U.S. News Headlines - Yahoo! News
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gigantic balloons floated down New York streets for the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, drawing huge crowds to sidewalks and an even bigger audience to television sets, a parade spokesman said. "We expected 3.5 million people at the parade and I'd say we were north of that," said Orlando Veras, Macy's spokesperson. Police declined to confirm the numbers, saying they do not release crowd estimates. ...
(Reuters) - Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords served a Thanksgiving meal on Thursday to Air Force personnel in her first constituent event since she was shot in the head in January, her office said. Giffords dished out turkey with tongs as she stood between Brigadier General Jon Norman and her husband Mark Kelly, said Giffords' spokesman Mark Kimble. The event at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was expected to draw more than 400 people, mostly U.S. Air Force personnel, retired service members and their families. Giffords was shot on January 8 at an event for constituents at a Tucson supermarket. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday the United States was grateful to military service members and soup kitchen volunteers alike and the holiday displayed American unity despite Washington's political gridlock. In his weekly radio address, Obama wished Americans a happy Thanksgiving and said the holiday was a celebration of national community. "We're especially grateful for the Americans who defend our country overseas. To all the service members eating Thanksgiving dinner far from your families, the American people are thinking of you today," he said. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Joy Sweeney's Thanksgiving wishes were granted in a predawn email on Thursday notifying her that her son and two other American students arrested on suspicion of throwing gasoline bombs in Egypt would be freed. Sweeney said she was notified by email at 5:30 a.m. CST that Egyptian authorities would not appeal a judge's release order for her son Derrik Sweeney, 19 as well as Gregory Porter, 19, and Luke Gates, 21. They were detained this week during the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of the alleged victims in the Penn State University child sex abuse scandal on Wednesday sought an injunction to stop the Second Mile charity from dissipating its assets. In a filing in Pennsylvania state court, the alleged victim said he and others intended to sue The Second Mile for negligence and failing to report known sexual abuse of children, and wanted to stop the charity's assets from disappearing. The Second Mile is the children's charity founded by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse. ...
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (Reuters) - The Green Bay Packers have a lot to be proud of this season, including a 10-0 record before their 27-15 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Detroit Lions. But a recent game-day visit to the team's hometown in northeastern Wisconsin, where tens of thousands of fans of all political persuasions peacefully tailgated outside Lambeau Field, suggests one of the Packers' most impressive feats this year may never show up in the NFL record books. ...
(Reuters) - The holiday shopping season is in full swing on Thursday, with retailers hoping consumers will spend big despite worries about the fragile economy and their own precarious finances. The shopping period has been underway for some time as retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Toys R Us started early by offering layaway programs. But shoppers are looking for major bargains and retail executives are predicting a more competitive season than 2010. An Old Navy store in Watchung, New Jersey, was teeming with shoppers on Thursday morning, while a line outside a Best Buy in Union, N.J. ...
OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - When police ordered anti-Wall Street protesters out of a vacant lot in Oakland this week, the group responded as it does to nearly every challenge it has faced -- with a lively debate. "Mic check!" shouted someone in the crowd. "Mic check!" a dozen voices called back. The group then proceeded to discuss whether it should comply with the police demand, with listeners repeating every word uttered by each speaker. ...
CONWAY, Mass (Reuters) - A wintry storm socked New England states with a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain on Wednesday, sparking power outages and delaying some pre-Thanksgiving flights on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Roughly 17,000 customers from Maine to New York were without electricity by midafternoon after heavy snow toppled trees, limbs and power lines in some places. ...
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Pennsylvania is poised to take over its struggling capital of Harrisburg after a federal judge said the city cannot file for bankruptcy to get out of its $300 million outstanding debt. Disappointed city officials said they were considering an appeal after Wednesday's decision. Harrisburg in October became one of the most-high-profile cities to opt for the little-used Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code to gain relief from debts incurred as a result of an expensive overhaul of the city's incinerator. The ruling by U.S. ...
STATE COLLEGE, Pa (Reuters) - Penn State University football players received special treatment compared to other students when accused of violating school rules, the school's ex-chief disciplinarian said on Tuesday. Longtime football coach Joe Paterno and then-university President Graham Spanier were involved in years of debate that ended in changing the rules for how football players were disciplined, said Vicky Triponey, the vice president for student affairs from 2003 to 2007. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Occupy LA protesters were warned on Wednesday they face certain eviction from their City Hall campground next week after talks on a voluntary relocation deal collapsed, their representatives said. The anti-Wall Street demonstrators said they walked out on a meeting with officials from the Los Angeles mayor's office and police department after being told their camp would be closed as early as Monday, with 72 hours' advance notice from the city. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of the alleged victims in the Penn State University child sex abuse scandal on Wednesday sought an injunction to stop the Second Mile charity from dissipating its assets. In a filing in Pennsylvania state court, the alleged victim said he and others intended to sue Second Mile for negligence and failing to report known sexual abuse of children, and wanted to stop the charity's assets from disappearing. Second Mile is the children's charity founded by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse. ...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A second Pennsylvania man has agreed to plead guilty to making harassing telephone calls to an attorney representing former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, court documents filed on Wednesday showed. Craig Christy, 48, submitted an agreement to an Anchorage court to plead guilty to the charges a day after his 20-year-old son, Shawn, agreed to a similar arrangement. ...
With U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner's humiliating exit from office, New York is likely to hold a special election sometime in the next few months to pick his successor, but voters probably shouldn't expect a bruising public contest over the right to go to Washington. The job might not even exist in 19 months.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (Reuters) - The Green Bay Packers have a lot to be proud of this season, including a 10-0 record before their 27-15 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Detroit Lions. But a recent game-day visit to the team's hometown in northeastern Wisconsin, where tens of thousands of fans of all political persuasions peacefully tailgated outside Lambeau Field, suggests one of the Packers' most impressive feats this year may never show up in the NFL record books. ...
(Reuters) - The holiday shopping season is in full swing on Thursday, with retailers hoping consumers will spend big despite worries about the fragile economy and their own precarious finances. The shopping period has been underway for some time as retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Toys R Us started early by offering layaway programs. But shoppers are looking for major bargains and retail executives are predicting a more competitive season than 2010. An Old Navy store in Watchung, New Jersey, was teeming with shoppers on Thursday morning, while a line outside a Best Buy in Union, N.J. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday the United States was grateful to military service members and soup kitchen volunteers alike and the holiday displayed American unity despite Washington's political gridlock. In his weekly radio address, Obama wished Americans a happy Thanksgiving and said the holiday was a celebration of national community. "We're especially grateful for the Americans who defend our country overseas. To all the service members eating Thanksgiving dinner far from your families, the American people are thinking of you today," he said. ...
OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - When police ordered anti-Wall Street protesters out of a vacant lot in Oakland this week, the group responded as it does to nearly every challenge it has faced -- with a lively debate. "Mic check!" shouted someone in the crowd. "Mic check!" a dozen voices called back. The group then proceeded to discuss whether it should comply with the police demand, with listeners repeating every word uttered by each speaker. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Occupy LA protesters were warned on Wednesday they face certain eviction from their City Hall campground next week after talks on a voluntary relocation deal collapsed, their representatives said. The anti-Wall Street demonstrators said they walked out on a meeting with officials from the Los Angeles mayor's office and police department after being told their camp would be closed as early as Monday, with 72 hours' advance notice from the city. ...
Education News Headlines - Yahoo! News
ATLANTA (Reuters) - A third of high school students do not eat vegetables each day and more than a fourth do not always have a daily serving of fruit, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday in a report highlighting the need for healthier school lunches. "Our basic findings are that fruit and vegetable consumption among high school students is low," said Sonia A. Kim, a CDC epidemiologist and one of the authors of the study. "There's more that schools and communities can do to encourage consumption. ...
Members of the NASUWT teaching union have voted to strike over changes to public sector pensions, the union announced on Friday, meaning teachers are set to join a mass walkout by more than two million public sector workers on November 30.
American organization Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment (TRUCE) has targeted a number of this year's hot holiday toys, describing them as 'unsuitable' for children in its Annual Toy Selection Guide.
National American organization Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment (TRUCE) announced on Wednesday the results of its "2011-2012 Annual Toy Selection Guide" naming this year's top 'toys of value.'
"Excited," "nervous," "terrified" -- just three emotions described by a group of US teachers about to take a dizzying "weightless" flight all for the cause of science, naturally.
In an attempt to protect their brands from enterprising pornographers and cybersquatters, a number of universities have begun purchasing .xxx top level domains, reports the St. Louis Dispatch. The move will hopefully prevent the school from being associated in any way with sex-laden content.
Forget about the internet, and forget about " active="false"]Microsoft. The architecture to watch now is the hypernet, and the tech companies that matter are ones that will leverage it best to transform society and business. That's what longtime technology investor Roger McNamee and panelists Mark Benioff, " active="false"]Scott Cook, and " [...]
By day, Wade Brosz teaches American history at an A-rated Florida middle school. By night, he is a personal trainer at 24 Hour Fitness.
Amir Sairafi was an Iranian trader doing business in Dubai, the free-wheeling Middle East commerce hub. When he flew to Germany to take his oral exams for his master's degree, he ran into the U.S. crackdown on illicit trade with Iran.
Religion News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Danish homosexuals will soon be allowed to marry in the state Evangelical Lutheran Church, Denmark's gender equality and ecclesiastical affairs ministry said Wednesday.
Pope Benedict XVI wrapped up a pilgrimage to Africa on Sunday where he laid out his spiritual vision for the continent and told tens of thousands during an open air Mass that "true royalty does not consist in a show of power," comments that Africans interpreted as a jab at the continent's corrupt rulers.
Pope Benedict XVI ended his second trip to Africa on Sunday with a mass for tens of thousands in the voodoo heartland of Benin and by issuing a grand vision for his Church's future on the continent.
Six Republican presidential candidates showcased their Christian religious beliefs late Saturday as they appealed to the party's evangelical base ahead of next year's battle to unseat President Barack Obama.
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday led tens of thousands of people in a panoply of African tongues during a Mass in Benin's national soccer stadium, wrapping up a pilgrimage where he laid out his spiritual vision for Africa.
Pope Benedict XVI celebrated mass at a stadium hosting tens of thousands on Sunday in Benin, wrapping up a visit that saw him sign off on a grand vision for his church's future in Africa.
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday labelled AIDS an "ethical problem" and condemned corruption as he laid out a vision for his Church's future in Africa on his second visit to the continent.
In a basilica built in the heartland of Africa's Voodoo religion, Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday unveiled a treatise outlining the role of the Roman Catholic Church on the continent, explaining how the faith can help address Africa's chronic wars and interact with indigenous practices.
In this quiet little town where the hill country rises up from the pancake-flat Delta farmlands, reminders of the killer tornado are all around. The bent flag poles and broken crosses, snapped trees and abandoned houses, all claim a spot in the landscape now.
OUIDAH, Benin (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday visited the city considered the capital of voodoo in West Africa, praying at a Catholic cathedral just across the street from a large voodoo temple with a pit full of pythons. While the pope was inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to sign a papal document on Africa, several dozen voodoo priests and their wives sat outside their temple in curiosity and in a gesture of welcome. "For them, the pope is the top of the top," said Alexandre Ayite, a Benin diplomat in the receiving line in the cathedral. ...
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday in Benin called on Africa's leaders to stop depriving their people of hope and to govern responsibly, just hours before he planned to unveil a pastoral guide for the continent which attempts to use church doctrine to address Africa's problems.
Northern Ireland's first minister said Saturday that the province's future in the UK could depend on Catholics, wary of the Republic of Ireland's economic woes, voting across the traditional divide.
Politics News Headlines - Yahoo! News
They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.
Whether they like it or not, Republican presidential candidates are joining New Hampshire's intensifying gay marriage debate.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria faces a Friday deadline to sign an Arab deal allowing monitors into the country or incur sanctions over its crackdown on protests including halting flights, curbing trade and stopping deals with the central bank. Arab foreign ministers warned in Cairo that unless Syria agreed to let the monitors in to assess progress of an Arab League plan to end eight months of bloodshed, officials would consider imposing sanctions on Saturday. ...
CAIRO (Reuters) - Activists vowed to crank up pressure on Egypt's generals on Friday with an overwhelming show of people power to cap almost a week of protests against army rule that have left 41 people dead. State media said the army leaders picked a political veteran in his late 70s to form a national salvation government, a choice that was quickly snubbed by many of the young activists who have led the demonstrations in Tahrir Square. ...
RABAT (Reuters) - As a group of young men stood chatting in the Douar L'Koura slum in Morocco's capital, another man rushed up and warned them the police could soon be on their way. "I just assaulted someone with a knife," he said. Morocco votes Friday in a parliamentary election which the authorities say is a big step toward democracy and testimony that this north African kingdom is responding to the "Arab Spring" uprisings by embracing reform. ...
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Suspected drug gang hitmen murdered at least 26 people and dumped their bodies in the center of Mexico's second city of Guadalajara on Thursday as a showdown between rival drug gangs intensified. The bodies were found in several vans abandoned around the western city's iconic Millennium Arches monument, together with a message from drug cartels. An official with the attorney-general's office said the death toll could rise beyond the 26 confirmed so far. ...
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - One of the most senior figures in Libya's outgoing government has denounced its leaders as an unelected elite, supported by "money, arms and PR," and warned that 90 percent of Libya is politically voiceless. Outgoing acting Prime Minister Ali Tarhouni's comments were the strongest criticism to date by a senior politician of the country's new rulers, who led the rebellion that ended Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule and have been in charge since his fall. ...
ZINTAN/TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam needs surgery to remove gangrenous flesh from a severed thumb and finger which if not treated could make him seriously ill, a doctor who examined him told Reuters on Thursday. Saif al-Islam has been nursing injuries to his right hand which he says were sustained during a NATO airstrike weeks ago. No further details have been available on the state of his heavily bandaged thumb, index and middle fingers. ...
Whether they like it or not, Republican presidential candidates are joining New Hampshire's intensifying gay marriage debate.
They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli archaeologists Wednesday said they had found ancient coins that overturned widely-held beliefs about the origins of Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites. For centuries, many thought the wall was built by King Herod - also infamous, in the Christian tradition, for his efforts to hunt down the baby Jesus in the original Christmas story. But archaeologists said they had found coins buried under the wall's foundations minted 20 years after King Herod's death in 4 B.C., showing the structure was completed by his successors. ...
MONTREAL (Reuters) - A Canadian consortium aiming to buy the operator of the country's largest exchanges said the C$3.8 billion deal would likely win regulatory approval, its hopes boosted by a first day of hearings on Thursday. In an appearance before regulators in the French-speaking province of Quebec, Maple Group defended its proposal to buy TMX Group against criticism it would create a monopoly and squash competition. Maple is comprised of 13 of Canada's most powerful financial institutions. "There was nothing there that was troubling for us, they were completely understandable questions. ...
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At the peak of the United States's war in Iraq, the U.S. military had more than 170,000 troops, 500 bases replete with tents and toilets, kitchens and motor pools, and an airline that flew hundreds of times a day across the country. Moving day has lasted more than a year. The U.S. withdrawal from Iraq after nearly nine years of war is believed to be one of the largest removal jobs in history. At the start of the year logistics experts calculated there were nearly 3 million pieces of equipment to be moved, from airplanes, helicopters and tanks to laptops and lights. ...
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is very concerned about the European debt crisis, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday in the latest comment by a senior Canadian government official about the problems in Europe. Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have repeatedly urged European officials to deal quickly with the crisis. "We're obviously very concerned about the situation in Europe," Harper told the House of Commons. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)
WARSAW (Reuters) - Lech Walesa will finally see his life made into a movie, more than three decades after the shipyard electrician launched the Solidarity union that helped topple communism in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda began filming the first biopic about Walesa, who remains a respected but controversial figure. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling told a public inquiry into British media standards on Thursday she was forced to move house because of tabloid harassment and had been made to feel like a hostage in her home after she gave birth. During two hours of evidence, Rowling revealed a note had been slipped into her young daughter's schoolbag by a journalist and that she had chased a paparazzo photographer down the street when he tried to take a picture of her with her children. ...
ATHENS (Reuters) - For self-made businessman Dimitrios, the threats began with a phone call from a man who said they knew where his daughter was. At first the 57-year-old window installer kept quiet about the calls. When his car was torched in front of his house, he hid the blackened metal shell from his family. But when he awoke to his wife's screams at a huge banner that had been strung across their street, he could no longer hide the truth. "I WANT MY MONEY BACK," the banner read. And Dimitrios knew the illegal loan shark to whom he owed thousands was not prepared to wait. ...
Crime and Trials News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The Three Men Were Accused of Throwing Molotov Cocktails at Authorities
The Three Men Were Accused of Throwing Molotov Cocktails at Authorities
Gov. John Kitzhaber's decision to stop executions angers many who say he is negating state law. By Winston Ross.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Wednesday asked a judge to sentence Michael Jackson's former doctor to the maximum four years in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction in the singer's 2009 death. In a separate court filing, defense attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray, 58, sought to convince Los Angeles trial judge Michael Pastor to sentence their client to probation. The dueling legal papers come in advance of a hearing on Tuesday at which Pastor will issue his sentence for Murray, who is currently in jail awaiting that court date. ...
Two Palestinians were sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for the murder of an American tourist near Jerusalem in December 2010, Israeli media reported.
One of the three American college students arrested during demonstrations in Egypt called home Wednesday and said he was being treated relatively well under the circumstances but denied doing anything wrong during a protest in Cairo, his family said.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A second Pennsylvania man has agreed to plead guilty to making harassing telephone calls to an attorney representing former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, court documents filed on Wednesday showed. Craig Christy, 48, submitted an agreement to an Anchorage court to plead guilty to the charges a day after his 20-year-old son, Shawn, agreed to a similar arrangement. ...
One of the nation's most baffling cold cases remains unresolved after a jury on Wednesday acquitted a New Jersey man of locking five teenagers in a vacant home in 1978 and burning them alive in retaliation for stealing his marijuana.
One of the three American college students arrested during demonstrations in Egypt called home Wednesday and said he was being treated relatively well but denied that he threw anything during a protest in Cairo, his father said.
DENVER (Reuters) - A convicted bank robber accused of a botched attempt to bomb a shopping mall near Columbine High School on the 12th anniversary of the school massacre has struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty in the case. An attorney for Earl Moore, 65, who pleaded not guilty in May to arson and explosives charges, filed notice on Tuesday in federal court disclosing that a settlement has been reached and asking a judge to set a date for Moore to enter his new plea. ...
U.S. authorities raided the compound of a breakaway Amish religious group Wednesday and arrested seven men on federal hate crime charges in haircutting attacks against Amish men and women.
Haunted by regret for allowing two men to be executed more than a decade ago, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber now says it'll never happen again on his watch.
A former Israeli soldier has begun serving her 4 1/2-year prison sentence for copying classified military documents and relaying them to a newspaper reporter.
A man was under police guard in hospital Wednesday after being arrested over the discovery of a suitcase stuffed with possibly up to Aus$1 million (US$977,000) in cash left at a Sydney cafe.
Yahoo! Contributor Network - Yahoo! News
As retailers fight to outdo each other in the annual Black Friday frenzy, here's a look at what happens when the season's killer deals turn deadly.
