Aladdin Color, Inc./Corbis

For $125 a night, I got Wi-Fi, abundant cable channels, and a king-size bed (with four pillows!). Screw the skeptics—this is what makes America great, writes a wide-eyed Daniel Gross.

I wouldn’t recommend the Best Western in Monticello, New York, for a relaxing weekend getaway. But if you want to have your faith in America restored, you might want to check it out.Those of us who work in the media, cover finance and politics, and live in and around New York City are constantly presented with systems and things that don’t work. Over the weekend, the Metro-North train system literally went off the rails. Cellphone services drop calls like they’re hot potatoes.

U.S. Army/AP

Seeking to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce the cost of generating power in the field, the U.S. military has become one of the most aggressive investors in renewable energy.

This gives a new meaning to the term “military power.” The U.S. Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of fossil fuels, is becoming more earth-friendly.The Solar Energy Industries Association released a report Friday detailing the military’s recent commitment to power 25 percent of its electricity intake with renewable energy by 2025. So far more than 130 megawatts of solar voltaic systems have been installed in military bases spanning 31 states and D.

Dimon on Capitol Hill on June 19, 2012. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Defeats campaign to split his job between two people.

There’s a reason Jamie Dimon is the nation’s most powerful banker: he’s ruthless. The chairman of JPMorgan Chase and his shareholders successfully killed an investors’ proposal to strip him of his title and split the job between two people, sources said Tuesday. While the final tally of the vote has yet to be released, several shareholders who have seen the total confirmed that Dimon did in fact defeat the campaign. It’s not the first time investor groups have tried to oust the silver-haired chief executive officer. A similar proposal was brought to the table in 2011, but failed to pass, garnering only 40 percent of the vote.

Read it at The Daily Beast

Andy Wong/AP

Apple has avoided billions in taxes. Congress says it wants to know why. But we know why—and it’s probably not going to change.

Today Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify about Apple's corporate tax practices in front of a congressional committee. Here's what you need to know:It's probably not going to change for two reasons. One is that even if the Senate gets up some bill to "close the loopholes," it woud die a quick yet painful death in the House. And the second is that what Apple is doing isn't really "loopholes." Rather, it's relying on a gap between how corporate income is taxed in the United States and how it's taxed in Ireland.

Using web of offshore entities.

It really was too good to be true. A Senate investigation unveiled Monday showed that between 2009 and 2012, Apple sheltered over $74 billion in profits from U.S. tax collectors by creating subsidiaries in Ireland. The investigation revealed that on $30 billion of that amount, Apple paid no taxes, and on $22 billion it paid a rate of 0.05 percent (compared to U.S. rate of 35 percent). Apple CEO Tim Cook as well as other executives will testify Tuesday morning before the Senate, and argue that Apple is not breaking any tax laws, and that the money saved goes to research and development.

Read it at The Washington Post

As investigations mount.

Billionaire Steve Cohen may be throwing in the towel. After a five year investigation into his firm SAC Capital Advisors over insider-trading charges, Cohen has reportedly considered proposing a deal with prosecutors to shut down his hedge-fund to outside investors and admit wrongdoing, but would not be prosecuted unless SAC broke the law again. The firm would then focus solely on managing Cohen’s personal fortune. Unknown is whether federal prosecutors would be satisfied without a conviction of Cohen himself.

Read it at Bloomberg

David Karp on Monday in New York. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Homeschooled so he could focus on computers.

Before he created Tumblr—a micro-blogging platform acquired by Yahoo for $1.1 billion—David Karp was a high-school dropout. Bored with his classes at Bronx High School of Science, the bright teenager decided to opt for homeschooling. His mom, Barbara Ackerman, says it was the best decision he ever made. “It became very clear that David needed the space to live his passion. Which was computers,” Ackerman says. Now 26, with neither a high-school diploma or a college degree, Karp is a newly made billionaire. Currently living with his girlfriend in a $1.6 million loft in Brooklyn, the tall, slight brunet still entertains the thought of going to college one day. “At least I should be able to afford it,” he quips.

Read it at The New York Times

Joe Raedle/Getty

Suburbs have more poor people mainly because they have more people, write Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox.

In the wake of the post-2008 housing bust, suburbia has become associated with many of the same ills long associated with cities, as our urban-based press corps and cultural elite cheerfully sneer at each new sign of decline, most recently a study released Monday by the Brookings Institution—which has become something of a Vatican for anti-suburban theology—trumpeting the news that there are now 1 million more poor people in America’s suburbs than in its cities.

Donna Svennevik/ABC via Getty

With the Marines’ former top trainer on board, the ex-newsman’s venture into sustainable farming and changing prospects for returning U.S. military launches today.

Less than two years ago, Dylan Ratigan was ubiquitous. The journalist, author, and entrepreneur’s MSNBC show was the channel’s top-rated program outside prime time, and his book Greedy Bastards was a bestseller. But the disillusioned newsman walked away last June, when his contract was up.These days, he’s working full time with a group of combat veterans on a hydroponic farm near San Diego. Inspired by these environmentally conscious Marines, he’s partnered with Maj.

Ocean/Corbis

No name selected yet.

It certainly is the day for mergers. Two of the U.S.’s largest online food-delivery services, GrubHub and Seamless, announced on Monday that they will combine into one company. GrubHub CEO Matt Maloney will become CEO of the new joint operation, and Seamless CEO Jonathan Zabusky will be president. GrubHub, based in Chicago, has about 350 employees, while New York–based Seamless totals about 300. And the two companies are certainly moneymakers: they had a combined revenue of about $100 million in 2012. The merger will help fight off competition from newer startups, as well as cover the growing number of restaurants that want to use their services. There is no name yet for the joint venture.

Read it at Bloomberg News