Reuters - Johnson & Johnson is take over most of Elan Corp Alzheimer's research and invest $1 billion in new Elan equity in exchange for an 18.4 percent stake in the Irish drugmaker, the companies said on Thursday.

AP - Rafael Furcal had a pinch hit RBI single in the eighth inning Wednesday, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 1-0 in the final game of Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy.

AP - U.S. car and truck sales showed signs of stabilizing in June after a year of sharp declines, but every major automaker except Honda Motor Co. reported lower sales than in May.

Reuters - U.S. auto sales tumbled in June as the economy remained a deep concern for consumers, but Ford Motor Co posted far better results than other large automakers and shot ahead of Detroit rivals passing through federally sponsored bankruptcies.

AP - The Pittsburgh Pirates, swapping outfielders at a rapid rate for the second successive season, sent starting left fielder Njyer Morgan to the Washington Nationals in a four-player deal involving outfielder Lastings Milledge and also shipped backup Eric Hinske to the Yankees on Tuesday.