There's no doubt that New York City provides a fantastic backdrop for movies, but you could be walking through a location and not even be aware your favorite movie was shot there. Ten very popular locations across the city have had at least one well-known movie filmed there, so next time you walk through, impress your friends with your knowledge of movie trivia.
ANALYSIS | As soon as "Obamacare" passed, people began to speculate on whether or not the Supreme Court would shoot it down. It would become an easy game of prediction. All of the judges appointed by Democrats would uphold it. All of the Republican appointees would defeat it, right?
Business News Headlines - Yahoo! News
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro fell to seven-week lows on Friday as European officials failed to soothe investor fears that the euro zone's debt crisis could trigger a credit crunch if funding costs run out of control. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slid 1.4 percent on Friday, hitting a seven-week low. Japan's Nikkei inched up 0.1 percent after touching a fresh two-and-a-half-year low earlier on Friday. European shares fell for the sixth consecutive session in low volume on Thursday while Wall Street was shut for the Thanksgiving holiday. ...
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - France and Germany agreed on Thursday to stop arguing in public over whether the European Central Bank should do more to rescue the euro zone from a deepening sovereign debt crisis. President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti that they trusted the independent central bank and would not touch its inflation-fighting mandate when they propose changes of the European Union's treaty to achieve closer fiscal union. ...
TOKYO (Reuters) - The ex-CEO of Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp attended what he called a tense but civilized board meeting on Friday with the directors who had sacked him, and said all hoped the firm could avoid being delisted over the scandal engulfing it. But Michael Woodford, still an Olympus director despite being fired as CEO a month ago and blowing the whistle over the accounting scam, said there had been no talk of him returning to lead a clean-up of the once-proud maker of cameras and endoscopes. ...
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - AT&T said it would take a $4 billion charge in case its takeover of T-Mobile USA fails, a tacit recognition of the dwindling chances that the deal will get through U.S. regulators who say it would destroy jobs and curb competition. The U.S. telecommunications group and T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom, said they would continue to pursue anti-trust approval for the $39 billion takeover from the U.S. Department of Justice, but withdrew applications to the industry regulator, for now at least. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell for the sixth consecutive session in low volume on Thursday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel restated her position against changing the role of the European Central Bank to ease the euro zone debt crisis. The market trimmed gains after the comments by Merkel about the ECB as well as remarks that she remained opposed to the use of jointly issued euro bonds to combat the region's debt crisis. ...
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government approved on Friday SABMiller's A$11.5 billion ($11.2 billion) deal to acquire Foster's Group Ltd under foreign acquisitions laws, but imposed conditions requiring the company to keep brewing operations in Australia. The government approval is the final regulatory condition to be cleared ahead of the Foster's shareholders vote set for December 1, which is expected to pass the deal. ...
LISBON (Reuters) - Fitch downgraded Portugal's credit rating to junk status on Thursday, citing large fiscal imbalances, high debts and the risks to its EU-mandated austerity program from a worsening economic outlook. The ratings agency cut Portugal to BB+ from BBB-, which is still one notch higher than Moody's rating of Ba2. S&P still rates Portugal investment grade. Fitch said a deepening recession makes it "much more challenging" for the government to cut the budget deficit but it still expects fiscal goals to be met both this year and next. ...
MONTREAL (Reuters) - A Canadian consortium aiming to buy the operator of the country's largest exchanges said the C$3.8 billion deal would likely win regulatory approval, its hopes boosted by a first day of hearings on Thursday. In an appearance before regulators in the French-speaking province of Quebec, Maple Group defended its proposal to buy TMX Group against criticism it would create a monopoly and squash competition. Maple is comprised of 13 of Canada's most powerful financial institutions. "There was nothing there that was troubling for us, they were completely understandable questions. ...
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India threw open its $450 billion retail market to global supermarket giants on Thursday, approving its biggest reform in years that may boost sorely needed investment in Asia's third-largest economy. The world's largest retail group, Wal-Mart Stores Inc , and its rivals see India's retail sector as one of the last frontier markets, where a burgeoning middle-class still shops at local, family-owned merchants. ...
India is opening its $400 billion retail industry to global chains such as Wal-Mart in a move that could improve decrepit infrastructure that causes massive food waste in a country plagued by malnutrition and high inflation.
Portugal's efforts to climb out of its economic crisis suffered a double setback Thursday as its credit rating was downgraded to junk status and a major strike gave voice to broad public outrage over austerity measures that have squeezed living standards.
With winter fast approaching, the bailiffs of Budapest are in a race against the clock.
Writer J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller gave a London courtroom a vivid picture on Thursday of the anxiety, anger and fear produced by living in the glare of Britain's tabloid media, describing how press intrusion made them feel like prisoners in their own homes.
Germany deflected calls for the European Central Bank to play a bigger role in solving Europe's debt crisis but won the backing of France and Italy to unite the troubled 17-nation eurozone more closely.
Almost two years after an earthquake devastated Haiti, less than half of the $4.6 billion in pledged aid has been disbursed and political squabbling is threatening to bring coordinated reconstruction efforts to an abrupt halt.
India is opening its $400 billion retail industry to global chains such as Wal-Mart in a move that could improve decrepit infrastructure that causes massive food waste in a country plagued by malnutrition and high inflation.
The ousted chief executive of scandal-hit Olympus faced his fellow board members Friday over the cover-up of a massive loss, as three key figures implicated in the scheme quit the Japanese firm.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro fell to seven-week lows on Friday as European officials failed to soothe investor fears that the euro zone's debt crisis could trigger a credit crunch if funding costs run out of control. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slid 1.4 percent on Friday, hitting a seven-week low. Japan's Nikkei inched up 0.1 percent after touching a fresh two-and-a-half-year low earlier on Friday. European shares fell for the sixth consecutive session in low volume on Thursday while Wall Street was shut for the Thanksgiving holiday. ...
Australia's government on Friday approved brewer SABMiller's Aus$9.9 billion (US$9.62 billion) takeover of Foster's, on condition that management operations remain in the country.
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government approved on Friday SABMiller's A$11.5 billion ($11.2 billion) deal to acquire Foster's Group Ltd under foreign acquisitions laws, but imposed conditions requiring the company to keep brewing operations in Australia. The government approval is the final regulatory condition to be cleared ahead of the Foster's shareholders vote set for December 1, which is expected to pass the deal. ...
"When they find out how to burn water, And the gasoline car is gone. When an airplane flies without any fuel, And the sunlight heats our home. One of these days when the air clears up, And the sun comes shinin' through. We'll all be drinkin' free bubble-up, An' eatin' that rainbow stew." -- Merle Haggard: Rainbow [...]
TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index fell to a seven-week low on Thursday as resource-related issues slid after a meeting of European leaders failed to stem market fears about the euro zone debt crisis. Energy and materials were the main drags on the index, each falling nearly 1 percent, as oil and gas producers and gold miners were hit by fears of a slowdown in Europe. Enbridge Inc fell 2.8 percent to C$35.11 and Barrick Gold slumped 1.4 percent to C$49.55 to lead their respective sector's losses. ...
Economy News Headlines - Yahoo! News
(Reuters) - The U.S. holiday shopping season was in full-swing on Thursday, with retailers hoping consumers will spend big despite worries about the fragile economy and their own precarious finances. Stores looking to grab as big a piece as possible of what is expected to be a middling holiday shopping season pushed post-Thanksgiving openings into Thursday evening, getting an early start on "Black Friday," the traditional start to the U.S. holiday shopping season. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will spend up to 1 billion pounds on employment subsidies and other support to help young people into work as youth unemployment hits record levels, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Friday. More than one million young people aged 16-24 are out of work in Britain, official data showed last week, with companies holding back from hiring as the economy threatens to tip back into recession after barely growing over the past 12 months. ...
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India threw open its $450 billion retail market to global supermarket giants on Thursday, approving its biggest reform in years that may boost sorely needed investment in Asia's third-largest economy. The world's largest retail group, Wal-Mart Stores Inc , and its rivals see India's retail sector as one of the last frontier markets, where a burgeoning middle-class still shops at local, family-owned merchants. ...
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's statistics agency will end its long-running practice of releasing key employment and inflation data at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) as of April - to the great relief of journalists and economists from coast to coast. Starting next April, Statistics Canada will move the release time of monthly data on jobless numbers and inflation to 8:30 a.m., an official said on Thursday. The change means that all economic data from the federal agency will now be released at 8:30 a.m. ...
(Reuters) - The holiday shopping season is in full swing on Thursday, with retailers hoping consumers will spend big despite worries about the fragile economy and their own precarious finances. The shopping period has been underway for some time as retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Toys R Us started early by offering layaway programs. But shoppers are looking for major bargains and retail executives are predicting a more competitive season than 2010. An Old Navy store in Watchung, New Jersey, was teeming with shoppers on Thursday morning, while a line outside a Best Buy in Union, N.J. ...
Portugal's efforts to climb out of its economic crisis suffered a double setback Thursday as its credit rating was downgraded to junk status and a major strike gave voice to broad public outrage over austerity measures that have squeezed living standards.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Wednesday's failed bond auction in Germany may mark the moment the penny dropped for Berlin. That, at least, is the hope of some of its European partners. While Greece, Ireland and Portugal have had to suffer the ignominy of taking bailouts from the EU and IMF, and Spain, Italy and France are now firmly in the firing line, Europe's most powerful economy has remained above the fray. ...
European stock markets closed mostly lower Thursday, slipping back from a modest technical rebound made as a strong survey of German business confidence helped sentiment amid the eurozone debt gloom.
Europe's major stock markets resumed their long losing streak Thursday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed calls for the European Central Bank to play a bigger role in resolving the debt crisis that's threatening the 17-country eurozone.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India threw open its $450 billion retail market to global supermarket giants on Thursday, approving its biggest reform in years that may boost sorely needed investment in Asia's third-largest economy. The world's largest retail group, Wal-Mart Stores Inc , and its rivals see India's retail sector as one of the last frontier markets, where a burgeoning middle-class still shops at local, family-owned merchants. ...
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's economy is likely to continue its strong recovery next year from a decade of decline to expand by 9.4 percent, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday, but a hike in mining royalties could impede growth. Biti said in a budget speech that agriculture and mining would be the main drivers of growth in the economy, which is projected to expand by 9.3 percent this year. ...
LISBON (Reuters) - Fitch downgraded Portugal's credit rating to junk status on Thursday, citing large fiscal imbalances, high debts and the risks to its EU-mandated austerity program from a worsening economic outlook. The ratings agency cut Portugal to BB+ from BBB-, which is still one notch higher than Moody's rating of Ba2. S&P still rates Portugal investment grade. Fitch said a deepening recession makes it "much more challenging" for the government to cut the budget deficit but it still expects fiscal goals to be met both this year and next. ...
Taiwan's economy grew a slower-than-expected 3.42 percent in the July-September period as overseas demand weakens and private investment shrinks.
DUBAI (Reuters) - After months of evasion, procrastination and defiance, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh had one more surprise up his sleeve: he signed a Gulf accord which, on paper at least, stripped him of his powers. Yemenis now turn to just how the deal will be implemented to secure the dismantling of the rule of the 69-year-old whose iron grip enmeshed his family, friends and allies in the nation's military, business and economy. ...
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar recovered slightly against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors took profits on the sharp U.S. dollar rally in the previous session on fears the euro zone crisis was spreading to Germany. The Canadian dollar also skidded to a seven-week low against the U.S. currency on Wednesday after a weak German bond auction rang alarm bells about Europe's biggest economy. "(Short covering) was the core story across a lot of currency pairs through Asia and through the London session this morning that we saw profit taking generally on the big (U.S. ...
Stock Markets News Headlines - Yahoo! News
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro fell to seven-week lows on Friday as European officials failed to soothe investor fears that the euro zone's debt crisis could trigger a credit crunch if funding costs run out of control. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slid 1.4 percent on Friday, hitting a seven-week low. Japan's Nikkei inched up 0.1 percent after touching a fresh two-and-a-half-year low earlier on Friday. European shares fell for the sixth consecutive session in low volume on Thursday while Wall Street was shut for the Thanksgiving holiday. ...
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's stock index reached its lowest level in almost eight years on Thursday, Reuters data showed, as persistent global risk aversion keeps money out of frontier equities. The all-share index hit an intra-day low of 19,961.18 points, the lowest since December 24, 2003. Traders said funds have been moving out of Nigerian equity markets and into fixed income, where yields have improved on the back of a series of central bank interest rate hikes this year. "The negative sentiment has largely muted any sort of attractive valuations in the market ... ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's lowered Egypt's credit rating on Thursday, saying the political and economic outlook had deteriorated following violence that has killed 39 people in five days. S&P said it had cut the country's foreign and local currency rating to B+ from BB- with a negative outlook. It affirmed the B short-term rating. "The downgrade reflects our opinion that Egypt's weak political and economic profile...has deteriorated further," the agency said in a statement. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks suffered a sixth straight day of losses on Wednesday as frustration over the euro zone's debt crisis, coupled with weak Chinese factory data, further dented investor sentiment. A weak German bond sale sparked fears the debt crisis was even beginning to threaten Berlin, with the leaders of France and Germany still at odds over a longer-term structural solution. The poor demand for German government bonds showed that investors viewed investing in the euro zone as being too risky. ...
Fear that Europe's debt crisis is infecting Germany, the strongest economy in the region, sent stocks reeling Wednesday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks suffered a sixth straight day of losses on Wednesday as frustration over the euro zone's debt crisis, coupled with weak Chinese factory data, further dented investor sentiment. A weak German bond sale sparked fears the debt crisis was even beginning to threaten Berlin, with the leaders of France and Germany still at odds over a longer-term structural solution. The poor demand for German government bonds showed that investors viewed investing in the euro zone as being too risky. ...
There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on November 16, CF Industries Holdings Inc's Director, Robert G. Kuhbach, invested $42,251.07 into 250 shares of CF, for a cost per share of $169.00. Bargain hunters tend to pay particular attention to insider buys like this one, because presumably the only reason an insider would take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock of their company in the open market, is that they expect to make money.
There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on August 5, Tupperware Brands Corp's Director, Bob Marbut, invested $287,581.72 into 5,058 shares of TUP, for a cost per share of $56.86. [...]
There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on August 19, First Financial Bancorp 's Director, Knapke Murph, invested $184,258.00 into 12,500 shares of FFBC, for a cost per share of $14.74. Bargain hunters tend to pay particular attention to insider buys like this one, because presumably the only reason an insider would take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock of their company in the open market, is that they expect to make money.
There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on September 26, Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd.'s Group Controller, George Anthony Carbonar, invested $167,348.00 into 10,000 shares of MRH, for a cost per share of $16.73. Bargain hunters tend to pay particular attention to insider buys like this one, because presumably the only reason an insider would take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock of their company in the open market, is that they expect to make money.
There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on August 18, Sonus Networks, Inc.'s Director, Scott E. Schubert, invested $11,400.00 into 5,000 shares of SONS, for a cost per share of [...]
There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on September 14, Hyatt Hotels Corp's Director, Byron D. Trott, invested $653,000.00 into 20,000 shares of H, for a cost per share of $32.65. Bargain hunters tend to pay particular attention to insider buys like this one, because presumably the only reason an insider would take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock of their company in the open market, is that they expect to make money.
Earnings News Headlines - Yahoo! News
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's HTC Corp cut its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter to no growth over the same period a year earlier from around 20 percent to 30 percent year on year growth previously, surprising the market and sending its shares tumbling 7 percent. The world's No.4 smartphone maker has been facing a slowdown in shipment growth in the second half of this year after growth more than doubled in the first half, as competition from bigger rival such as Apple Inc and Samsung intensifies and the global economy weakens. ...
Assuming that recent history repeats itself, investors could see strong upside when publicly-traded industrial equipment and systems manufacturers announce fourth quarter earnings early next year. What specific industrial equities stand to benefit the most?
LONDON (Reuters) - The typical annual salary in Britain fell 2.1 percent in real terms in the year to April compared to the previous 12 months as pay rises failed to keep up with inflation, official data showed on Wednesday. Median annual earnings for full-time workers rose 1.4 percent to 26,200 pounds in the tax year ending on April 5, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in its annual survey of hours and earnings. By contrast, the average rate of consumer price inflation in the year between April 2010 and March 2011 stood at 3.5 percent. ...
In its latest earnings release, Deere's management noted strong growth will come from Asia and Canada in 2012, with European and Latin American sales expected to be flat.
(Reuters) - Deere & Co reported a 46 percent rise in quarterly earnings and projected "substantial growth" for 2012 amid strong global farming conditions and higher prices, sending its shares higher in an otherwise weak stock market. The world's largest farm machinery maker said hefty incomes of the world's farmers -- driving record 2011 results -- are expected to be stable in 2012. Demand for agricultural commodities, such as grain, will remain high. The company solidly outpaced analyst expectations in the fourth quarter as agricultural and turf equipment sales were stronger than expected. ...
(Reuters) - Shares of Pandora Media fell more than 10 percent on Wednesday after the online streaming music service company gave a muted fourth-quarter outlook. The company posted higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue after the market closed on Tuesday. Investors shrugged off that news and focused on broader concerns about the company's growth potential, given a flock of competitors as well as executives' remarks about fourth-quarter revenue. ...
Hibbett Sports recently reported an impressive 16% earnings surprise, pushing shares to a new all-time high.
JOHANNESBURG, NOV 23 - South African packaging manufacturer Nampak fell short of expectations with a 15 percent rise in full-year profit on Wednesday, hampered by slightly lower revenue in its home market. Nampak, which operates in 13 African countries, said diluted headline earnings per share totalled 170.1 cents in the year to end-September, compared with 147.7 cents a year earlier. A survey of six analysts had expected headline EPS, the main measure of profit in South Africa, to come in at 174.2 cents. Nampak shares were down 0. ...
JOHANNESBURG, NOV 23 - South African petrochemicals group Sasol expected sharply higher earnings for the six months to the end of December on higher oil prices, a weaker rand and improved operational performances, the group said on Wednesday. Sasol shares extended gains in late morning trade to be 1.60 percent higher, outperforming the Top-40 blue-chip index which was about one percent lower. ...
HARARE (Reuters) - Retail group OK Zimbabwe reported a 1,167 percent jump in first-half earnings, spurred by growing demand as the country's economy continued to recover from a decade-long slump. OK Zimbabwe's basic earnings per share was 0.38 cents in the six months to end-September, compared to 0.03 cents in the same period last year, financial results released by the company on Wednesday showed. After-tax profit was $3.9 million in the first half of the year, up from $322,000 registered during the same period of 2010. Revenue grew 61 percent to $185.6 million from $115 million previously. ...
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African consumer goods firm Tiger Brands Ltd posted a 13 percent increase in full-year earnings on Wednesday, helped by higher sales but said it anticipates a tough trading environment ahead. The maker of bread, breakfast cereal and energy drinks said headline earnings per share for the year to the end of September totalled 1,575 cents from 1,393 cents last year. Headline earnings are the main profit gauge in South Africa and exclude certain one-time and non-trading items. Revenue rose 5.8 percent 20.4 billion rand. ...
