Did You See That Press Release? Dutch Take Over MH17 Investigation, Microsoft Restructures, Americans Like Italy

With thousands of news releases published each week on PR Newswire for Journalists, no one can possibly keep up with every one of them. Here are some of our favorite releases from the past week that you might have missed.

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Source: AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky

Dutch Safety Board Heads Investigation Into Crash of MH17

The Dutch Safety Board took over formal responsibility for the air crash investigation from Ukraine Tuesday evening. The two black boxes have since arrived in the United Kingdom, where they currently are being read out and analyzed by a team of international specialists.

The on-site investigation in Ukraine is in full swing. Although investigators still do not have safe access to the crash site, work to gather and analyze data from various sources is underway in both Kiev and the Netherlands. See the full release to learn more.

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Microsoft Announces Steps to Simplify Organization and Align Devices Strategy

Microsoft Corp. announced July 17 a restructuring plan to simplify its operations and align the recently acquired Nokia Devices and Services business with the company’s overall strategy.

These steps will result in the elimination of up to 18,000 positions over the next year. Of the total, about 12,500 professional and factory positions will be eliminated through synergies and strategic alignment of the Nokia Devices and Services business acquired by Microsoft on April 25. See the full release to learn more.

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The Knot and Mashable Reveal New Digital Wedding Trends

TheKnot.com and Mashable released the results of their #SocialWeddingSurvey, a co-branded social media and wedding planning survey. Compared with the 2012 #SocialWeddingSurvey, these results highlight a significant change in how couples are leveraging social media—or choosing to unplug—for their day. See the full release to learn more.

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Source: AP Photo

Gelato, Trevi Fountain, and the Duomo – Italy Is the Country Americans Would Choose for a Vacation if Cost Was Not a Factor

It’s the dream many Americans have — to travel to another country for a vacation without worrying about the cost. Would you sit on the beaches in South America? Would you travel the historical roads in Europe? Or would it be an Asian adventure?

When American adults were asked where they would choose, if they could spend a vacation in any country in the world outside of the U.S. and not have to worry about cost, the country named most often — for the third time in a row — was Italy.

In fact, Italy has been a top pick for Americans for some time — it has ranked as either the first or second choice for the past 10 times this question has been asked. See the full release to learn what other countries made the list.

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The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. Increased in June

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.3 percent in June to 102.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.7 percent increase in May, and a 0.3 percent increase in April.

“Broad-based increases in the LEI over the last six months signal an economy that is expanding in the near term and may even somewhat accelerate in the second half,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist with the Conference Board. “Housing permits, the weakest indicator during this period, reflects some risk to this improving outlook. But favorable financial conditions, generally positive trends in the labor markets and the outlook for new orders in manufacturing have offset the housing market weakness over the past six months.” See the full release to learn more.

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Larry Grady is online content manager at PR Newswire for Journalists. He has worked in business media for nearly 30 years and enjoys reality TV and daydreaming about travel and wine.