Yadier Molina hit an RBI single off Cubs closer Rafael Dolis with two outs in the ninth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-6 Tuesday, avoiding a sweep and an 0-5 homestand.

Alfonso Soriano, who hit 26 home runs last year, tied it for the Cubs with his first of the...more season leading off the ninth against Jason Motte (2-1).

Matt Carpenter's second homer in four games off James Russell had put the Cardinals up in the eighth.

The Cubs scored three runs in the first, and there were later four ties before the Cardinals won.

It sounds like one of those weird, grainy late-night infomercials: "Get money for your projects NOW for FREE! There are people out there just WAITING to put REAL MONEY in your hands! Don't wait, apply TODAY!"
All that's missing is a leering old dude -- clutching a pile of gold bars and...more wearing a suit made of money -- pointing aggressively at the camera while you watch glassy-eyed from your couch, shoving pork rinds or whatever the hell you people consume into your greasy maw. We're talking, of course, about crowdfunding -- a trend that's certifiably sweeping the nation.
For those whose eyes are too glazed with the aforementioned grease to see all the wonder that's unfolding online, crowdfunding is a phenomenon whereby folks take to the Web, pitch projects and collect cash from interested parties to execute those projects.
Arguably the most buzzy among crowdfunding services is Kickstarter -- the site launched in 2009, and since then more than $200 million has been pledged to projects launched on the platform. (Not all that money was collected, though. When folks create a project, they set a fundraising goal and they only get the cash pledged if they reach or exceed that goal). Still, there are a ton of other fundraising options out there -- IndieGoGo, PledgeMusic and Flattr to name a few.
Lately, we've been struck by a few high profile acts' use of crowdfunding -- namely ex-Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer and the recently reunited Ben Folds Five. Palmer has so far raised close to $700,000 to fund production of an album by her new band, The Grand Theft Orchestra.
Meanwhile, Folds has turned to PledgeMusic to fund the band's first album in 13 years. We don't know how much they've raised, since PledgeMusic doesn't list monetary amounts, but we do know the band has far exceeded its goal. Yup, both of these bands have been highly successful crowdfunders, and both -- naturally -- could teach us all a lot about asking for cash in a classy way.
We

Zack Greinke overcame his road woes and ran his scoreless streak to 15 innings, Travis Ishikawa homered twice and drove in a career-high five runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the New York Mets 8-0 Tuesday night for a split of the two-game series.

Greinke (4-1) pitched five-hit ball...more for seven dominant innings. He pitched eight innings in his start last Wednesday but Milwaukee's bullpen was beaten by the Reds.

Ishikawa led off the fifth with his third homer of the year and connected for a three-run drive in the sixth, both home runs coming on the first pitch of the at-bat against Dillon Gee (2-3).

Facebook announced Wednesday that 25 percent more shares of the company will be sold in its planned initial public offering later this week.
The additional shares, disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could fetch an extra $3 billion, bringing the total raised...more through the initial share sale to as much as $16 billion. The offering will now sell 421.2 million shares, up from 337.4 million shares that it had previously announced plans to sell.
The additional shares will be sold by selling shareholders of the company, not by the company itself, which will stick with previous plans to sell 180 million shares. The 241 million shares being sold by those other shareholders is a 53 percent increase from their previous plans.
Facebook has been reporting strong demand for its shares. On Tuesday, it raised the price range for the offering to between $34 to $38 a share, up from its previous range of $25 to $35 a share set earlier in the month.
The final pricing is expected after the market close Thursday, with shares due to begin trading Friday morning.
Investor demand for Facebook shares has been "nothing short of pandemonium," one source familiar with the discussions told CNNMoney.
Even with the greater number of shares being sold, only a fraction of Facebook's overall shares outstanding will be on the market after the IPO. The total 2.1 billion shares expected to be outstanding after the offering was left unchanged in this filing. That would value the company at as much as $81.2 billion after the offering.
The greater number of shares in this week's offering means that there will be about 13 million, up to 63 million, in additional shares in the so-called overallotment being sold to by the Wall Street firms handling the offering.
Many Facebook employees and executives, including founder Mark Zuckerberg, hold unexercised stock options. The company itself is also holding some shares for future employee equity

PORTAGE-Giselle Ariana Wehrmann, stillborn daughter of Megan Koegel and Chris Wehrmann, born on May 13, 2012, at St. Mary?s Hospital.

She is survived along with her parents; sister, Emma; grandmother, Karen Wehrmann; and grandparents, Gary and Julie Alberts.

Private family services will be held.

Every post you "like." Every friend you add or fan page you join. Every place you check in, and every Web page you recommend.
To you, those are ways to enjoy, expand and improve your experience on Facebook. To Facebook, they're the building blocks of a multibillion-dollar company.
In...more business, there's a well-worn line that could apply to the social-networking behemoth: If you're not paying for it, you're not the customer. You're the product.
In this case, you're a product worth, to Facebook, an average $4.84 a year.
As Facebook hits Wall Street this week with a public stock offering that could value the company at more than $100 billion, investors appear dazzled by the company's uncanny ability to put the right advertisements in front of its roughly 900 million users.
"The unique thing about these guys is the accuracy with which they can help advertisers and marketers understand who they're getting," said Arvind Bhatia, an analyst with Sterne Agee Financial Services. "On Facebook, your information is authentic; they are able to basically make the ads, and your experience, more relevant. I think that is unique. It's unprecedented and the reach is unparalleled."
In documents filed in relation to its stock offering, Facebook says that about 85% of its revenue comes from advertising. The other 15% comes from payments made within apps that run on the site (a head-turning 12% is from a single source -- Zynga, makers of social games such as "FarmVille.")
As Bhatia suggests, Facebook's unprecedented advertising advantage is built upon the service it provides. As users interact with the site, they gradually build a fuller and fuller picture of themselves. That, in turn, lets Facebook sell advertisers on its ability to put their product in front of the people most likely to be interested.
How targeted ads work
For example, say a woman who has listed her hometown as New Orleans changes her relationship status from "single" to

Drivers are expected to encounter jam-packed highways during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend, according to a survey released Tuesday by AAA
Approximately 30.7 million Americans plan to drive to their destination this year, an increase of more than 500,000 travelers on the road...more compared to 2011, according to the organization, which provides roadside and travel services.
However, people won't be traveling as far as they have in previous years to see their family and friends, the survey found. High gas prices and tight budgets are forcing travelers to rethink their trips.
The average distance of travel this year is expected to be 642 miles, 150 miles less than last year's Memorial Day holiday, according to AAA.
"Steadily increasing gas prices throughout the spring significantly squeezed many household budgets," AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet said in a statement.
While most survey respondents said increased fuel prices won't impact their decisions, 47 percent said they'll handle the high gas prices by cutting other costs so they can still make their trip. Those who intend to economize plan to reduce entertainment costs, stay at less expensive hotels or stay with friends.
But even if plans include crashing on a cousin's couch to save cash, the average cost of the trip is estimated to be higher this year. The survey's median cost of the holiday weekend is $702, a slight increase over last year's $692.
The dominant mode of transportation for people will be by automobile. Nine out of 10 travelers will go by car. Only 7 percent of survey respondents plan to fly to their destinations this year, a decrease of 5 percent from 2011. The rest of the holiday travelers will go by rail, bus and boat.
The annual survey considers those traveling 50 miles or more between May 24 and May 28 as holiday travelers.

(CNN) -- Greece will hold new elections on June 17, the state-run Athens News Agency reported Wednesday. The decision comes 10 days after a national vote that left no party able to form a government. A caretaker administration led by a senior judge will run the country until the new vote.