JOHANNESBURG, NOV 23 - South Africa's Illovo Sugar Ltd posted a 12 percent rise in first-half earnings on Wednesday helped by currency weakness and cost cutting but said output was still struggling to recover from a 2010 drought in KwaZulu-Natal province. Illovo, a unit of Associated British Foods, said diluted headline earnings per share for the six months to end-September totalled 62.9 cents compared with 56.2 cents in last year's sugar season. Headline earnings are the main profit gauge in South Africa and exclude certain one-time and non trading items. ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett Packard's new Chief Executive, Meg Whitman, passed her first test with investors, calming nerves and assuring Wall Street that the technology giant will be disciplined with its investments and focused on core operational improvements. But she faces an uphill task in completely winning over the hearts and wallets of investors, who cut their 2012 outlook after HP posted a 91 percent drop in quarterly earnings on weak computer and printer sales. ...
Medtronic Inc., the world's largest medical device maker, reported higher-than-expected earnings Tuesday as sales of newer devices helped make up for an ongoing slump in its best-selling heart and spine implants.
Pandora posted quarterly earnings that met analysts' expectations, but its stock dropped in after-hours trading. Pandora reported revenue of $75 million in the quarter ending in October, up 99% from the year-ago period and beating analysts estimates of $71.4 million. On a sequential basis that's up from $67 million in the [...]
Personal Finance News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The average rate on the 30-year mortgage hovered above the record low for a third straight week. But cheap mortgage rates have done little to boost home sales or refinancing.
The average rate on the 30-year mortgage stayed hovered above the record low for a third straight week. But cheap mortgage rates have done little to boost home sales or refinancing.
As part of her MoneyZen series, women and money expert Manisha Thakor highlights every day personal finance lessons that can be extracted from Jo Piazza's new book Celebrity, Inc.
Mortgage rates are at record lows, yet many home buyers are shunning loans. Do they know something you don't?
It's hard to admit to yourself that the smarts and know-how you bring to your work or business doesn't automatically carry over to your wallet or your 401k.
Against the backdrop of a growing student loan crisis, and increasing demands from #Occupy Wall Street and President Obama for student loan forgiveness, Kiplinger's Personal Finance just announced its annual "Best Values" in private post-secondary education. Kiplinger's named the private universities and liberal arts colleges that combine outstanding quality with [...]
Fixed mortgage rates have fallen to historic new lows for a fourth straight week and are likely to fall further.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pending sales of existing U.S. homes fell less than expected in August despite rock-bottom mortgage rates, underscoring the difficulties policymakers face in helping the struggling housing sector.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week, reflecting a jump in demand for home loan refinancing as mortgage rates dropped, an industry group said on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales and prices of new single-family U.S. homes fell in August despite historically low mortgage rates, underscoring the difficulties policymakers face in efforts to boost the moribund housing sector.
Mortgage rates have reached their lowest levels in six decades, making this the best time in most Americans' lives to buy or refinance a home. For people who qualify, today's rates could save thousands of dollars a year.
Fixed mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest levels in six decades. But few Americans can take advantage of the rates to refinance or buy a home.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Demand for U.S. home loans fell for a third straight week last week although mortgage rates fell to or near record lows, an industry group said on Wednesday.
One of the most frequent questions in today's housing market is "should I buy or should I rent?" Such a question is subject to the condition of the housing market you're shopping in, unemployment, foreclosure environment, mortgage rates and so much more. But, believe it or not, even in this recession-strung economy, some people are still able to afford multi-million dollar homes, which spawned the question of whether the same rent vs. buy conundrum applied to someone who is able to spend five figures each month for a roof over their head. ...
Business Press Releases News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Taxes News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Enjoy your sales tax free Internet shopping while you can. The tax collectors are closing in on the Web.
The head of British tennis says he is hopeful that a change in tax laws will stop international sports stars from turning their backs on competing in Britain.
Opposition to an unpopular property tax imposed to help secure bankruptcy-saving EU loans gathered pace in Greece on Wednesday ahead of a new general strike called by unions against austerity cuts.
(Reuters) - The trustee seeking money for victims of imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff has reached an agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to recover $326 million that was earlier transferred to the agency by Madoff's firm purportedly on behalf of foreign account holders, court documents showed. The settlement money will eventually be distributed to Madoff's customers who have valid claims, according to the court filing. ...
Australia's controversial tax on the country's mining industry, seen by Canberra as a critical economic reform, cleared a key hurdle Wednesday when it passed through the lower house of parliament.
Congress' failed deficit-cutting supercommittee has faded away, but the pressure on lawmakers to quickly confront a stack of expensive economic issues is only growing.
President Barack Obama dashed into politically important New Hampshire Tuesday, seeking to steal the spotlight from Republican presidential candidates and challenging GOP lawmakers back in Washington to stand by their anti-tax pledges on one big measure.
President Barack Obama sought to steal the spotlight from Republican presidential candidates Tuesday, challenging opposition lawmakers back in Washington to stand by their anti-tax pledges on one big measure.
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President Barack Obama challenged the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to vote next week to save an expiring payroll tax cut, a day after a high-profile effort to tackle huge U.S. deficits collapsed in acrimony. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll showing that Americans blamed Obama in part for the "super committee" failure underscored the challenges he faces to persuade voters he is the still the best steward of the economy. ...
President Barack Obama dashed into politically important New Hampshire Tuesday, seeking to steal the spotlight from Republican presidential candidates and challenging GOP lawmakers back in Washington to stand by their anti-tax pledges on one big measure.
President Barack Obama sought to steal the spotlight from Republican presidential candidates Tuesday challenging opposition lawmakers back in Washington to stand by their anti-tax pledges on one big measure.
President Barack Obama warned Tuesday a failure to extend a payroll tax break would hurt middle-class families, effectively daring congressional Republicans to increase taxes a year before the presidential election.
Confronting Republicans, President Barack Obama on Tuesday dashed into the home of the nation's first presidential primary, urging GOP lawmakers to support a payroll tax cut next week and stand by their own pledges not to increase taxes.
Targeting Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail, President Barack Obama is heading to New Hampshire, a political battleground, to begin a year-end push to extend payroll tax cuts.
A long-running war between Democrats and Republicans over Bush-era tax cuts doomed the debt supercommittee's chances of reaching a deal. Efforts to overhaul the tax code may await the same fate as both parties gear up to make taxes a central issue in the 2012 elections.
Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund
There is no place in the U.S. more expensive to smoke than New York City, where the taxes alone will set you back $5.85 per pack. Yet, addicts who visit Island Smokes, a "roll-your-own" cigarette shop in Chinatown, can walk out with an entire 10-pack carton for under $40, thanks to a yawning tax loophole that officials in several states are now trying to close.
Protesting power and municipal workers blockaded several state electricity company buildings around Greece Monday, in protest at an emergency property tax being collected through electricity bills.
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government is set to pass laws for its 30 percent mining profits tax later this week after agreeing to lift the starting threshold and promising more scrutiny of coal seam gas projects in a deal to win support from three key independents. But the changes, which will cost about A$20 million a year in lost government revenue, have upset the Greens, whose support is needed to pass the laws, and done little to allay concerns of small and mid-tier mining companies. ...
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government is set to pass laws for its 30 percent mining profits tax later this week after agreeing to lift the starting threshold and promising more scrutiny of coal seam gas projects in a deal to win support from three key independents.
Marketplace News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Microsoft has announced that it has inked a deal to acquire video searching startup VideoSurf in a bid to improve searching for entertainment content across its Xbox Live platform. By integrating VideoSurf's technology, users will be able to search for a term (say, "Spider-Man") and pull up unified results across games, the Zune marketplace, TV and film entertainment, and potentially even entertainment content from third-party providers like Netflix, Hulu, or Comcast.
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The American Medical Association added pressure on states to steer toward the system that opens doors to all insurers who meet minimum standards as they build up their health insurance exchanges. The influential doctors group on Tuesday put its weight behind the so-called "open marketplace" structure of a health insurance exchange, as opposed to a model called "active purchasers." In the latter, a state would act much like a large employer and vet bids from insurers who want to participate. ...
World News Headlines - Yahoo! News
A small airplane slammed into a sheer cliff in the mile-high mountains east of Phoenix and exploded, killing the six people onboard, including the pilot and his three young children who were to spend the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with him, authorities said.
She performed live in front of a television audience of millions week in and week out on Season 10 of "American Idol," but at the Detroit Lions/Green Bay Packers game on Thanksgiving, Lauren Alaina's nerves got the best of her as she flubbed the National Anthem.
TOKYO (Reuters) - The ex-CEO of Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp attended what he called a tense but civilized board meeting on Friday with the directors who had sacked him, and said all hoped the firm could avoid being delisted over the scandal engulfing it. But Michael Woodford, still an Olympus director despite being fired as CEO a month ago and blowing the whistle over the accounting scam, said there had been no talk of him returning to lead a clean-up of the once-proud maker of cameras and endoscopes. ...
Writer J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller gave a London courtroom a vivid picture on Thursday of the anxiety, anger and fear produced by living in the glare of Britain's tabloid media, describing how press intrusion made them feel like prisoners in their own homes.
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown.
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - AT&T said it would take a $4 billion charge in case its takeover of T-Mobile USA fails, a tacit recognition of the dwindling chances that the deal will get through U.S. regulators who say it would destroy jobs and curb competition. The U.S. telecommunications group and T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom, said they would continue to pursue anti-trust approval for the $39 billion takeover from the U.S. Department of Justice, but withdrew applications to the industry regulator, for now at least. ...
A prominent Egyptian-born U.S. columnist said local police sexually assaulted, beat and blindfolded her after she was detained Thursday near Tahrir Square during clashes, leaving her left arm and right hand broken and in casts.
Arizona is taking on immigration once again, with state lawmakers collecting donations from the public to put fencing along every inch of the state's porous Mexican border in a first-of-its-kind effort.
Russia on Thursday announced its scientists had for the first time made contact with its stranded Mars probe Phobos-Grunt, a day after the European Space Agency said it had received a signal.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A nuclear-powered rover as big as a compact car is set to begin a nine-month journey to Mars this weekend to learn if the planet is or ever was suitable for life. The launch of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory aboard an unmanned United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is set for 10:02 a.m. EST (1502 GMT) on Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located just south of the Kennedy Space Center. ...
(Reuters) - Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords served a Thanksgiving meal on Thursday to Air Force personnel in her first constituent event since she was shot in the head in January, her office said. Giffords dished out turkey with tongs as she stood between Brigadier General Jon Norman and her husband Mark Kelly, said Giffords' spokesman Mark Kimble. The event at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was expected to draw more than 400 people, mostly U.S. Air Force personnel, retired service members and their families. Giffords was shot on January 8 at an event for constituents at a Tucson supermarket. ...
Most Americans spent Thanksgiving snug inside homes with families and football. Others used the holiday to give thanks alongside strangers at outdoor Occupy encampments, serving turkey or donating their time in solidarity with the anti-Wall Street movement that has gripped a nation consumed by economic despair.
Around 6,000 people were evacuated Thursday after an explosion at a chemical plant near the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, state media reported.
A court in Egypt has ordered the release of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo, a lawyer in Philadelphia confirmed Thursday.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Wednesday's failed bond auction in Germany may mark the moment the penny dropped for Berlin. That, at least, is the hope of some of its European partners. While Greece, Ireland and Portugal have had to suffer the ignominy of taking bailouts from the EU and IMF, and Spain, Italy and France are now firmly in the firing line, Europe's most powerful economy has remained above the fray. ...
Spectators cheered and sang on Thursday as the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade made its way through the crowded streets of Manhattan beneath brilliant sunshine.
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government approved on Friday SABMiller's A$11.5 billion ($11.2 billion) deal to acquire Foster's Group Ltd under foreign acquisitions laws, but imposed conditions requiring the company to keep brewing operations in Australia. The government approval is the final regulatory condition to be cleared ahead of the Foster's shareholders vote set for December 1, which is expected to pass the deal. ...
Egypt's military rulers rejected protester demands for them to step down immediately and said Thursday they would start the first round of parliamentary elections on time next week, despite serious unrest in Cairo and other cities.
President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to temper his calls for the European Central Bank to play a bigger role in solving Europe's debt crisis as he agreed to a German effort to unite the troubled 17-nation eurozone more closely.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Suspected drug gang hitmen murdered at least 26 people and dumped their bodies in the center of Mexico's second city of Guadalajara on Thursday as a showdown between rival drug gangs intensified. The bodies were found in several vans abandoned around the western city's iconic Millennium Arches monument, together with a message from drug cartels. An official with the attorney-general's office said the death toll could rise beyond the 26 confirmed so far. ...
Russia threatened on Wednesday to deploy missiles to target the U.S. missile shield in Europe if Washington fails to assuage Moscow's concerns about its plans, a harsh warning that reflected deep cracks in U.S.-Russian ties despite President Barack Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with the Kremlin.
After more than eight years in Iraq, the departing American military's legacy includes a fledgling democracy, bitter memories of war, and for the nation's youth, rap music, tattoos and slang.
They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.
Yemen's authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed Wednesday to step down amid a fierce uprising to oust him after 33 years in power. The U.S. and its powerful Gulf allies pressed for the deal, concerned that a security collapse in the impoverished Arab nation was allowing an active al-Qaida franchise to gain a firmer foothold.
LISBON (Reuters) - Fitch downgraded Portugal's credit rating to junk status on Thursday, citing large fiscal imbalances, high debts and the risks to its EU-mandated austerity program from a worsening economic outlook. The ratings agency cut Portugal to BB+ from BBB-, which is still one notch higher than Moody's rating of Ba2. S&P still rates Portugal investment grade. Fitch said a deepening recession makes it "much more challenging" for the government to cut the budget deficit but it still expects fiscal goals to be met both this year and next. ...
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria faces a Friday deadline to sign an Arab deal allowing monitors into the country or incur sanctions over its crackdown on protests including halting flights, curbing trade and stopping deals with the central bank. Arab foreign ministers warned in Cairo that unless Syria agreed to let the monitors in to assess progress of an Arab League plan to end eight months of bloodshed, officials would consider imposing sanctions on Saturday. ...
The Three Men Were Accused of Throwing Molotov Cocktails at Authorities
Middle East News Headlines - Yahoo! News
A string of bombings in a southern oil city killed 19 people Thursday evening and injured dozens more, a grim sign of the security challenges Iraq will face after American troops go home.
A prominent Egyptian-born U.S. columnist said local police sexually assaulted, beat and blindfolded her after she was detained Thursday near Tahrir Square during clashes, leaving her left arm and right hand broken and in casts.
Egypt's military rulers rejected protester demands for them to step down immediately and said Thursday they would start the first round of parliamentary elections on time next week, despite serious unrest in Cairo and other cities.
A U.S.-backed deal for Yemen's authoritarian president to step down fell far short of the demands of protesters who fought regime supporters on the streets of Sanaa Thursday in clashes that left five dead.
It should be a moment of excitement: Moroccans are choosing a parliament in elections Friday prompted by the Arab Spring's clamor for freedom.
Two female foreign journalists on Thursday described harrowing sexual assaults carried out by crowds or police as they tried to cover demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
American troops marked their last Thanksgiving in Iraq Thursday with turkey, stuffing and a rocket fire alarm.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered a probe after his loyalists killed five people in Sanaa on Thursday, a day after he signed a deal to immediately hand all "necessary" powers to his deputy.
Rival Palestinian leaders on Thursday held their first detailed talks on reconciliation since the Islamic militant Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip more than four years ago, declaring they made progress toward sharing power but failing to resolve key issues.
In a 500-page report detailing widespread abuses in Bahrain's crackdowns, it's a brief section on Iran that has brought the strongest pushback Thursday in the Gulf kingdom — authorities clinging to their claims that Tehran had a role in the Shiite-led uprising despite the report's findings.
An Arab League committee on Thursday gave Syria 24 hours to agree to allow an observer mission into the country, or it could face sanctions that include stopping financial dealings and freezing assets.
Libya's transitional leaders swore on a Quran to uphold the ideals of the revolution that toppled Moammar Gadhafi as they took their oaths of office Thursday, another key step in the country's hoped-for march toward democracy.
Eleven members of Syria's security forces and two deserters were killed in clashes on Thursday in the flashpoint province of Homs, where at least four civilians also died, activists said.
The long-estranged leaders of the two rival Palestinian political movements said Thursday they significantly narrowed differences and opened a new page in relations in reconciliation talks in Cairo.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh's agreement to step down failed to halt anti-government demonstrations or prevent violence Thursday as regime supporters killed five protesters demanding that the ousted leader be put on trial for crimes ranging from corruption to bloodshed during the current uprising.
Europe News Headlines - Yahoo! News
British patients will soon take part in a trial of a Cuban-designed therapeutic lung cancer vaccine, the first of its kind, a company executive announced.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will spend up to 1 billion pounds on employment subsidies and other support to help young people into work as youth unemployment hits record levels, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Friday. More than one million young people aged 16-24 are out of work in Britain, official data showed last week, with companies holding back from hiring as the economy threatens to tip back into recession after barely growing over the past 12 months. ...
Police in northern Germany have used water cannons against demonstrators gearing up for the arrival of a shipment of nuclear waste from France.
Portugal's efforts to climb out of its economic crisis suffered a double setback Thursday as its credit rating was downgraded to junk status and a major strike gave voice to broad public outrage over austerity measures that have squeezed living standards.
LONDON (Reuters) - "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling told a public inquiry into British media standards on Thursday she was forced to move house because of tabloid harassment and had been made to feel like a hostage in her home after she gave birth. During two hours of evidence, Rowling revealed a note had been slipped into her young daughter's schoolbag by a journalist and that she had chased a paparazzo photographer down the street when he tried to take a picture of her with her children. ...
For some reason, Scandinavia is not its frigid self, with unusually warm weather delaying the onset of winter in northern latitudes normally decked in white.
LONDON (Reuters) - The charred buildings damaged in last August's riots stand out like black teeth on Woolwich's central square, a stark image made all the more gruesome as the area in east London has been given a makeover in time for next year's Olympics. The burnt shops lie in walking distance of the Royal Artillery Barracks, one of three Olympic venues in the borough of Greenwich. But while the scars inflicted three months ago remain, locals are already turning their attention to next summer. ...
Defending champion Roger Federer maintained his 100 percent record at this year's ATP World Tour Finals by completing his group fixtures with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over America's Mardy Fish on Thursday.
Shares in London closed lower on Thursday, slipping back from a modest technical rebound made as a strong survey of German business confidence helped sentiment amid the eurozone debt gloom.
PARIS (Reuters) - The French may scoff at British cooking and fashion, but retailer Marks & Spencer reckons Parisians are yearning for its ready-made chicken tikka masala, gourmet chutney and sensible knickers. The veteran British retailer opened a flagship store on Paris's Champs-Elysees on Thursday after a decade's absence from French soil, bringing the taste and feel of Britain to a city that sees itself as a world capital of food and good living. ...
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Toyota will invest 265 million euros (228 million pounds) in Europe to build the next generation of its Auris compact hatchback in the UK and a compact saloon in Turkey, adding up to 1,900 new jobs in total. "This announcement ... is in line with our plan to increase local production for cars sold in Europe," Didier Leroy, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, said in a statement on Thursday. ...
A "shattered" Rob Andrew, admitted Thursday he'd should have given England manager Martin Johnson more support but insisted he too would not be resigning after a shambolic World Cup campaign.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling lambasted Britain's press on Thursday for invading her children's privacy, telling an inquiry that a journalist even slipped a letter into her daughter's schoolbag.
