilities to purchase all the power.