General Motors chairman and CEO Dan Akerson will defend the company's Chevrolet Volt today, telling Congress the obvious: election-year jaw flapping can destroy a car faster than a crash test. In his five-page written testimony before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee obtained by The Detroit News, Akerson rejects the idea that GM built the Volt at the request of the Obama administration (which should be fairly obvious to anyone who knows the history of the vehicle, who advocated for it at GM and when, and how long it takes to design such a machine.)

In his "Gateway" series, begun about 34 years ago, science fiction writer Frederick Pohl envisioned a future in which people would voyage to sun- blasted planets for the meager chance of striking it rich. Why? So they could get affordable healthcare and express-lane status for organ replacement. Welcome to the future: if you can afford it, your mitral valve adjustment now comes with bed linens by Frette, a private gourmet cook, polished marble, huge windows, a man in a black vest and tie "the butler" and maybe a private fountain or two. This would be at Greenberg 14 South (no …

In the wake of yesterday's earnings miss, Google has announced it will shutter online photo sharing service Picnik, which it acquired in 2010, plus other products. The Picnik team will "continue creating photo magic across Google products." It's all part of Larry Page's effort to put "more wood behind fewer arrows," as he put it last year. Since taking over, he's closed down failed products like Buzz and Wave, as well as acquisitions like Slide.

For-profit colleges are coming under attack again, this time for allegedly preying on military veterans. Sen. Dick Durbin, D.-Ill., held a forum on the issue in Chicago Monday and plans to introduce legislation later in the day that would eliminate the financial incentive for-profit colleges have to recruit veterans aggressively into pricey programs. It would also require schools to get more of their revenue from sources other than the federal government's educational aid programs.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. has signed a sponsorship agreement with LPGA Tour Star Stacy Lewis, a pro golfer who captured her first major at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, had 12 top 10 finishes last year and was ranked fourth on the LPGA money list.

More than 770,900 people attended the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this month, showing that interest is still strong. "A lot of people counted Detroit down and out, but it has been a major year for the auto industry and our show," said Bill Perkins, owner of several local car dealerships and chairman of the 2012 show.

Country singer Dolly Parton has announced plans for a new $50 million water and snow park to open in Nashville in 2014. The project is a joint venture involving Pigeon Forge, Tenn.-based Dollywood and Gaylord Entertainment Co., which owned the Opryland USA theme park, shuttered in 1997. The new, as yet unnamed park will be located across from the sprawling Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Wal-Mart Stores here on Friday announced a series of new executive changes, including the resignation of Brian Cornell, the president and CEO of its Sam's Club division. The former Safeway executive credited for leading a strong sales rebound at Sam's recently informed the company that he and his wife would like to move back to the Northeast for family reasons. Thus, Rosalind G. Brewer will now be president and CEO of Sam's Club.

Cincinnati's police chief, James Craig, is featured in the University of Phoenix' new TV ad. The 30-second spot has been airing nation-wide on a number of channels, even during the South Carolina presidential primary coverage Saturday. Craig didn't get paid for the commercial shot in November in Hollywood, Calif., he said, but applied to be featured in the university's 2012 national advertising campaign "for Cincinnati." Craig earned his master's degree in management there in 2010 and is a doctoral student in the school's management program. The University of Phoenix has roughly 200 branch campuses throughout the country and a lot …

Listen to this if you are feeling like the coffee didn't work this morning and you're looking for a chalkboard to scrape your nails across. My question is how much did it cost me (and you) to fly that C-17 Globemaster over the stadium during his (to be kind) solo before the Patriots/Ravens AFC playoff at Gillette Stadium? Well, if it drowned out some of the anthem it may have been worth it.