Belarus' leading human rights activist was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on Thursday at a trial condemned by U.S. and European Union officials as politically motivated.
Brian Smith stepped down as England attack coach on Thursday, just a day after highly critical remarks about his performance at the World Cup were leaked to The Times newspaper.
Shares in London weakened on Thursday after a modest early rebound boosted by a surprisingly strong survey of German business confidence helped sentiment amid the eurozone debt gloom.
Latin America News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The bound and gagged bodies of 26 young men were found dumped Thursday in the heart of Mexico's second-largest city, in what experts said could mark a new stage in the full-scale war between the country's two main drug cartels, Sinaloa and the Zetas.
The bound and gagged bodies of 23 men were found before dawn Thursday in the heart of Guadalajara, a sign that full-scale war between drug cartels may have come to the picturesque western city that hosted last month's Pan American Games.
In the battle-scarred slum of Tivoli Gardens, Latoya Brown lavishes thanks on two powerful men who have taken care of her: a former top politician and a drug kingpin.
Mexican federal prosecutors said Tuesday they are opening an investigation into a taped telephone conversation in which a reputed drug cartel leader purportedly threatens residents of a town in western Mexico to vote in favor of one candidate.
Chilean police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators who protested an event honoring a former military officer imprisoned for killings and other abuses committed during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
Police in Chile have clashed with demonstrators protesting an event that honored an former military officer imprisoned for killings during the rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet.
Africa News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Egyptian activists called for fresh mass protests in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to army rule, even as the military vowed to prevent unrest from disrupting elections next week.
Gambia's long-serving President Yahya Jammeh brushed aside criticism that Thursday's presidential poll in the tiny nation was skewed in his favour, on a peaceful day of voting in which he is sure of victory.
Egyptian activists called for fresh mass protests in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to army rule, even as the country's military rulers vowed to prevent spiralling unrest from disrupting elections next week.
A gang kidnapped two French nationals at gunpoint from their hotel in the Malian desert Thursday, local security sources said, the latest in a string of abductions of foreigners in the troubled region.
Two grenade attacks Thursday in the eastern Kenyan town of Garissa close to the border with Somalia killed three people and injured 27, police said.
Dropping marbles into the container for their candidate, Gambians voted Thursday in an election expected to keep their president of 17 years in power. Regional observers boycotted the poll, citing repression and intimidation.
Libya's new transitional government was sworn in on Thursday tasked with uniting the war-ravaged country and paving the way to a new constitution and general elections in seven months.
A purported spokesman for Islamist sect Boko Haram claimed on Thursday that the group, blamed for attacks including the suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Nigeria, has links with Al-Qaeda.
Madagascar's former president Didier Ratsiraka returned home on Thursday, ending a nine-year exile in France, and urged reconciliation to resolve the country's long-running political crisis.
It would be any schoolboy's dream: hundreds of thousands of clinking glass marbles at the ready for a high-stakes contest. But this is no game, it is Gambia's presidential poll and the marble is the ballot.
Zimbabwe's government expects to take in $600 million in additional revenue from diamond sales next year, after a global watchdog lifted its ban on exports, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has called British Prime Minister David Cameron "satanic" for his support of gay rights, in a speech railing at Western influence in the country, state media said on Thursday.
Libya has told the International Criminal Court it wants to try Seif al-Islam, the captured son of ousted leader Moamer Kadhafi, in accordance with Libyan law, according to a letter seen by AFP.
An overnight curfew has been declared across the central Tunisian mining region of Gafsa, in the wake of violence that began late Wednesday over job hiring, the TAP news agency reported on Thursday.
In this maze of windowless tin shacks, school classes are often held outside because even in daytime it's too dark to see the blackboard. Now a youth group is hoping some 2-liter plastic bottles filled with water and bleach can brighten Kenya's slums.
Kenya said on Thursday its warplanes destroyed two Islamist insurgent bases in neighbouring Somalia, but a bomb back on home soil killed a soldier and wounded four others.
Asia News Headlines - Yahoo! News
An Indonesian court Friday sentenced a 14-year-old Australian boy to two months in jail on the resort island of Bali, where he was caught with nearly seven grams of marijuana.
Concrete towers rise over the African bush, as the continent's largest coal-fired power station takes shape in a multi-billion-dollar testament to developing nations' love affair with coal.
Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who tried to leave the country on medical grounds while the government scrambled to file charges against her, is well enough to leave the hospital where she was arrested last week, she and her doctors agree.
In one of the oddest examples of golfing synchronicity, good friends John Senden and Greg Chalmers have each had a hole-in-one at the Australian PGA — on consecutive days, from the same group and on the same hole.
One of three South Korean men missing for more than a month in the lawless southern Philippines has been found alive, but the fate of his two companions remains unknown, officials said Friday.
A top Australian BMX rider has died from massive injuries he sustained while apparently trying to leap from a balcony into a swimming pool.
The popularity of Twitter has soared in the Arab world over the past year, a study has revealed, reflecting the key role of the social networking site in the "Arab Spring" revolutions.
Former U.S. PGA champion Y.E. Yang has taken a one-stroke clubhouse lead at the Australian PGA on Friday with a 4-under-par 68 in ideal scoring conditions.
Hundreds of firefighters pinned their hopes on cooler weather Friday as they battled a large and unpredictable blaze which has destroyed at least 34 properties including a historic house.
The ex-chairman of Olympus has quit along with two other former executives amid a loss cover-up scandal, the company said, triggered by the sacking of the Japanese camera firm's British chief executive.
Japan's core consumer prices edged down 0.1 percent in October from a year earlier in line with market expectations, government data showed Friday.
North Korea threatened Thursday to turn South Korea's presidential palace into a "sea of fire" in response to any provocation, a day after Seoul's military held a big exercise near the border.
Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition is set to formalise its return to Myanmar's political arena on Friday, when it will apply to re-register as a political party, an official said.
Europe's major stock markets resumed their long losing streak Thursday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed calls for the European Central Bank to play a bigger role in resolving the debt crisis that's threatening the 17-country eurozone.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday accused NATO-led international forces of killing up to seven civilians, most of them children, in an air strike in the south.
India's government announced on Thursday it was throwing open the nation's huge retail sector to global supermarket chains in a reform that could herald a consumer revolution.
Around 6,000 people were evacuated Thursday after an explosion at a chemical plant near the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, state media reported.
Canada News Headlines - Yahoo! News
(Reuters) - Canadian farmers earned nearly 11 percent more during the first nine months of 2011 than they did in the year-before period, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday. Farm cash receipts, which include market receipts from the sale of crops and livestock plus government program payments, climbed 10.9 percent to C$35.8 billion ($34.1 billion) between January and September. Breaking down that total, crop receipts rose 15 percent to C$18.3 billion due to higher grain and oilseed prices, while livestock receipts climbed 6.3 percent to C$15 billion. ...
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's statistics agency will end its long-running practice of releasing key employment and inflation data at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) as of April - to the great relief of journalists and economists from coast to coast. Starting next April, Statistics Canada will move the release time of monthly data on jobless numbers and inflation to 8:30 a.m., an official said on Thursday. The change means that all economic data from the federal agency will now be released at 8:30 a.m. ...
TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index fell to a seven-week low on Thursday as resource-related issues slid after a meeting of European leaders failed to stem market fears about the euro zone debt crisis. Energy and materials were the main drags on the index, each falling nearly 1 percent, as oil and gas producers and gold miners were hit by fears of a slowdown in Europe. Enbridge Inc fell 2.8 percent to C$35.11 and Barrick Gold slumped 1.4 percent to C$49.55 to lead their respective sector's losses. ...
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Ontario government cut its growth, revenue and reserve targets on Wednesday, but said it was still on track to balance the budget in six years, without lowering total program spending or raising taxes. In its fall economic statement, the government of Canada's most populous province said the timetable for eliminating its 2011-12 deficit of C$16 billion ($15.2 billion) by 2017-18 remains intact, as do medium-term targets, despite pressures from economic turmoil in the United States and Europe. ...
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Global regulators must step up supervision of how so-called Basel III bank standards are implemented in order to ensure a level playing field among lenders, the head of Canada's banking watchdog said on Wednesday. Julie Dickson, who heads the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), said the regulator has been emphasizing internationally that capital rules must be accompanied by "intensive supervision" to be effective and that there was an effort underway to increase scrutiny. ...
TORONTO (Reuters) - City workers dismantled tents and cleared debris from a downtown park on Wednesday as part of a restrained, daylong operation by police to peacefully end a five-week encampment by Occupy Toronto protesters. Backed by a court order, police arrived at dawn at St. James Park, a few blocks from the city's financial district, and workers began taking down unoccupied structures and cleaning up the site. Many of the protesters who had camped in the park had already vacated the site, but most of those remaining let the dismantling proceed without interfering. ...
MONTREAL (Reuters) - European leaders need to act "this week, not next year" to fix their debt crisis, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday as fears grew that the crisis is starting to hit the big economies of Germany and France. In a stiff warning that described the sovereign debt crisis in Europe as "barely contained," Carney said the euro zone has the resources needed to clean up the mess, but has not provided enough details on how it plans to put those resources to use. ...
(Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd said on Wednesday it had won eight takeoff and landing slots at New York's LaGuardia Airport, a shot in arm for the carrier's plans to expand its service in the East. WestJet, Canada's second biggest airline, is locked in a battle for passengers in Eastern Canada and into the United States with No. 1 carrier Air Canada and smaller privately-owned rival Porter Airlines. Westjet is particularly keen to attract more business travelers, and a hub such as LaGuardia should broaden its appeal. ...
An Italian-Canadian man considered head of an organized crime group in Montreal was shot dead and his body recovered early Thursday, according to several Quebec media outlets.
TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index fell to a seven-week low on Thursday as resource-related issues slid after a meeting of European leaders failed to stem market fears about the euro zone debt crisis. Energy and materials were the main drags on the index, each falling nearly 1 percent, as oil and gas producers and gold miners were hit by fears of a slowdown in Europe. Enbridge Inc fell 2.8 percent to C$35.11 and Barrick Gold slumped 1.4 percent to C$49.55 to lead their respective sector's losses. ...
A heavy equipment operator unearthed what appears to be a nearly complete plesiosaur while digging in Canada's oil sands, Syncrude announced Thursday.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's statistics agency will end its long-running practice of releasing key employment and inflation data at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) as of April - to the great relief of journalists and economists from coast to coast. Starting next April, Statistics Canada will move the release time of monthly data on jobless numbers and inflation to 8:30 a.m., an official said on Thursday. The change means that all economic data from the federal agency will now be released at 8:30 a.m. ...
MONTREAL (Reuters) - A Canadian consortium aiming to buy the operator of the country's largest exchanges said the C$3.8 billion deal would likely win regulatory approval, its hopes boosted by a first day of hearings on Thursday. In an appearance before regulators in the French-speaking province of Quebec, Maple Group defended its proposal to buy TMX Group against criticism it would create a monopoly and squash competition. Maple is comprised of 13 of Canada's most powerful financial institutions. "There was nothing there that was troubling for us, they were completely understandable questions. ...
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is very concerned about the European debt crisis, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday in the latest comment by a senior Canadian government official about the problems in Europe. Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have repeatedly urged European officials to deal quickly with the crisis. "We're obviously very concerned about the situation in Europe," Harper told the House of Commons. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)
Campaigners on Thursday submitted a petition to Romania's parliament signed by 100,000 opponents of plans by a Canadian company to extract gold from Rosia Montana, in Transylvania.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Wednesday's failed bond auction in Germany may mark the moment the penny dropped for Berlin. That, at least, is the hope of some of its European partners. While Greece, Ireland and Portugal have had to suffer the ignominy of taking bailouts from the EU and IMF, and Spain, Italy and France are now firmly in the firing line, Europe's most powerful economy has remained above the fray. ...
ATHENS (Reuters) - For self-made businessman Dimitrios, the threats began with a phone call from a man who said they knew where his daughter was. At first the 57-year-old window installer kept quiet about the calls. When his car was torched in front of his house, he hid the blackened metal shell from his family. But when he awoke to his wife's screams at a huge banner that had been strung across their street, he could no longer hide the truth. "I WANT MY MONEY BACK," the banner read. And Dimitrios knew the illegal loan shark to whom he owed thousands was not prepared to wait. ...
(Reuters) - Canadian farmers earned nearly 11 percent more during the first nine months of 2011 than they did in the year-before period, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday. Farm cash receipts, which include market receipts from the sale of crops and livestock plus government program payments, climbed 10.9 percent to C$35.8 billion ($34.1 billion) between January and September. Breaking down that total, crop receipts rose 15 percent to C$18.3 billion due to higher grain and oilseed prices, while livestock receipts climbed 6.3 percent to C$15 billion. ...
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar recovered slightly against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors took profits on the sharp U.S. dollar rally in the previous session on fears the euro zone crisis was spreading to Germany. The Canadian dollar also skidded to a seven-week low against the U.S. currency on Wednesday after a weak German bond auction rang alarm bells about Europe's biggest economy. "(Short covering) was the core story across a lot of currency pairs through Asia and through the London session this morning that we saw profit taking generally on the big (U.S. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - German government bond yields hit their highest in nearly a month and world stocks held near 7-week lows Thursday, a day after a weak debt sale in Berlin fanned fears the euro zone debt crisis is starting to threaten its biggest > falling 115 ticks on the day to 134.66, the lowest since October 31. Ten-year German government bond yields rose as high as 2.14 percent compared with economy. ...
A Canadian porn star appearing in India's biggest reality TV show is causing a stir in the mostly conservative country where sex is taboo and open displays of affection are still frowned upon.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Global regulators must step up supervision of how so-called Basel III bank standards are implemented in order to ensure a level playing field among lenders, the head of Canada's banking watchdog said on Wednesday. Julie Dickson, who heads the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), said the regulator has been emphasizing internationally that capital rules must be accompanied by "intensive supervision" to be effective and that there was an effort underway to increase scrutiny. ...
Australia / Antarctica News Headlines - Yahoo! News
An Indonesian court Friday sentenced a 14-year-old Australian boy to two months in jail on the resort island of Bali, where he was caught with nearly seven grams of marijuana.
In one of the oddest examples of golfing synchronicity, good friends John Senden and Greg Chalmers have each had a hole-in-one at the Australian PGA — on consecutive days, from the same group and on the same hole.
John Senden and Greg Chalmers have each had a hole-in-one at the Australian PGA — on consecutive days, in the same group, on the same hole.
A top Australian BMX rider has died from massive injuries he sustained while apparently trying to leap from a balcony into a swimming pool.
Former U.S. PGA champion Y.E. Yang has taken a one-stroke clubhouse lead at the Australian PGA on Friday with a 4-under-par 68 in ideal scoring conditions.
Hundreds of firefighters pinned their hopes on cooler weather Friday as they battled a large and unpredictable blaze which has destroyed at least 34 properties including a historic house.
An Australian hospital was investigating Thursday after a woman carrying 32-week-old twins had the wrong foetus terminated in a botched procedure it called "a terrible tragedy".
Hot, dry conditions and high winds Thursday hampered fire crews as they battled to control bushfires raging through parched Western Australia state, destroying around 30 homes.
HAIKOU, China (Reuters) - Brendan Jones and Richard Green put Australia on top after the first day of golf's World Cup and hoped their performance would stir up interest in the event back home. The duo combined to record two eagles and seven birdies in an 11-under par 61 in the fourball format on the Blackstone course on China's Hainan Island, with Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell two back after a 63. Also on nine-under was Scotland's Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher. ...
Openside flanker David Pocock, one of the stand-out performers at the Rugby World Cup, will captain Australia for the first time against a strong Barbarians team at Twickenham here on Saturday.
HAIKOU, China (Reuters) - Brendan Jones and Richard Green put Australia on top after the first day of golf's World Cup and hoped their performance would stir up interest in the event back home. The duo combined to record two eagles and seven birdies in an 11-under par 61 in the fourball format on the Blackstone course on China's Hainan Island, with Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell two back after a 63. Also on nine-under was Scotland's Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher. ...
Steven Bowditch and Choi Joon-woo shot rounds of 6-under-par 66 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first day of the Australian PGA and outshine a strong field that includes British Open champion Darren Clarke and Americans Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - They are a silent army, formed in ranks inside clubs and hotels around Australia, desperately battling slot machines in the hope of winning an elusive jackpot. Australia has 197,000 slot machines, called "pokies," the highest number of machines per head in the world. Slot machines feed 62 percent of the A$19 billion-plus annual gaming sector. But the gamblers, largely working-class Australians, are on a collision course with the Labor government as it tries to tackle problem gambling, a battle that can impact Prime Minister Julia Gillard's political future. ...
Australia's Parliament elected an opposition lawmaker as its new House of Representatives speaker Thursday, an unprecedented move that actually strengthens Prime Minister Julia Gillard's tenuous grip on power.
Darren Clarke is looking to reclaim the form that propelled him to his first major at this year's British Open when the Australian PGA Championship tees off on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
(Reuters) - New Zealand's World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw has successfully undergone surgery on his injured foot but will almost certainly miss the start of the 2012 Super rugby season with the Canterbury Crusaders. The 30-year-old flanker, who played through the pain to help the All Blacks end their 24-year wait for a second World Cup on home soil, had surgery on Thursday to remove a screw that was inserted into his injured right foot earlier this year, the New Zealand Rugby Union said in a statement. "Richie's surgery today went very well. ...
A New Zealand scientist was sentenced to home detention Thursday for helping his terminally ill mother to die in an act a judge said was motivated by "compassion and love", rather than personal gain.
Lloyds Banking Group has sold distressed property loans in Australia and New Zealand worth US$1.75 billion to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the British state-rescued lender said on Thursday.
Entertainment News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Writer J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller gave a London courtroom a vivid picture on Thursday of the anxiety, anger and fear produced by living in the glare of Britain's tabloid media, describing how press intrusion made them feel like prisoners in their own homes.
It sounds like a tough sell for an evening out: Come relive the London riots.
Ruth Stone, an award-winning poet for whom tragedy halted, then inspired a career that started in middle age and thrived late in life as her sharp insights into love, death and nature received ever-growing acclaim, has died in Vermont. She was 96.
GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann received an apology from an NBC executive after an off-color song was played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night," her spokeswoman said late Wednesday.
While Harvey Weinstein has no plans to roar like the MGM lion before each of his movies, the Oscar-winning producer wants to turn the film studio bearing his family's name into a recognizable brand. His wish list includes branding on par with Facebook's F, Twitter's T and Apple's, well, apple.
"American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says don't expect any major changes when the hit Fox TV show returns in January after undergoing an extensive makeover last season.
Faye Dunaway is moving on from a fight with a landlord over a New York City apartment — by moving out.
The NC-17 rated "Shame" poses an intriguing test for the much-lamented rating and stands a chance of being one of the most notable adults-only releases since "Last Tango in Paris" or "Midnight Cowboy."
Author J.K. Rowling has told a U.K. media ethics inquiry she felt under siege from intrusive journalists who staked out her house and went as far as to slip a letter into her 5-year-old daughter's school bag.
