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On Tuesday, Finnish technology major Nokia confirmed that it was in advanced discussions to buy its French telecommunications equipment rival, Alcatel-Lucent.

Since months, rumors had been floating regarding potential transaction for parts of Alcatel-Lucent, as the company sought to sell assets and focus on its more profitable divisions.

Nokia, on Tuesday, said that the companies, having combined revenues of about $27 billion, and the ones that would create a global networking giant, had been discussing a 'potential full combination'. This combination would most probably take the form of a public exchange offer by the Finnish company for Alcatel-Lucent.

An airport worker's nap ended up not on a very sweet note. This worker's shift started at 5am and he fell asleep in the cargo hold of an Alaska flight bound for Los Angeles.

When he woke up, the plane had just taken off Monday afternoon. He started banging for help, which could be heard by the pilots as well as by the first-class passengers aboard Flight 448. After listening to the noises, the captain returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and declared an emergency landing.

The plane was in the air for 14 minutes. After the plane landed, a ramp worker was taken out of the front cargo hold, which as per the airline is pressurized and temperature controlled. The worker shared that he had fallen asleep.

On Monday National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that it has reached a new marketing deal with PepsiCo. It will end its 28 year-old marketing partnership with Coca-Cola and make PepsiCo its official beverage partner.

At a press conference with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi said that her company would bring the power of 22 of its brands to the NBA.

Under NBA logo, PepsiCo has planned new retail and advertising campaigns. In addition to beverages, there will be snacks like Doritos and Ruffles.

Over the last five years, renting has become progressively more expensive. According to commercial property tracker Reis Inc., the average US rent has increased 14% to $1,124 since 2010. This rate of increase is 4% points faster than inflation and more than double the increase in US home prices over the same period.

According to Hessam Nadji, chief strategy officer at Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate services firm, "The only relief in sight is rents in the hottest markets are going to go up at a slower pace, but they're still going to go up".

Next month, President Barack Obama will give a commencement speech at a South Dakota community college. South Dakota is the only place now that has not been visited by Obama. But the wait is only for a few more weeks.

Obama himself broke the news and affirmed that the he does not want his South Dakota friends to be ignored. Obama will be travelling to Watertown, in the state's northeastern corner. There, he will deliver the speech at Lake Area Technical Institute on May 8.

During his presidency, Obama has supported for community colleges. In the starting of this year, Obama has announced about a multibillion-dollar proposal in which community college tuition feel will paid for eligible students.

Rand Paul currently serves in the United States Senate as a member of the Republican Party. He is junior senator from Kentucky who became the second one from his party. Paul announced that he is going to 'defeat the Washington Machine'. It looks like the politician from Kentucky is trying to present himself as the libertarian Republican. He is trying to show that he is different from other candidates on his side. But the question is, Rand Paul really that different?