SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- The success of Uber, the app-based personal transportation service, has renewed the demand for independent contractors. It’s also ushered in an emerging freelance marketplace called the “gig economy.” While the model may be great for business, labor advocates say it’s horrendous for workers and the wider economy. Pushing employees to sell their services independently weakens their security, cripples their long-term financial stability and depletes their purchasing power. Employees are, after all, consumers. But with the announcement Wednesday of an app-based call service for prostitutes -- the result of a partnership between Google Maps and Unter, a heavily funded startup by a conglomerate of savvy pimps -- labor regulators worry that the rise of this new “trick economy” will wreak further damage on millions of housewives and moonlighters who are seeking part-time opportunities to strengthen their household incomes.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- LinkedIn, the prominent social network aimed at working professionals, updated its user agreement Monday and added a provision banning subscribers from soliciting or offering services deemed prostitution. Under a section entitled "Don't undertake the following," LinkedIn admonished its members not to "upload, post, email, InMail, transmit or otherwise make available or initiate any content that: Even if it is legal where you are located, create profiles or provide content that promotes escort services or prostitution." In what company representatives called an unrelated coincidence, nearly all male members of Congress dropped their LinkedIn accounts, stating they no longer found value in the service. Agents from the U.S. Secret Service also reportedly canceled their subscriptions on Monday, citing similar reasons.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- The U.S. Secret Service is struggling to recover from a scandal that broke around April 14 when agents were discovered taking prostitutes to their hotel rooms just days before President Obama's visit to Colombia. The Secret Service is one of the nation's most regarded and elite squads, tasked with ensuring the security of the president. But the Cartagena investigation has not only embarrassed the United States, it has also prompted a series of new allegations by unnamed sources who claim that federal agents and military officers regularly solicited sex workers in foreign countries. One subcontractor testified that Secret Service advance teams received sexual favors in the VIP room of a San Salvador strip club. Despite the attention the scandal has generated, President Obama urged the public not to consider the disgraced employees representative of the wider organization. "This isn't an investment firm. It's the Secret Service. A couple of knuckleheads shouldn't detract from what they do," Mr. Obama added, startling reporters with the harshest language he's used since calling Osama bin Laden a "jerk face" and Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi "a stinky doo-doo head." But Wednesday's Senate hearing was focused on discovering whether Obama was ever at risk because of the situation.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- With the European Union (EU) heightening pressure on Hungary for reforms, and with talks in Greece set to resume next week at a meeting in Athens, confusion still exists about how the EU bailout program actually works. Europeans and non-Europeans alike have voiced concerns about the obfuscated and recursive nature of the proposals, and EU leaders have done little to clarify the process in simple terms. It turns out that Mae Verdulia could have the answer. Verdulia is known to many Bennington Vale residents as the off-beat but strangely charming panhandler and "freelance prostitute" who frequents the parking lot outside Piers Addleson's Pea House. During a working lunch at the restaurant, BVET staffers overheard Verdulia regaling waitress Verna Yerth with tales of a recent exploit, in which she accurately explained how the complex EU bailout functions in the real world.

ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- After receiving complaints about a 29-year-old female Dunkin’ Donuts employee providing “lackluster” sexual services for “outrageous fees” to patrons in the parking lot, New Jersey police launched an investigation into illegal practices. Detectives told reporters that during a stakeout they noticed worker Melissa Redmond getting into the cars of customers and spending up to 15 minutes in their vehicles. “There are several problems here,” investigators said. “Customers are complaining about the quality of the product and the high price, which for only 15 minutes in a cramped back seat seems justified. Also, Dunkin’ Donuts failed to obtain the necessary permits or pay for the additional health inspections required.” As a result, Dunkin’ Donuts has been forced to remove all sexual services from its menus.