It's Thanksgiving this week, a time to reflect on the people and things for which we're grateful. Since I love movies, I thought it would be a good time to choose five for which I'm thankful. These are the cinematic equivalent of comfort food, ones I can watch over and over again, and always rely on to make me laugh, lift me up or provide an escape. (The inclusion of anything by John Hughes goes without saying.)
Actress Sienna Miller told a media ethics inquiry Thursday that she was left paranoid and scared by years of relentless tabloid pursuit that ranged from paparazzi outside her house to the hacking of her mobile phone.
After more than eight years in Iraq, the departing American military's legacy includes a fledgling democracy, bitter memories of war, and for the nation's youth, rap music, tattoos and slang.
GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has received an apology from an NBC executive after an off-color song was played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night" show.
A judge extended a temporary restraining order Wednesday but refused to issue Selena Gomez a lengthier order against a man accused of stalking the singer-actress.
Court records show a financial settlement has been agreed upon between wrestler Terry Bollea — better known as Hulk Hogan — and his ex-wife.
GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann lashed out Wednesday at NBC for not apologizing or taking immediate disciplinary action for an off-color song played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night."
The parents of missing child Madeleine McCann called Wednesday for fundamental changes to Britain's media culture, saying they were left distraught by false stories and the publication of private information by a rapacious tabloid press.
Here are The Associated Press' reviews of selected box sets released this year:
Various Artists, "The Muppets Original Soundtrack" (Walt Disney Records)
Ruth Stone, an award-winning poet for whom tragedy halted, then inspired a career that started in middle age and thrived late in life as her sharp insights into love, death and nature received ever-growing acclaim, has died in the U.S. state of Vermont. She was 96.
Oscar winner Andrzej Wajda said Thursday that his new film on former Polish president and Solidarity founder Lech Walesa will be his greatest challenge in 55 years as a director.
Celebrity News Headlines - Yahoo! News
LONDON (Reuters) - "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling told a public inquiry into British media standards on Thursday she was forced to move house because of tabloid harassment and had been made to feel like a hostage in her home after she gave birth. During two hours of evidence, Rowling revealed a note had been slipped into her young daughter's schoolbag by a journalist and that she had chased a paparazzo photographer down the street when he tried to take a picture of her with her children. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Actress Sienna Miller said on Thursday she had been placed under a "web of surveillance" by a tabloid newspaper which listened into her messages and read emails, prompting her to accuse family and friends of leaking stories to the press. Appearing at the Leveson inquiry into media practices and ethics, the star of movies such as "Layer Cake" and "Alfie" said she had felt violated by the constant coverage of intimate details of her private life in the press. "(There was) this breeding of mistrust amongst all of us. Nobody could understand how this information was coming ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees Wednesday said he is on the road to recovery after being "very unwell" in recent days, and he thanked fans for their support in a message posted on his website. "I wish to thank my family, friends and fans and the many thousands of people who do not know me but have enjoyed Bee Gees music and have wished me well," wrote Gibb. "I have been very unwell and am now on the road to recovery, and your prayers and wishes are a great tonic to me," the singer added. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - She didn't go easily, but Faye Dunaway has agreed to vacate her rent-stabilized apartment on the Upper East Side following an eviction action by her landlord, court documents showed. The 70-year-old actress signed court papers on November 15 agreeing to clear out of the one-bedroom apartment at 314 East 78th Street for which she paid a monthly rent of $1,048. She had lived in the apartment since 1994. The property's landlord, Henry Moses of 7 of 8 Realty Co. ...
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Jennifer Lopez boasts in a new ad for Fiat that while others see the Bronx as just "streets," she sees her hometown as "a playground." But the Bronx is a playground she couldn't find time to visit for a shoot -- so her return to the old neighborhood was faked, The Smoking Gun reports. The site said in a scathing piece that a body double filled in for "Jenny from the block" during location shooting in the Bronx, New York City's poorest borough, while Lopez was filmed inside a Fiat 500 in Los Angeles. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ewan McGregor has joined the cast of the HBO drama pilot "The Corrections," the cable outlet confirms to TheWrap. McGregor will play Chip, the younger son of an elderly Midwestern couple trying to draw all of their children home for one last Christmas together. The pilot, based on the Jonathan Franzen novel, is written by Noah Baumbach and Franzen and produced by Scott Rudin. In the book, Chip is a writer and academic who gets mixed up with a Lithuanian crime boss. McGregor joins a cast that already includes Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest as the parents. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - French film pioneer Georges Melies directed over 500 movies at the turn of the 20th century, but few of them survived. Melies was forced to melt down many of his films to sell the chemical residue for the manufacture of footwear, and after World War I, he wound up a broken and bitter purveyor of toys in a shop at Paris' Montparnasse train station. Martin Scorsese, director of classics like "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull," had never undertaken a family film before. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - In director David Cronenberg's new film about Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and the birth of psychoanalysis, "A Dangerous Method", Keira Knightley plays Jung's formerly hysterical patient and lover Sabina Spielrein. The movie debuts in U.S. theaters on Wednesday, and Knightley told Reuters back in September at the Toronto film festival that she initially turned down the role due to its spanking sex scenes opposite actor Michael Fassbender, who portrays Jung. ...
WARSAW (Reuters) - The wife of Nobel prize-winning Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa describes the loneliness and domestic grind she faced as her husband rose to power in a frank biography that is causing a stir in the country even before its official release. Danuta Walesa, now 62, was Poland's first lady from 1990 to 1995 when Lech Walesa served as the country's first democratically elected president. He won international acclaim when his Solidarity trade union movement led the fight to topple communism in Poland in 1989. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Celebrities fear a backlash from the British tabloid press if they speak out at an inquiry into media standards, comedian and actor Steve Coogan said on Tuesday, adding that newspapers were like the Mafia in the way they operated. A lawyer for film star Hugh Grant warned that intimidatory newspaper tactics risked derailing the inquiry, ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron, after disclosures that reporters at the now defunct News of the World had hacked thousands of phones. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Celebrities fear a backlash from the British tabloid press if they speak out at an inquiry into media standards, comedian and actor Steve Coogan said on Tuesday, adding that newspapers were like the Mafia in the way they operated. A lawyer for film star Hugh Grant earlier warned that intimidatory newspaper tactics risked derailing the inquiry, ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron, after disclosures that reporters at the now defunct News of the World had hacked thousands of phones. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - What's in a name? About $3 billion, if you happen to spell it T-r-u-m-p. Real estate mogul, reality television star and author Donald Trump estimates his net worth at $7 billion in a forthcoming book. In his latest tome, Trump, known for promoting everything from his real estate projects to board games, vodka and reality TV shows, spells out his net worth, coming up with a figure billions more than Forbes magazine, which in September put the amount at $2.9 billion. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United Kingdom won five International Emmy Awards on Monday as "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe received an honorary prize presented by Lady Gaga, who made a surprise appearance. The Emmys, which honor television produced outside the United States, extended their reach at its 39th annual awards. While the United Kingdom dominated, winning five of 10 competitive categories including best actress for Julie Walters and best actor for Christopher Eccleston, it was not a sweep as in recent years when it won as many as eight awards. ...
NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - When baby boomers listen to Bob Seger's new release, "Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets," they may find themselves hearing the soundtrack of their lives. Classic Seger tunes like "Night Moves," "Old Time Rock and Roll," "We've Got Tonight" and "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You," may trigger flashbacks because the hits received so much radio airplay in the 1970s and '80s. Seger, 66, said he is flattered by his imprint on the collective pop rock memory, and he never tires of performing the old hits. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ricky Gervais says he wants to improve on his controversial performance at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards -- by being even more outrageous the next time around. The British comedian said his third time hosting the annual Hollywood awards ceremony in January 2012 would definitely be his last. But he is aiming to go out with a bang. "They must be mad. Not sure if I'm flattered that they trust me or insulted that they trust me. Either way...they shouldn't trust me," Gervais said in a statement on Thursday. ...
(Reuters) - Bradley Cooper is the latest Hollywood heartthrob to be named People's sexiest man alive, the magazine announced on Wednesday. In choosing Cooper, who has enjoyed box office success most notably in "The Hangover" films, the magazine said there was more to the actor than his dazzling baby blues and a killer smile. The 36-year-old is also a Georgetown University graduate, can cook, rides a motorcycle and is fluent in French. Cooper's humility only added to his appeal, People said. "I think it's really cool that a guy who doesn't look like a model can have this," he told the magazine. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday dismissed the case against an Illinois man who was accused of stalking actress and singer Selena Gomez earlier this year, a court official said. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edmund Clarke Jr. ruled that Thomas Brodnicki, 46, "lacked specific intent" to cause Gomez fear, said District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. She said prosecutors were now "evaluating our next step." Brodnicki pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony charge alleging that he stalked the 19-year-old entertainer between July and October. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is moving on to her next chapter, going out of the TV studio to meet and chat with celebrities on their own turf. Less than a year after she ended "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in May after 25 years, Winfrey will launch "Oprah's Next Chapter" in January on her fledgling cable TV channel OWN. The two-hour debut episode on January 1 will feature Winfrey talking with Aerosmith frontman and "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler at his family home in New Hampshire. ...
Lady Gaga reveals all in her new book, "LADY GAGA x TERRY RICHARDSON" - shot by the famed photographer over the last year - and the singer also opened up about what it takes to land the Mama Monster herself.
Ruth Stone, an award-winning poet for whom tragedy halted, then inspired a career that started in middle age and thrived late in life as her sharp insights into love, death and nature received ever-growing acclaim, has died in Vermont. She was 96.
She performed live in front of a television audience of millions week in and week out on Season 10 of "American Idol," but at the Detroit Lions/Green Bay Packers game on Thanksgiving, Lauren Alaina's nerves got the best of her as she flubbed the National Anthem.
Ruth Stone, an award-winning poet for whom tragedy halted, then inspired a career that started in middle age and thrived late in life as her sharp insights into love, death and nature received ever-growing acclaim, has died in the U.S. state of Vermont. She was 96.
Writer J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller gave a London courtroom a vivid picture on Thursday of the anxiety, anger and fear produced by living in the glare of Britain's tabloid media, describing how press intrusion made them feel like prisoners in their own homes.
It sounds like a tough sell for an evening out: Come relive the London riots.
Howard Stern is in talks to replace Piers Morgan at the judges' table on "America's Got Talent," and the show's creator and executive producer, Simon Cowell, told Access Hollywood he is a fan.
TV News Headlines - Yahoo! News
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Derek Hough, Jonah Hill, Jerry O'Connell and Josh Groban will try to fit into Regis Philban's big, well-worn shoes when they fill in as Kelly Ripa's cohost's on the recently renamed "Live! With Kelly" in the coming weeks. "Dancing With the Stars" professional Hough, who will co-host December 5, and Hill, who will join Ripa the next day, are co-hosting the TV talk show for the first time. O'Connell, sitting in this Friday, and Josh Groban, settling in December 7-9, are returning to the show. Philban signed off Friday after nearly three decades with the show. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Sorry, soap opera fans; you have little to be thankful for as we head into the U.S. national day of gratitude. Prospect Park has suspended its plans to revive "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" online, the company said on Wednesday. Prospect Park's Rich Frank and Jeff Kwatinetz cited "mounting issues" that make it "impossible" for the company to meet its "One Life to Live" deadlines. Plans for its online version of "All My Children" were abandoned earlier this month. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wounded war veteran J.R. Martinez claimed victory on the 13th season of the hit TV show "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday, winning with a jive and a samba that thrilled audiences. Martinez, dancing with partner Karina Smirnoff, wowed the judges throughout the 10-week competition and overcame an injured ankle in the final weeks of the popular dance contest to claim its coveted mirror ball trophy. His grit and determination proved an inspiration to viewers. Rob Kardashian, brother of the Kardashian sisters of reality TV fame, was runner-up. ...
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) -With families traveling for the holidays, CNN's GOP national security debate Tuesday night posted some of the lowest ratings of the campaign season -- but it's still not all bad news for CNN. A total of 3.599 million viewers tuned in to watch Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney's war of words over immigration policy, 1.041 million of which were in the adults 25-54 demographic. That total is almost two million viewers below the figure for CNN's last debate, its Western Republican Debate on October 18. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - With more than a month before Christmas, Kim Kardashian's impending divorce is already casting a pall over the reality TV star's holiday season. The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" personality took a bath on an expensive Christmas card order, because the cards featured a picture of her and estranged husband Kris Humphries on their wedding day Radar Online reports. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ewan McGregor has joined the cast of the HBO drama pilot "The Corrections," the cable outlet confirms to TheWrap. McGregor will play Chip, the younger son of an elderly Midwestern couple trying to draw all of their children home for one last Christmas together. The pilot, based on the Jonathan Franzen novel, is written by Noah Baumbach and Franzen and produced by Scott Rudin. In the book, Chip is a writer and academic who gets mixed up with a Lithuanian crime boss. McGregor joins a cast that already includes Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest as the parents. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Dreaming of an orange Christmas, or at least an orange-skinned one? Then deck your halls, and your tree, with the fake-tanned, overly coiffed and under-dressed ornament trio of Snooki, The Situation and DJ Pauly D. The new "Jersey Shore" line from renowned glass ornament company Kurt S. Adler stands approximately five inches tall, and finds the MTV reality stars immortalized in plastic doing what they do best: Snooki poses in a too-short glitter dress, The Situation holds his shirt up to reveal his abs, and Pauly D shows off his biceps and headphones. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - On a Monday night that generally saw declines all around, NBC's struggling news show "Rock Center With Brian Williams" took a significant hit, while "Two and a Half Men" held steady to win the night for CBS, according to preliminary numbers. CBS' night began with "How I Met Your Mother" at 8 p.m., which saw a modest decline with a 4.3 rating/12 share in the adults 18-49 demographic and 10 million total viewers. "Two Broke Girls" at 8:30 was also down slightly, taking a 4.4/11 in the demographic with 11.1 million total viewers. ...
By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Music fans, take note: Katy Perry will make her triumphant return to "Saturday Night Live" on December 10, when the "Teenage Dream" chanteuse will host the late-night sketch-comedy series. The singer announced the appearance on her Twitter account Monday, enthusing, "I'm SO excited 2 announce I'll be HOSTING Saturday Night Live December 10!" This will mark Perry's first significant appearance on "SNL" since September 2010. That appearance came after outraged parents quashed her appearance on "Sesame Street" as too provocative. ...
By Kimberly Potts LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - GQ has named "Bridesmaids" star and co-writer Kristen Wiig "Bro the Year" in its annual Men of the Year issue -- and enlisted her "Bridesmaids" co-star, Jon Hamm, to pay tribute to the "Saturday Night Live" star. Hamm says in GQ's December issue how impressed he is that the shy Wiig can play such outrageous characters. "For a lot of comics, there's a persona they're not comfortable revealing unless they're performing. Kristen is incredibly shy; she has her hoodie pulled up and her sleeves pulled over her hands," Hamm writes. ...
By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The 39th Annual American Music Awards on ABC failed to improve on last year's overall low, while NBC took an expected overall win on the strength of "Sunday Night Football," according to preliminary numbers. ABC's night began with "Countdown to the American Music Awards" at 7 p.m., which drew a 1.3/3 in the adults 18-49 demographic, with 4.4 million total viewers. The ceremony itself followed at 8 and ran flat with last year, which was the awards' lowest-rated telecast of all time. It scored a still-strong 4.3/10 and 12 million total viewers. ...
Movies News Headlines - Yahoo! News
WARSAW (Reuters) - Lech Walesa will finally see his life made into a movie, more than three decades after the shipyard electrician launched the Solidarity union that helped topple communism in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda began filming the first biopic about Walesa, who remains a respected but controversial figure. ...
MILAN (Reuters) - George Clooney will be called as a defense witness at former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges he paid for sex with a minor, court officials said Wednesday. The Oscar-winner was among 214 witnesses admitted by a Milan court for the defense and prosecution. Witnesses for the defense also include footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and Clooney's former girlfriend, Elisabetta Canalis. Berlusconi is accused of paying Karima el Mahroug, also known as Ruby, for sex when she was 17. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - She didn't go easily, but Faye Dunaway has agreed to vacate her rent-stabilized apartment on the Upper East Side following an eviction action by her landlord, court documents showed. The 70-year-old actress signed court papers on November 15 agreeing to clear out of the one-bedroom apartment at 314 East 78th Street for which she paid a monthly rent of $1,048. She had lived in the apartment since 1994. The property's landlord, Henry Moses of 7 of 8 Realty Co. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Family films are always a big part of the Thanksgiving box office equation, but this year multiplexes will be especially stuffed with the genre. Three new PG-rated movies, all with good reviews, hit theaters in U.S. and Canada Wednesday: Disney's "The Muppets," Paramount'/GK's Martin Scorsese film "Hugo" and Sony/Aardman's "Arthur Christmas." These movies join Warner's "Happy Feet Two," which was released last weekend. DreamWorks Animation's "Puss in Boots," which premiered in late October, will also have a few remaining play dates. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) -You don't have to endure the current onslaught of Republican presidential debates to appreciate the appeal of silence. The movies, in their first several decades of existence, had no soundtrack at all, and millions of people still flocked to see them. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) -Viggo Mortensen doesn't expect to reprise his Aragorn character in the next installments of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" series, the actor revealed to Movies.com. The news may not surprise those familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's "Hobbit" novel, as Aragorn did not appear in it. However, Mortensen told the movies blog that producer Peter Jackson had approached him about the possibility of appearing in "An Unexpected Journey," the first installment of the two-part prequel series. Mortensen said he would have been willing to participate. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - From "Alice in Wonderland" to "Cars," hundreds of Disney movies are now available for rent on YouTube, the Google-owned site announced on Wednesday. It's not quite a Netflix killer yet, but the video site now boasts four major studios among its rolls: Sony, Universal and Warner Bros., as well as Lionsgate. It is all part of YouTube's ongoing effort to integrate high-quality movies and television shows into a site best known for cat videos and other user-generated content. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - British actor-directors Ralph Fiennes and Kenneth Branagh will be honored at the British Independent Film Awards next month for their contribution to movies. Fiennes, who recently directed his first feature "Coriolanus" in which he also stars, will receive the Richard Harris Award for contribution to British film by an actor. He is best known for Oscar-nominated performances in "Schindler's List" and "The English Patient," and most recently as the evil Lord Voldemort in the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Last year's holiday movie season seemed to belong to filmmaker David Fincher. His "The Social Network" struck the zeitgeist among movie goers, critics and awards groups. Twenty-five days after Fincher completed "Network," the director found himself in Sweden, shooting "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." It's the English language adaptation of Swedish author Steig Larsson's first installment of his popular Millennium thriller series, with tales of avenging sexual violence against women. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - On the same day his studio is releasing Oscar contender "My Week With Marilyn," Harvey Weinstein is floating a Broadway musical based on the screenplay -- starring Katy Perry. Weinstein told E! Wednesday, "If the movie works, I would try to make it a musical and I would go to Katy first." He said that not only would the Grammy-winner be able to play legendary actress Marilyn Monroe, "she would be amazing." Interesting choice. Perry's acting experience is limited. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - There are no "Great Scott! You've discovered penis envy!" moments in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," which explores the birth of psychoanalysis, but given the general tedium of the goings-on here, such a scene might have provided sweet relief. As it is, we're left with a stagy and interminably talky drama about three intelligent people and their endless conversations about the nature of mankind. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Woody Harrelson thinks cops are cool. Well, at least, some of them. Monday night following TheWrap's "Rampart" screening at the Landmark Theater, the actor told the crowd how he buddied up with two police officers in preparation for his explosive portrayal of a dirty Los Angeles cop. "My biggest hurdle was believing that I could be a cop, because it seemed so unlikely to me," said Harrelson said during TheWrap Awards Screening Series discussion moderated by Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - French film pioneer Georges Melies directed over 500 movies at the turn of the 20th century, but few of them survived. Melies was forced to melt down many of his films to sell the chemical residue for the manufacture of footwear, and after World War I, he wound up a broken and bitter purveyor of toys in a shop at Paris' Montparnasse train station. Martin Scorsese, director of classics like "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull," had never undertaken a family film before. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - As someone who grew up on "Sesame Street," I often imagined that one day, I'd be able to go through the TV screen and live in a brownstone next to Ernie and Bert and Oscar and Big Bird. So when I saw Walter (voiced by Peter Linz), the new Muppet character from "The Muppets," have that same dream about following Kermit and Fozzie and Miss Piggy to the other side of the glass, I knew that the Muppets' return to the big screen was in loving and capable hands. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Another awards contender has been added to the lineup at the Palm Springs International Film Festival's awards gala, with Michelle Williams joining previously announced George Clooney and Glenn Close as an honoree at the event on January 7. Williams, whose current role as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn" has made her a strong best actress nominee, will receive the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award. Past recipients of this award include Natalie Portman, Halle Berry, Kate Winslet and Charlize Theron. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - With the release of "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" less than a month away, Paramount Pictures has accepted a new mission: to release the first three installments for rent via Facebook. By using 30 Facebook credits (which amounts to $2.99), U.S.-based fans of the Tom Cruise action series can view individual streams of the movies directly through its Facebook page, the studio announced Tuesday. The streams can be rented for up to 48 hours and can be accessed by clicking the "rent movies" link. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - In director David Cronenberg's new film about Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and the birth of psychoanalysis, "A Dangerous Method", Keira Knightley plays Jung's formerly hysterical patient and lover Sabina Spielrein. The movie debuts in U.S. theaters on Wednesday, and Knightley told Reuters back in September at the Toronto film festival that she initially turned down the role due to its spanking sex scenes opposite actor Michael Fassbender, who portrays Jung. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Just when moviegoers were ready to give up on the 3D revival as a gimmick used primarily to justify higher ticket prices, master director Martin Scorsese comes along with "Hugo" to show how it should be done. His brilliant family film employs 3D imaginatively, evocatively and judiciously, using it to add depth, both literal and metaphorical, enriching the story he is telling. ...
By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Wesley Snipes won't be leaving home with his American Express card anytime soon -- primarily because he's currently sitting in the slammer -- and that's probably a good thing. "Blade" star Snipes was slapped with a lawsuit in Orange County, Fla., Circuit Court on Friday by American Express, which claims that the actor racked up a $29,343 bill with them when he was still walking free. The complaint is seeking that amount, plus interest, attorney fees and court costs. ...
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden is the only place the new Hollywood version of best-selling crime novel "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" could have been shot, director David Fincher said on Monday. The film, which premieres on December 21, stars Daniel Craig as middle-aged journalist Mikael Blomkvist searching for a missing woman with the aid of troubled, young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). The movie follows the Swedish version of novelist Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" trilogy. ...
By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Will the famous Rocky catchphrase "Yo Adrian" be turned into the title of a love song? Sylvester Stallone is launching a musical version of his breakthrough film, "Rocky," which will premiere in Hamburg next November, producers Stage Entertainment have announced. "Rocky: The Musical" will be co-produced by boxing siblings Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. ...
By Kimberly Potts LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - GQ has named "Bridesmaids" star and co-writer Kristen Wiig "Bro the Year" in its annual Men of the Year issue -- and enlisted her "Bridesmaids" co-star, Jon Hamm, to pay tribute to the "Saturday Night Live" star. Hamm says in GQ's December issue how impressed he is that the shy Wiig can play such outrageous characters. "For a lot of comics, there's a persona they're not comfortable revealing unless they're performing. Kristen is incredibly shy; she has her hoodie pulled up and her sleeves pulled over her hands," Hamm writes. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has selected its shortlist of documentary features that will vie for an Oscar. The 15 titles announced on Friday include "Pina," Wim Wenders' 3D tribute to late choreographer Pina Bausch; "Project Nim," the story of a 1970s behavioral project involving a chimpanzee; AIDS-themed chronicle "We Were Here" and "Buck," a portrait of the man who inspired "The Horse Whisperer. ...
Actor and founder of the Sundance Institute Robert Redford will be expanding his famous festival to the UK for the inaugural Sundance London Music and Film Festival, April 26-29, 2012, and his first guest is Oscar and Grammy winner T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart).
Writer J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller gave a London courtroom a vivid picture on Thursday of the anxiety, anger and fear produced by living in the glare of Britain's tabloid media, describing how press intrusion made them feel like prisoners in their own homes.
WARSAW (Reuters) - Lech Walesa will finally see his life made into a movie, more than three decades after the shipyard electrician launched the Solidarity union that helped topple communism in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda began filming the first biopic about Walesa, who remains a respected but controversial figure. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling told a public inquiry into British media standards on Thursday she was forced to move house because of tabloid harassment and had been made to feel like a hostage in her home after she gave birth. During two hours of evidence, Rowling revealed a note had been slipped into her young daughter's schoolbag by a journalist and that she had chased a paparazzo photographer down the street when he tried to take a picture of her with her children. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling told a public inquiry into British media standards on Thursday she was forced to move house because of tabloid harassment and had been made to feel like a hostage in her home after she gave birth. During two hours of evidence, Rowling revealed a note had been slipped into her young daughter's schoolbag by a journalist and that she had chased a paparazzo photographer down the street when he tried to take a picture of her with her children. ...
Poland's famed director Andrzej Wajda unveiled plans Thursday for a biopic about Lech Walesa, his country's communist-era Solidarity opposition leader, Nobel Peace laureate and ex-president.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - There are no "Great Scott! You've discovered penis envy!" moments in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," which explores the birth of psychoanalysis, but given the general tedium of the goings-on here, such a scene might have provided sweet relief. As it is, we're left with a stagy and interminably talky drama about three intelligent people and their endless conversations about the nature of mankind. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) -You don't have to endure the current onslaught of Republican presidential debates to appreciate the appeal of silence. The movies, in their first several decades of existence, had no soundtrack at all, and millions of people still flocked to see them. ...
Music News Headlines - Yahoo! News
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer and rapper Nicki Minaj was named Billboard's 2011 Rising Star on Wednesday, following her international success this year with her album, "Pink Friday." Minaj, 28, who is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, took the opportunity of Billboard's announcement to confirm her next album on Twitter. Set for release on February 14, Valentine's day next year, Minaj's second album will be called "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded," after the rapper's alter ego, Roman Zolanski. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees Wednesday said he is on the road to recovery after being "very unwell" in recent days, and he thanked fans for their support in a message posted on his website. "I wish to thank my family, friends and fans and the many thousands of people who do not know me but have enjoyed Bee Gees music and have wished me well," wrote Gibb. "I have been very unwell and am now on the road to recovery, and your prayers and wishes are a great tonic to me," the singer added. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Move over, Santa, there's a new colorful dresser in town. Barneys has gone gaga, as in Lady Gaga, this holiday season with an in-store boutique, a website and several of its famous store windows all given over to the pop star phenomenon. The tony retailer launched a "12 Days of Gaga" promotion, with different limited-edition items ranging from jewelry to candy to toys available each day on gagasworkshop.com, in advance of this week's opening of its in-store boutique. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Wednesday asked a judge to sentence Michael Jackson's former doctor to the maximum four years in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction in the singer's 2009 death. In a separate court filing, defense attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray, 58, sought to convince Los Angeles trial judge Michael Pastor to sentence their client to probation. The dueling legal papers come in advance of a hearing on Tuesday at which Pastor will issue his sentence for Murray, who is currently in jail awaiting that court date. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Country-music act Sugarland will likely have to face the music in court over a tragic accident that occurred prior to the group's planned performance at the Indiana State Fair on August 13. A lawsuit was filed in Marion County, Indiana, on Tuesday on behalf of the victims of a stage collapse that occurred when a severe, windy thunderstorm sent steel scaffolding plummeting into the crowd below. Seven people died in the incident, while the suit says that more than 40 others were injured. Read the full lawsuit here. ...
PUNE, India (Reuters) - What started as a little girl's dream to travel around the globe in her own plane with her own classical orchestra has led to a Grammy award and three critically acclaimed albums for Imogen Heap, who will use sounds embodying Asia for her next album. A skilled player of several instruments, the 33-year-old English singer is breaking down her upcoming fourth album into several projects with themes set in different parts of the world, she told Reuters at the recent Bacardi NH7 Weekender music festival in Pune, a city outside of Mumbai. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - British singer George Michael has postponed a series of concerts after falling ill with pneumonia, his website said on Wednesday. The 48-year-old former Wham! frontman called off a planned gig in Vienna on Monday and another in Strasbourg on Wednesday, and now his Cardiff dates have been put on hold. "With great regret, George Michael has been forced to postpone his November 26 and 27 shows in Cardiff, Wales, due to his ongoing illness. "George was recently forced to postpone tour dates in Vienna and Strasbourg under doctor's orders after being diagnosed with pneumonia. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Canadian singer Drake jumped straight to No. 1 on Wednesday on the Billboard Top 200 album chart with his latest offering "Take Care," while Rihanna dominated the singles chart with three songs in the top 10. "Take Care" is the second No. 1 album for 25-year-old Drake, who debuted at No.1 with his first studio album, "Thank Me Later" in 2010 after signing a recording contract with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment. His new album sold 631,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, for a strong debut topped only by two other No. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - On the same day his studio is releasing Oscar contender "My Week With Marilyn," Harvey Weinstein is floating a Broadway musical based on the screenplay -- starring Katy Perry. Weinstein told E! Wednesday, "If the movie works, I would try to make it a musical and I would go to Katy first." He said that not only would the Grammy-winner be able to play legendary actress Marilyn Monroe, "she would be amazing." Interesting choice. Perry's acting experience is limited. ...
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Jennifer Lopez boasts in a new ad for Fiat that while others see the Bronx as just "streets," she sees her hometown as "a playground." But the Bronx is a playground she couldn't find time to visit for a shoot -- so her return to the old neighborhood was faked, The Smoking Gun reports. The site said in a scathing piece that a body double filled in for "Jenny from the block" during location shooting in the Bronx, New York City's poorest borough, while Lopez was filmed inside a Fiat 500 in Los Angeles. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - British singer George Michael has postponed a series of concerts after falling ill with pneumonia, his website said on Wednesday. The 48-year-old former Wham! frontman called off a planned gig in Vienna on Monday and another in Strasbourg on Wednesday, and now his Cardiff dates have been put on hold. "With great regret, George Michael has been forced to postpone his November 26 and 27 shows in Cardiff, Wales, due to his ongoing illness. "George was recently forced to postpone tour dates in Vienna and Strasbourg under doctor's orders after being diagnosed with pneumonia. ...
(Reuters) - Legendary musician Jimi Hendrix was named the greatest guitar player in history on Wednesday by Rolling Stone magazine in a list compiled by a panel of music experts and top guitar players. "Jimi Hendrix exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage," said Grammy-winning guitarist Tom Morello in the magazine, citing Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" as key tracks. Hendrix is joined by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Grammy-winning singer Rihanna may soon be headed to the top of the album charts after her latest record, "Talk That Talk" reached No. 1 on iTunes on Tuesday, one day after its release. The singer released early teasers online as much as a week in advance, helping push the album into the top 10 on iTunes. Fans took to Twitter and Facebook to call the album Rihanna's best yet. Critical reviews, however, were mixed. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The decibel level in the small, bunker-like rehearsal room is ear-shattering and every loose item in the space is shaking as if an earthquake struck. But it's no temblor -- just business as usual at the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp where ex-Runaways guitarist Lita Ford is leading a group of 30-something, would-be rock stars through a bone-jarring version of "Roadrunner." "We're doing The Who's version," says 53-year-old rocker Ford, an enthusiastic coach who guides her equally enthusiastic charges -- three guitarists, a singer and two drummers -- through the arrangement. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer and poet Leonard Cohen will release his first studio album in eight years in January following the success of his comeback world tour, his publicists said on Tuesday. Called "Old Ideas", the album has 10 songs looking at love, sexuality, loss and death and is described as the most overtly spiritual of the singer's 40-year recording career. Cohen, 77, best known for haunting 1960s folk songs like "Suzanne", "Bird on a Wire" and later "Hallelujah", retreated from the world in the mid-1990s to become a Buddhist monk. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Black Eyed Peas have denied rumors that they are breaking up but say they are taking a break from making music together for a while. "We are not breaking up," band member Taboo told Reuters on Monday at a launch party for their video dance game, "The Black Eyed Peas Experience." "We're going to take a little vacation and focus on our personal things," added Apl.de.ap, real name Allan Lindo, Jr. who will be focusing on his duties as ambassador for education in the Philippines. Will.i. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The advance word on Rihanna's new album "Talk That Talk" was that it would be full of dirty talk -- as in stark-raving smutty. That turns out to have been an overstatement: filth-ophilia really only accounts for about a third of the record. But, um, it's a memorable third. "I want you to be my sex slave," she sings in "Cockiness." "I can be your dominatrix ... She may be the queen of hearts, but I'm gonna be the queen of your body parts." No surprise, that, coming from the woman who already had a hit off her last album called "S&M. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Monday rejected a request for additional tests on a bottle of the anesthetic propofol deemed responsible for Michael Jackson's death. Attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted on November 1 of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of the singer, asked for tests on the vial of propofol that was found in Jackson's bedroom on the morning he died. But judge Michael Pastor said Murray's defense team had months to ask for the tests and should have done so during the six week trial. ...
By Chris Willman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Taylor Swift has such an exceptional flair for capturing intimate moments and little emotional quirks on her records that it was bracing to realize, a tour or two back, that the sensitive girl with the teardrops on her guitar is really, at heart, a Broadway baby. Emotionally aware songwriters aren't supposed to be spectacular show women, too. Would we have thought less of Carole King, Laura Nyro or Joni Mitchell if they suddenly declared that what they really want to do is direct "Les Miserables"? (Answer: probably. ...
By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Music fans, take note: Katy Perry will make her triumphant return to "Saturday Night Live" on December 10, when the "Teenage Dream" chanteuse will host the late-night sketch-comedy series. The singer announced the appearance on her Twitter account Monday, enthusing, "I'm SO excited 2 announce I'll be HOSTING Saturday Night Live December 10!" This will mark Perry's first significant appearance on "SNL" since September 2010. That appearance came after outraged parents quashed her appearance on "Sesame Street" as too provocative. ...
(Reuters) - Bruce Springsteen will go on tour next year for the first time in three years, starting with European dates in May and the United States and others to follow, according to the rock star's website. Springsteen's E Street Band tour will be his first since the June death of saxophone player Clarence Clemons, who suffered a stroke and died six days later at age 69. "A lot of you have been hearing that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be on tour in 2012. That is absolutely correct," the website said. ...
NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - When baby boomers listen to Bob Seger's new release, "Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets," they may find themselves hearing the soundtrack of their lives. Classic Seger tunes like "Night Moves," "Old Time Rock and Roll," "We've Got Tonight" and "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You," may trigger flashbacks because the hits received so much radio airplay in the 1970s and '80s. Seger, 66, said he is flattered by his imprint on the collective pop rock memory, and he never tires of performing the old hits. ...
By Lucas Shaw LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Island Def Jam has pushed back the release of Rick Ross' upcoming album, "God Forgives, I Don't" due in part to the rapper's recent seizures, according to Billboard. The album was due to come out December 13, but an Island Def Jam rep told Billboard it will now street in the first or second quarter of 2012. Ross suffered a pair of seizures in mid-October, the first one coming on a flight to Memphis that ended in an emergency landing. Ross tried to make the flight again later in the day, only to suffer another seizure. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gym Class Heroes has graduated from party life to adulthood on their latest album, "The Papercut Chronicles II," a follow-up to their first CD after three records of anthems to youth, rebellion and just plain having fun. Lead singer Travie McCoy said the new album represents a sort of coming-of-age for the band with songs about moving ahead after lost loves and thinking more deeply about topics such as how a rock star life is not always glamorous. "It's about...thinking about the bigger picture rather than the smaller things," McCoy told Reuters. "I'm 30. ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday dismissed the case against an Illinois man who was accused of stalking actress and singer Selena Gomez earlier this year, a court official said. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edmund Clarke Jr. ruled that Thomas Brodnicki, 46, "lacked specific intent" to cause Gomez fear, said District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. She said prosecutors were now "evaluating our next step." Brodnicki pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony charge alleging that he stalked the 19-year-old entertainer between July and October. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Country-music act Sugarland will likely have to face the music in court over a tragic accident that occurred prior to the group's planned performance at the Indiana State Fair on August 13. A lawsuit was filed in Marion County, Indiana, on Tuesday on behalf of the victims of a stage collapse that occurred when a severe, windy thunderstorm sent steel scaffolding plummeting into the crowd below. Seven people died in the incident, while the suit says that more than 40 others were injured. Read the full lawsuit here. ...
iTunes' Official Music Charts for the week ending Nov. 21, 2011:
It was a fashionable night to remember at the 2011 American Music Awards held at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20, as contenders and winners competed for the public's love via the awards which are based on audience voting via text and the Internet.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country sensation Taylor Swift came up the big winner at the American Music Awards on Sunday, claiming three trophies including the top honor, artist of the year. She tied for most wins with British singer Adele, who also earned three trophies for female pop artist, best album with smash hit "21" and top adult contemporary performer. But Adele, who came into the awards show as the most-nominated singer with four nods, lost artist of the year to Swift, who seemed genuinely surprised by the upset victory. ...
Complete list of winners at Sunday's 39th annual American Music Awards, presented at the Nokia Theatre:
"Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson" (Sterling Publishing), by Joseph Vogel: We get it already: Michael Jackson was kind of a weird dude.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Google Inc has turned on the music at its new online store, aiming to wrest the lead from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc in audio entertainment distribution despite the absence of a major record label. Google Music, with more 13 million songs, will be integrated with Android Market, the company's online store for smartphone apps and videos as it plays catch-up with its rivals. Apple, Amazon and Facebook have to varying degrees integrated music into their core online and mobile products. ...
Google unveiled its much-anticipated digital music store Wednesday, opening a new front in its battle with Apple to provide services over mobile devices.
(Reuters) - Google Inc unveiled a new online music store on Wednesday, in a move to challenge the dominance of market leaders Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc. The new service features millions of songs from record labels EMI, Sony Music and Universal, but will not have music from Warner Group, the fourth of the major record labels. Google, which introduced the service at an event at the Mr. ...
Reviews News Headlines - Yahoo! News
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - As someone who grew up on "Sesame Street," I often imagined that one day, I'd be able to go through the TV screen and live in a brownstone next to Ernie and Bert and Oscar and Big Bird. So when I saw Walter (voiced by Peter Linz), the new Muppet character from "The Muppets," have that same dream about following Kermit and Fozzie and Miss Piggy to the other side of the glass, I knew that the Muppets' return to the big screen was in loving and capable hands. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Remember when metal was the happiest genre on earth? If not, you're either too young to recall or too old to care about the 1980s heyday of hair-metal, when the pouffy 'dos, screeches, and spirits were all as high as a drummer stumbling out of the Rainbow Room. Chris Daughtry, whose new album came out Tuesday, is much more a product of 1990s grunge's surface gloom and lower vocal registers, if not necessarily that genre's exact sensibilities. And Daughtry's obviously not a hair-metal guy, either literally or figuratively. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - There are no "Great Scott! You've discovered penis envy!" moments in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," which explores the birth of psychoanalysis, but given the general tedium of the goings-on here, such a scene might have provided sweet relief. As it is, we're left with a stagy and interminably talky drama about three intelligent people and their endless conversations about the nature of mankind. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The "me" in the "my" in "My Week with Marilyn" is Colin Clark (played by Eddie Redmayne), who turns his back on his upper-crust background -- his father is legendary historian Kenneth Clark -- to take a grunt job with Laurence Olivier's production company. Unfortunately, young Clark winds up being the least-interesting facet of the movie, leaving the audience to watch forlornly as more potentially fascinating plot elements drift away in favor of observing a young man swoon over an untenable object of desire. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The advance word on Rihanna's new album "Talk That Talk" was that it would be full of dirty talk -- as in stark-raving smutty. That turns out to have been an overstatement: filth-ophilia really only accounts for about a third of the record. But, um, it's a memorable third. "I want you to be my sex slave," she sings in "Cockiness." "I can be your dominatrix ... She may be the queen of hearts, but I'm gonna be the queen of your body parts." No surprise, that, coming from the woman who already had a hit off her last album called "S&M. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Just when moviegoers were ready to give up on the 3D revival as a gimmick used primarily to justify higher ticket prices, master director Martin Scorsese comes along with "Hugo" to show how it should be done. His brilliant family film employs 3D imaginatively, evocatively and judiciously, using it to add depth, both literal and metaphorical, enriching the story he is telling. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Grotesquely caricatured, over-the-top drag? Check. Schmaltzy, comedy-killing homilies about the importance of family? Check. Loud, stupid scatological humor that makes the latest "Harold & Kumar" movie look like Moliere? Check. Patronizing digs at atheists? Check.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The debt-laden and unbalanced United States economy faces a historic crisis that calls for fundamental changes including higher taxes and major political reforms, economist Jeffrey Sachs argues in his new book.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Florence Welch may be indulging in her own ceremonial celebration on Tuesday after critics praised her widely-anticipated new album, "Ceremonials."
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - If nothing else, with "Mylo Xyloto," Coldplay may have succeeded in making the least conceptually developed concept album of all time.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Kelly Clarkson's new album has been subject to more delays than the NBA season. But apparently the perpetual tweaking was a matter of fine-tuning, not desperation, since "Stronger" lives up to its title -- trumping not just the current pop-diva competition but all of Clarkson's previous albums, too.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Tom Waits has been called a lot of things, but "rockabilly cat" was probably never among them. That's just one of many guises the veteran eccentric takes on in "Bad as Me," his first all-new release in eight years and a leading album-of-the-year contender.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The biography of late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs' hit the bookstores on Monday, and reviewers wasted little time in heaping praise on the much-anticipated book destined for the bestseller list.
Various Artists, "The Muppets Original Soundtrack" (Walt Disney Records)
(Reuters) - AT&T Inc was dealt a blow on Tuesday as the top U.S. communications regulator sought to have its planned $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA sent to an administrative law judge for review. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski sent a draft order to his fellow commissioners, citing FCC staff findings that the deal would significantly diminish competition and lead to massive job losses. "The record clearly shows that -- in no uncertain terms -- this merger would result in a massive loss of U.S. jobs and investment," a senior FCC official said. ...
The best validation for the nostalgia of "The Artist" is the film, itself.
It has been a brutal year for fans of the Wii. Other publishers have stopped bringing AAA games to Nintendo's low-powered console. The best-reviewed new game on the system, "Xenoblade Chronicles," has inexplicably been withheld from the United States. Nintendo itself seems ready to move on to its forthcoming Wii U.
Having been revered as a master for decades and functioning at the top of his game as he approaches 70, Martin Scorsese would seem to have nothing else to prove. So it's thrilling to see him make a bold, creative leap with "Hugo," which is not only an unusual family film from him but also his first movie in 3-D.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The latest movie in the "Twilight" vampire romance series could take in about $140 million on its opening weekend in North America, box office watchers said, despite some blood-curdlingly bad reviews. "Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" was widely criticized for bland, wooden acting and an implausible plot, scoring just 23 percent favorable reviews on aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said the film was "bloated and anemic. ...
Michelle Williams gets many of the details right and gives a thoroughly committed performance as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn."
Michael Jackson, "Immortal," (Epic)
Rihanna, "Talk That Talk" (Island Def Jam)
"Mr. CSI: How a Vegas Dreamer Made a Killing in Hollywood, One Body at a Time" (HarperCollins), by Anthony E. Zuiker: The creator of the hit "CSI" franchise examines his life and how he overcame a rough childhood to become a successful television writer and producer in "Mr. CSI: How a Vegas Dreamer Made a Killing in Hollywood, One Body at a Time."
Fashion News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Victoria Beckham has teamed up with rising director Quentin Jones for a fashion film promoting her Spring/Summer 2012 denim line.
Topman will launch a new global online fashion magazine for men this month.
Roberto Cavalli launched the first Fashion Week to take place in Tel Aviv in 30 years on Monday, November 21.
Karl Lagerfeld will be global guest editor for Metro International newspapers this February.
Alexander McQueen's commercial line McQ will take to the runway at London Fashion Week for the first time in February.
Dita Von Teese has revealed the first look of her Von Follies lingerie line, which goes on sale in 2012.
Tourists and shoppers thronged New York department store Barneys on Tuesday to see the opening of a whole floor turned over to the extravagant world of pop singer Lady Gaga.
Stella McCartney will show creations from her eponymous label at London Fashion Week for the first time this February.
A follow-up to the current Versace for H&M collection will go on sale online this January.
British designer Stella McCartney will show a one-off range as she returns to London Fashion Week next year although she will continue to show her main range in Paris, it was revealed Thursday.
Roberto Cavalli launched the first Fashion Week to take place in Tel Aviv in 30 years on Monday, November 21.
Alexander McQueen's commercial line McQ will take to the runway at London Fashion Week for the first time in February.
Twi-hards might not be able to marry Edward Cullen, but starting today, you can purchase a replica of Bella's wedding dress from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."
Twi-hards might not be able to marry Edward Cullen, but starting today, you can purchase a replica of Bella's wedding dress from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."
Stella McCartney will show creations from her eponymous label at London Fashion Week for the first time this February.
A former aide to Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson told an inquiry Tuesday she was fired after being falsely accused of leaking stories that were in fact obtained by British tabloid phone-hacking.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Twilight" fans can have their very own fairytale wedding experience next year when Carolina Herrera's CHNY boutiques begin selling gowns in the same design as worn by Bella Swan in "Breaking Dawn - Part 1," the apparel maker's spokesman said on Monday. The white sheath wedding dress with a lace-embellished back was custom-made for actress Kristen Stewart by New York fashion designer Herrera, who said she was "flattered" when asked to create the gown and felt the pressured to deliver something that would please "Twilight" fans. ...
One model dressed as a Transylvanian roof, while another sashayed in an outfit meant to resemble the streets of Bucharest.
Officially called the 'Alex' heel, Christian Louboutin's 'lion paw' shoes reportedly retail for $4,995. Undeterred by the price point or creepy similarity to taxidermy, Sarah Jessica Parker and Blake Lively are wearing them. It's far from the first time a celebrity trend has made the rest of us go, 'huh?' Click through to check out four more outlandish celebrity fashion trends.
'Lion Paw' Shoes Are the Latest Outlandish Star Trend
Ralph Lauren and Macy's will be honored for their charity work helping gay and lesbian youth at the Emery Awards in New York on Thursday, November 10.
(Reuters) - Rising cotton prices and other costs took a toll on quarterly margins at Macy's Inc and Ralph Lauren Corp , pressuring shares of both the department store operator and the upscale clothing maker.
Loulou de la Falaise, who created jewellery and hats for fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, died Saturday at the age of 63, the Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Berge Foundation announced.
Vanessa Hessler Shared 'Beautiful Love Story' with Mutassim Gadhafi
A model displays a creation by fashion designer Alexandra Kazakova during the fashion week in Moscow.
Fashion designer Ralph Lauren talked about success, comebacks and humble beginnings with Oprah Winfrey at Lincoln Center in front of a sold-out crowd packed with celebrities like Michael J. Fox, Tracy Pollan, Naomi Watts, Jessica Alba, Uma Thurman and Martha Stewart.
When Ralph Lauren sat down for a little chat Monday night with Oprah Winfrey, they picked up a discussion they started on TV back in the spring, when the fashion designer helped close out Winfrey's long-running talk show with an exclusive peek inside his Colorado estate.
When Ralph Lauren sits down for a little chat Monday night with Oprah Winfrey, they'll pick up a discussion they started on TV back in the spring, when the fashion designer helped close out Winfrey's long-running talk show with an exclusive peek inside his Colorado estate.
Fashion icon Margit Brandt, whose simple cuts and 1960s miniskirts marked one of the first international breakthroughs for Danish designs, has died. She was 66.
It was a dark moment for brides as Vera Wang showed some of her best bridal work in a figurative ode to witchcraft to at her new studio in New York on Sunday, Oct. 16.
In case you never tire of fashion weeks, you're in luck: just after the Big Four -- New York, London, Milan, and Paris -- wrapped up their events last week, Vogue website style.com will present a new spring/summer collection video for 12 consecutive days.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A young fashion designer from the German city of Hanover is revolutionizing high fashion by designing clothes with a staple she can find in her fridge -- milk.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A young fashion designer from the German city of Hanover is revolutionizing high fashion by designing clothes with a staple she can find in her fridge -- milk.
Books News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Ruth Stone, an award-winning poet for whom tragedy halted, then inspired a career that started in middle age and thrived late in life as her sharp insights into love, death and nature received ever-growing acclaim, has died in the U.S. state of Vermont. She was 96.
Lady Gaga reveals all in her new book, "LADY GAGA x TERRY RICHARDSON" - shot by the famed photographer over the last year - and the singer also opened up about what it takes to land the Mama Monster herself.
Lady Gaga reveals all in her new book, "LADY GAGA x TERRY RICHARDSON" - shot by the famed photographer over the last year - and the singer also opened up about what it takes to land the Mama Monster herself.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ewan McGregor has joined the cast of the HBO drama pilot "The Corrections," the cable outlet confirms to TheWrap. McGregor will play Chip, the younger son of an elderly Midwestern couple trying to draw all of their children home for one last Christmas together. The pilot, based on the Jonathan Franzen novel, is written by Noah Baumbach and Franzen and produced by Scott Rudin. In the book, Chip is a writer and academic who gets mixed up with a Lithuanian crime boss. McGregor joins a cast that already includes Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest as the parents. ...
WARSAW (Reuters) - The wife of Nobel prize-winning Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa describes the loneliness and domestic grind she faced as her husband rose to power in a frank biography that is causing a stir in the country even before its official release. Danuta Walesa, now 62, was Poland's first lady from 1990 to 1995 when Lech Walesa served as the country's first democratically elected president. He won international acclaim when his Solidarity trade union movement led the fight to topple communism in Poland in 1989. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - What's in a name? About $3 billion, if you happen to spell it T-r-u-m-p. Real estate mogul, reality television star and author Donald Trump estimates his net worth at $7 billion in a forthcoming book. In his latest tome, Trump, known for promoting everything from his real estate projects to board games, vodka and reality TV shows, spells out his net worth, coming up with a figure billions more than Forbes magazine, which in September put the amount at $2.9 billion. ...
(Reuters) - First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday helped launched a new arts program to pick five student poets from high schools who will spend one year promoting poetry through readings, workshops and other activities. The National Student Poets program is created by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, of which the first lady is honorary chair, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services through a partnership with nonprofit group, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Recent media attention surrounding the drowning death of actress Natalie Wood nearly 30 years ago played a key role in Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's decision to officially reopen the case on Friday, TheWrap has learned. "Increasing news media attention likely is what caused more than one person to recently come forward with several pieces of new information," Lt. John Corina told TheWrap on Saturday morning. He said that a 2-year-old book by captain Dennis Davern and co-author Marti Rulli did not "have an impact in the decision. ...
As Robert Wagner remembers it, there was drinking the last night of Natalie Wood's life and some arguing, but nothing that explained why she was found dead the following morning.
A self-help author convicted of negligent homicide stood before the families of three people who died in a sweat lodge ceremony he led and begged for forgiveness.
"Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson" (Sterling Publishing), by Joseph Vogel: We get it already: Michael Jackson was kind of a weird dude.
LONDON (Reuters) - Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel, whose "Wolf Hall" retold the life and thoughts of Thomas Cromwell, is planning not one sequel, but two, she said in an interview published on Friday. The 59-year-old revealed she was planning a follow-up to Wolf Hall on the day after she won the coveted Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2009. That book, she said at the time, would be called "The Mirror and the Light" and would follow Cromwell on his rise to the peak of power in Tudor England and end with his execution. ...
Ronnie Biggs, who spent decades on the run and years in jail for his part in Britain's "Great Train Robbery," says he'll be remembered as a "lovable rogue."
Arts News Headlines - Yahoo! News
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Tel Aviv's recently expanded modern art museum, with its dazzling new building no less an attraction than the art showcased inside, has given a home to hundreds of displaced Israeli works and helped boost the city's cultural scene. The new wing, designed by Massachusetts architect Preston Scott Cohen, has doubled the size of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art by 19,000 square meters (200,000 square feet) and lured a growing number of art fans through its new, triangular concrete and glass complex since its November 3 unveiling. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) -You don't have to endure the current onslaught of Republican presidential debates to appreciate the appeal of silence. The movies, in their first several decades of existence, had no soundtrack at all, and millions of people still flocked to see them. ...
Sena Jurinac, one of the Vienna State Opera's most celebrated performers in the 1940s and 50s in roles as both a soprano and mezzo-soprano, has died in southern Germany at age 90.
The best validation for the nostalgia of "The Artist" is the film, itself.
The 2012 opening of the Sept. 11 museum at the World Trade Center will be delayed by disputes over redevelopment costs, a person familiar with the construction project said Monday.
Taylor Swift won artist of the year at the American Music Awards, nabbing the top trophy for the second time in her young career.
Just two nights after police broke up the Occupy Wall Street encampment in lower Manhattan, a new opera about student protest movements around the world had its U.S. premiere uptown at Lincoln Center.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fifteen renovated galleries offer fresh perspective on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of more than 12,000 Islamic works of art spanning 13 centuries and an area ranging from Spain to India. About 1,200 pieces of art will be on view at any one time with displays of textiles and works on paper changing frequently due to the sensitivity of these materials to light. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Brooklyn Museum said a controversial video artwork of ants crawling on a crucifix will be displayed this week despite lawmakers' complaints that it is anti-Christian and may endanger the institute's public funding. The images appear for roughly 10 seconds in a four-minute-long edit of the film "A Fire in My Belly." It was made in the late 1980s by the American artist David Wojnarowicz, who died in 1992 from an AIDS-related illness. ...
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities are setting hurdles for artist-activist Ai Weiwei to pay a bond that would let him appeal a tax fine his backers have called a political vendetta, threatening to complicate his legal battle, one of his lawyers said Monday.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities are setting hurdles for artist-activist Ai Weiwei to pay a bond that would let him appeal a tax fine his backers have called a political vendetta, threatening to complicate his legal battle, one of his lawyers said Monday. Ai, whose secretive 81-day detention this year sparked worldwide attention, has until Wednesday to lodge collateral that would allow him to contest a 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) fine for tax evasion, which he denies. But the government is demanding he pay the 8. ...
New York City's oldest museum reopens to the public on Friday following a three-year, $65 million renovation.
A major exhibition that includes a film of ants crawling on a crucifix opens next week at the Brooklyn Museum, an institution known for presenting edgy and bold artworks that in the past included a painting of the Virgin Mary that incorporated elephant dung.
No hidden treasures. That was the primary goal during a two-year, $22 million restoration and expansion of the Cranbrook Art Museum aimed at enlivening the collection and inspiring new artists.
Spain's Prado museum is hosting a large exhibition of European art lent by Russia's Hermitage, a rare opportunity to see such work outside the vast St. Petersburg museum.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress and film producer Lucy Liu is expanding her talents into the art world with a new book of illustrations that explores Kabbalah and meditation.
Marni Kotak gave the performance of her life when she gave birth to baby Ajax in a New York City art gallery turned home birthing center last week. Now they're back.
Baby Louis has already arrived on the art scene!
Sandra Bullock's 1-year-old son has quite an impressive piece in his art collection thanks to the actress' agents.
Outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, currently confined to Beijing, is opening an art exhibit in Taiwan that focuses on the political significance of his inability to attend.
Dear Abby News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Sports News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Aaron Rodgers took every hit the Detroit Lions could dish out.
Win big, win small; win pretty, win ugly. Tony Romo learned a long time ago that victories are the only thing that matter in the NFL.
As huge and heavy as the trophy known as "The Boot" may be, Arkansas and LSU both have much bigger things to play for when their annual Thanksgiving week rivalry is renewed on Friday.
Talks aimed at ending the NBA lockout have resumed, two people with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday, with a quick settlement necessary to start the season by Christmas.
Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of Philadelphia's celebrated free agency acquisitions, injured his left knee during practice Thursday and was taken off the field on a cart.
Injured Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was back at practice on Thanksgiving, wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he kept a close eye on his replacement, Matt Leinart.
Whatever Rafael Nadal tried to throw at Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday, it seemed the Frenchman was always one step ahead of him.
The red-hot Iron Bowl didn't need any more fuel.
Billy Cundiff and David Akers exchanged field goals, and the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers completed the first quarter in a 3-3 tie on Thursday night.
Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of Philadelphia's celebrated free agency acquisitions, injured his left knee during practice Thursday and was taken off the field on a cart.
Injured Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was back at practice on Thanksgiving, wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he kept a close eye on his replacement, Matt Leinart.
Aaron Rodgers took every hit the Detroit Lions could dish out.
HAIKOU, China (Reuters) - Brendan Jones and Richard Green put Australia on top after the first day of golf's World Cup and hoped their performance would stir up interest in the event back home. The duo combined to record two eagles and seven birdies in an 11-under par 61 in the fourball format on the Blackstone course on China's Hainan Island, with Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell two back after a 63. Also on nine-under was Scotland's Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher. ...
Steven Bowditch and Choi Joon-woo shot rounds of 6-under-par 66 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first day of the Australian PGA and outshine a strong field that includes British Open champion Darren Clarke and Americans Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler.
Talks aimed at ending the NBA lockout have resumed, two people with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday, with a quick settlement necessary to start the season by Christmas.
Kyle Orton has a new home in the AFC West.
Kyle Orton has a new home in the AFC West.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of the alleged victims in the Penn State University child sex abuse scandal on Wednesday sought an injunction to stop the Second Mile charity from dissipating its assets. In a filing in Pennsylvania state court, the alleged victim said he and others intended to sue The Second Mile for negligence and failing to report known sexual abuse of children, and wanted to stop the charity's assets from disappearing. The Second Mile is the children's charity founded by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse. ...
Fred Jackson will miss the rest of the year with a broken bone in his lower right leg, an injury that could derail Buffalo's once-promising season.
The Buffalo Bills have placed running back Fred Jackson on season-ending injured reserve because of broken bone in his lower right leg.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak woke up Wednesday to the bad news he knew was probably inevitable.
Even as other teams made him offers, Grady Sizemore knew there was only one that made sense for him.
Adrian Peterson remained in a walking boot to treat a high ankle sprain on his left leg on Wednesday, and coach Leslie Frazier said he will not play on Sunday against Atlanta if he can't hit the practice field in the next two days.
The Cowboys and Dolphins playing on Thanksgiving will forever conjure memories of the 1993 game. Dallas defensive lineman Leon Lett adding to his blunderful reputation by sliding across ice and snow to bring alive a dead ball, setting up Miami for the winning kick as time ran out.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa (Reuters) - Penn State University football players received special treatment compared to other students when accused of violating school rules, the school's ex-chief disciplinarian said on Tuesday. Longtime football coach Joe Paterno and then-university President Graham Spanier were involved in years of debate that ended in changing the rules for how football players were disciplined, said Vicky Triponey, the vice president for student affairs from 2003 to 2007. ...
The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have thrived this season because they are physical, relentless and combative.
MIAMI - Britain's world number three Lee Westwood has had a change of heart and rejoined the PGA Tour for the 2012 season. Westwood, who last year questioned the need to play some of the events in the States, will split his time between the European Tour and the U.S. circuit. "It just felt right in Ryder Cup year to commit to a full programme in the United States," Westwood said in a statement. Westwood's return also means he will be back at the Players Championship after upsetting the host last year by skipping the event, viewed in the States as the 'fifth major'. ...
Football News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of Philadelphia's celebrated free agency acquisitions, injured his left knee during practice Thursday and was taken off the field on a cart.
Injured Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was back at practice on Thanksgiving, wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he kept a close eye on his replacement, Matt Leinart.
Aaron Rodgers took every hit the Detroit Lions could dish out.
Kyle Orton has a new home in the AFC West.
Kyle Orton has a new home in the AFC West.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of the alleged victims in the Penn State University child sex abuse scandal on Wednesday sought an injunction to stop the Second Mile charity from dissipating its assets. In a filing in Pennsylvania state court, the alleged victim said he and others intended to sue The Second Mile for negligence and failing to report known sexual abuse of children, and wanted to stop the charity's assets from disappearing. The Second Mile is the children's charity founded by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse. ...
Fred Jackson will miss the rest of the year with a broken bone in his lower right leg, an injury that could derail Buffalo's once-promising season.
The Buffalo Bills have placed running back Fred Jackson on season-ending injured reserve because of broken bone in his lower right leg.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak woke up Wednesday to the bad news he knew was probably inevitable.
Adrian Peterson remained in a walking boot to treat a high ankle sprain on his left leg on Wednesday, and coach Leslie Frazier said he will not play on Sunday against Atlanta if he can't hit the practice field in the next two days.
The Cowboys and Dolphins playing on Thanksgiving will forever conjure memories of the 1993 game. Dallas defensive lineman Leon Lett adding to his blunderful reputation by sliding across ice and snow to bring alive a dead ball, setting up Miami for the winning kick as time ran out.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa (Reuters) - Penn State University football players received special treatment compared to other students when accused of violating school rules, the school's ex-chief disciplinarian said on Tuesday. Longtime football coach Joe Paterno and then-university President Graham Spanier were involved in years of debate that ended in changing the rules for how football players were disciplined, said Vicky Triponey, the vice president for student affairs from 2003 to 2007. ...
The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have thrived this season because they are physical, relentless and combative.
Marcus Dixon tries not to think about the 15 darkest months of his life.
Jack Harbaugh has watched his sons go at it for nearly five decades.
(Reuters) - The Denver Broncos cut former starting quarterback Kyle Orton on Tuesday now that his replacement has helped get the once-struggling team back into the National Football League (NFL) playoff picture. Orton, who joined the Broncos in 2009 after a trade with the Chicago Bears, was replaced by Tim Tebow as the starter last month during a loss to the San Diego Chargers that dropped Denver to 1-4 on the season. Tebow, a fan favorite and former Heisman Trophy winner as the top U.S. collegiate player, has helped the team improve to 5-5, just one game out of first place in the AFC West. ...
STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A preliminary hearing for former Penn State University assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on child sex abuse charges has been postponed for a week, district court officials said on Tuesday. The hearing will now be held on December 13 at Center County court in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. It was earlier scheduled for December 7, and originally for November 9, days after charges were handed down against Sandusky. The delay was prompted by the "logistical needs" of the hearing, the court said on its website. ...
and their games, no matter the week, meaning so little — all of a sudden that traditional Turkey Day contest in the Motor City is no turkey at all.
Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis hasn't abandoned hope of returning from a foot injury in time to play Thursday night against San Francisco.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has a broken thumb, Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck is dealing with an injured right arm, and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has a high left ankle sprain.
John Harbaugh won't be hearing a lot of questions about football this week. Neither will his brother, Jim.
An NFL season not only requires survival of the fittest, but being the most fortunate.
The Bears are confident Jay Cutler will return this season from a broken thumb on his right throwing hand, so there was a glimmer of hope to go with the big chill that just blew through Chicago.
Rex Ryan's mouth really cost him this time.
The Buffalo Bills downward spiral continued Sunday in a 35-8 blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins, and it doesn't look like they'll be recovering anytime soon.
Bears coach Lovie Smith says quarterback Jay Cutler has suffered a broken thumb on his right throwing hand.
Mark Herzlich's debut as a full-time NFL player was bittersweet.
Aaron Rodgers missed a few more throws than he usually does, and even threw an interception with the game still in doubt.
LOCK HAVEN, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - For the better part of a decade, Jerry Sandusky was a fixture in this small, blue-collar community nestled in the Appalachian mountains: a volunteer football coach and eager mentor to some of its disadvantaged young boys. But with the former assistant Penn State University football coach now accused of sexually abusing eight boys, the Lock Haven area finds itself with unwelcome notoriety as the home of the boy whose allegations sparked the Pennsylvania attorney general's investigation. ...
Baseball News Headlines - Yahoo! News
College sports News Headlines - Yahoo! News
As huge and heavy as the trophy known as "The Boot" may be, Arkansas and LSU both have much bigger things to play for when their annual Thanksgiving week rivalry is renewed on Friday.
Despite numerous reports saying he's all but set to become Ohio State's next football coach, Urban Meyer said Wednesday that is not the case.
The latest AP college football poll gives a new meaning to the term all-SEC.
LSU-Alabama Round 2 is just a few victories away.
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw was already prepared that 6-foot-8 Baylor phenom Brittney Griner would probably have her way inside against the Irish.
Brittney Griner and Baylor have clearly established themselves as the No. 1 team — for now.
Mark Richt's belly slide across Georgia's locker-room floor had a good start and painful finish — just the opposite of his team's path to the SEC championship game.
Aaron Murray threw a touchdown pass to Marlon Brown on the first play of the fourth quarter, Blair Walsh kicked four field goals and No. 13 Georgia beat Kentucky 19-10 on Saturday to clinch a spot in the SEC championship game.
The NCAA will examine whether Penn State broke any rules with its handling of a child sex abuse scandal that has shocked the campus and cost the school's former president and coach Joe Paterno their jobs.
Penn State and Ohio State will play each other on Saturday, and that's a shame.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Big Ten stripped legendary former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's name on Monday from the conference championship trophy in fallout from a scandal over alleged child sex abuse involving an assistant coach. "We believe that it would be inappropriate to keep Joe Paterno's name on the trophy at this time," Commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement. "The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial. ...
The Big Ten has taken Joe Paterno's name off the Big Ten's football championship trophy.
LSU was a unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll, marking the first time since 2008 a team has received all the first-place votes during the regular season.
Oregon charged back into national championship contention, jumping to fourth place in the BCS standings Sunday after its big victory over Stanford.
This BCS race could very well come down to which team gets a second chance.
A Georgia player flung his helmet in the air and took off toward the student section, waving his arms. At the other end of Sanford Stadium, the band played and the red-clad fans chanted "SEC! SEC! SEC!"
(Reuters) - To understand America's devotion to college football, consider that after Penn State fired coach Joe Paterno over the school's sex abuse scandal, many dedicated fans said it was as if a deity or god had fallen.
A day after Central Florida's football and basketball programs were hit with allegations of rampant recruiting violations by the NCAA, the coaches of those teams maintained the problems are isolated and not systemic, and that they primed to move forward.
Soccer News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Udinese will be looking to reclaim top spot in Serie A when they host Roma on Friday night in a match brought forward from the weekend.
Cycling News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Sport's highest court completed a four-day hearing into Alberto Contador's doping case on Thursday, and the Spanish rider must now wait until early next year to find out if he will be stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title.
Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador, who is fighting a bid to impose a doping ban which could strip him of his 2010 Tour de France win, pled his case before a panel on Thursday.
Former Olympic champion Jeannie Longo was cleared of breaching anti-doping rules by the French Cycling Federation on Tuesday in an embarrassing reversal for the French Anti-Doping Agency.
Europcar, the team of Thomas Voeckler the long-time leader of this year's Tour de France, was demoted from the elite list of professional cycling teams on Monday by the sport's governing body the International Cycling Union (UCI).
Spanish sports stars including Rafael Nadal and Pep Gardiola have reacted with fury to comments from French tennis great Yannick Noah that doping was widespread in Spanish sport.
Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador went to sport's highest court on Monday to argue his case that contaminated meat caused his positive drug test at the 2010 Tour de France.
Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador arrived Monday to fight a bid by cycling's governing body to impose a doping ban which could strip him of his 2010 Tour de France win.
Like a Hollywood film noir, Alberto Contador's devilishly complex doping case has mystery, intrigue, suspense, an as-yet-unidentified villain and a very uncertain outcome. But unlike the movies, there won't be a satisfying ending.
Disgraced American cyclist Floyd Landis was convicted by a French court Thursday for his role in hacking into the computers of the anti-doping lab that caught him cheating at the 2006 Tour de France.
A French court gave disgraced former US cyclist Floyd Landis a suspended one year jail sentence Thursday after convicting him of employing a shady industrial espionage firm to spy on an anti-doping laboratory.
Hockey News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Paul Deutsch's pals in his recreational hockey league needed to find a replacement goalie Wednesday night. The 51-year-old embroidery shop owner was going to be suiting up for another team: The NHL's Minnesota Wild.
Tennis News Headlines - Yahoo! News
LONDON (Reuters) - David Ferrer, the lesser known Spaniard in the ATP World Tour Finals, burst out of Rafa Nadal's shadow to reach the last four on Wednesday with a demolition job on world number one Novak Djokovic at the O2 Arena. While Nadal's place in the semi-finals is still in doubt after his thrashing at the hands of Roger Federer on Tuesday, world number five Ferrer made sure he will be around at the weekend with a 6-3 6-1 defeat of the year's outstanding player. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Holder Roger Federer produced a performance of stunning quality to crush Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-0 at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday and clinch a place in the last four. The Swiss treated a 17,500-capacity O2 audience to his full repertoire of magic, outclassing the Spaniard in the 26th edition of arguably the greatest rivalry tennis has ever seen. World number two Nadal now faces a win or bust clash with Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday in his final Group B clash after Tsonga stayed in contention with a 7-6 6-1 defeat of American Mardy Fish. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - World number one Novak Djokovic clawed his way to victory over Tomas Berdych in his opening match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Monday but Andy Murray's prospects look bleak after a groin injury flared up in his shock defeat by David Ferrer. Djokovic, who arrived in London with question marks over his right shoulder, showed all the qualities that have made him the year's dominant force, digging himself out of trouble to win 3-6 6-3 7-6 after saving a match point deep in the decider. Murray, the form player in the world since the U.S. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal opened his account at the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-2 3-6 7-6 defeat of American Mardy Fish in a late-night Group B thriller at the O2 on Sunday. The world number two was stretched to the limit by Fish who produced some dazzling tennis in his first match at the season-ender having cracked the world's top 10 this year. Nadal took advantage of a slow start by his opponent to dominate the first set but the 29-year-old Fish responded by winning the second on his fifth set point with one of many sumptuous volleys he produced in the near three-hour duel. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Defending champion Roger Federer made a winning start at the ATP World Tour Finals with 6-2 2-6 6-4 victory in his opening round-robin match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the O2 on Sunday. The Swiss, competing at the season-ender for the 10th consecutive year, raced through the first set in 21 minutes but world number six Tsonga made sure the capacity crowd got value for money with a stirring fightback. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal's hopes of winning the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time were almost undermined at the first hurdle Sunday when a mystery stomach bug struck during a late-night thriller against American Mardy Fish. The Spanish world number two, playing his first match after a month lay-off, eventually won his Group B opener 6-2 3-6 7-6 but he needed to rush off court early in the deciding set suffering with what he called a "terrible stomach." The 10-times grand slam champion was having enough trouble subduing tournament debutant Fish as it was before feeling ill. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The state of flux in men's tennis could present Andy Murray with the perfect opportunity in 2012 to end Britain's 76-year wait for a men's grand slam champion, former British number one Greg Rusedski said.
LONDON (Reuters) - Old foes Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer will meet in the group stage of the ATP World Tour finals starting in London Sunday while world number one Novak Djokovic will clash with number three Andy Murray. The round-robin competition which ends the men's tennis season is made up of two groups of four with the top two from each pool going through to the semi-finals. Defending champion Federer has not won a grand slam singles title this year for the first time since 2002 but has bounced back to form with triumphs in his last two tournaments including last week's Paris Masters. ...
(Reuters) - Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was voted WTA's Player of the Year Monday following a season in which she claimed her debut grand slam title, steered the Czech Republic to Fed Cup glory and shot up 32 places in the world rankings. The Czech, who ended the year ranked second, picked up four prizes in total Monday following a remarkable 12 months in which she won six titles and chalked up a 6-0 record in Fed Cup singles. "This season has been simply a dream," the 21-year-old said in a statement after being voted to the top prize ahead of world number one Caroline Wozniacki. ...
PARIS (Reuters) - A resurgent Roger Federer swept past local favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 7-6 to clinch his maiden Paris Masters title on Sunday and send a deafening warning to his rivals ahead of the ATP World Tour finals. Swiss third seed Federer, who moved to one shy of Rafa Nadal's record of 19 Masters titles with a stunning display of sheer brilliance, became only the second player with titles in Roland Garros and Bercy -- the two men's Paris tournaments. "I'm very happy with my performance today," Federer, who captured his 69th career title from 99 finals, said at the courtside. ...
PARIS (Reuters) - Andy Murray's winning streak came to an end when the world number three slumped to a 4-6 7-6 6-4 quarter-final defeat at the Paris Masters after a three-hour tussle against the fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych on Friday.
PARIS (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic survived a wobble to beat fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 4-6 6-3 6-1 and reach the Paris Masters quarter-finals as Andy Murray and Roger Federer oozed class in brilliant displays on Thursday.
PARIS (Reuters) - American Mardy Fish is facing a race against time to be fit for the ATP World Tour finals after pulling out of the Paris Masters due to a hamstring injury on Thursday.
PARIS (Reuters) - World number one Novak Djokovic still has some way to go before he can boast the same aura Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have on the circuit, according to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
BASEL (Reuters) - World number one Novak Djokovic was surprisingly beaten by unseeded Kei Nishikori of Japan in the semi-finals of the Basel Open on Saturday, suffering a new injury setback in the process.
BASEL (Reuters) - World number one Novak Djokovic was surprisingly beaten by unseeded Kei Nishikori of Japan in the semi-finals of the Basel Open on Saturday, suffering a new injury setback in the process.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel because of a "right gluteal strain," organisers said Wednesday.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Petra Kvitova provided further proof that she is the rising force in women's tennis by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-5 4-6 6-3 to win the WTA Championships Sunday.
ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Croatia's Marin Cilic beat Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-3 3-6 6-2 in the St Petersburg Open final on Sunday to claim his first title in nearly two years.
VIENNA (Reuters) - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bounced back from a set behind and a service break down to beat Juan Martin del Potro for the first time and win the Vienna ATP tournament Sunday.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Czech left-hander Petra Kvitova stormed back from a set down to beat Samantha Stosur 5-7 6-3 6-3 in a topsy turvy semi-final at the WTA Championships on Saturday and is now one win away from collecting the $1.75 million jackpot.
Golf News Headlines - Yahoo! News
John Senden and Greg Chalmers have each had a hole-in-one at the Australian PGA — on consecutive days, in the same group, on the same hole.
HAIKOU, China (Reuters) - Brendan Jones and Richard Green put Australia on top after the first day of golf's World Cup and hoped their performance would stir up interest in the event back home. The duo combined to record two eagles and seven birdies in an 11-under par 61 in the fourball format on the Blackstone course on China's Hainan Island, with Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell two back after a 63. Also on nine-under was Scotland's Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher. ...
HAIKOU, China (Reuters) - Brendan Jones and Richard Green put Australia on top after the first day of golf's World Cup and hoped their performance would stir up interest in the event back home. The duo combined to record two eagles and seven birdies in an 11-under par 61 in the fourball format on the Blackstone course on China's Hainan Island, with Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell two back after a 63. Also on nine-under was Scotland's Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher. ...
Steven Bowditch and Choi Joon-woo shot rounds of 6-under-par 66 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first day of the Australian PGA and outshine a strong field that includes British Open champion Darren Clarke and Americans Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler.
MIAMI - Britain's world number three Lee Westwood has had a change of heart and rejoined the PGA Tour for the 2012 season. Westwood, who last year questioned the need to play some of the events in the States, will split his time between the European Tour and the U.S. circuit. "It just felt right in Ryder Cup year to commit to a full programme in the United States," Westwood said in a statement. Westwood's return also means he will be back at the Players Championship after upsetting the host last year by skipping the event, viewed in the States as the 'fifth major'. ...
The text message from David Duval arrived just as the Americans began to seize control for good in the Presidents Cup. The last time it was held at Royal Melbourne, he was the top qualifier for the U.S. team.
Tiger Woods appeared to turn his back on Torrey Pines when he announced last week that he would open his 2012 season that week in Abu Dhabi at the HSBC Championship, with an appearance fee that likely approaches $3 million.
HAIKOU, China (Reuters) - Former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen will team up with U.S. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel for the first time in the professional ranks when they fly the flag for South Africa in this week's World Cup. The two friends last paired up when they competed as amateurs in the Eisenhower Trophy in Malaysia in 2002. "It's been nearly a decade since Charl and I played in team competition and we've been looking forward to this for some time," Oosthuizen told Reuters in an interview ahead of the $7.5 million event that starts on Thursday. ...
Looking happier than he has all year, Tiger Woods slipped into the gallery for high fives and back slaps while wearing a green cap that he borrowed from the "Fanatics," the famous cheer squad that shows up at Australia's biggest sporting events.
The winning point for Tiger Woods. A perfect record for Jim Furyk.
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Tiger Woods delivered the knockout punch to the International team on Sunday to silence critics of his early Presidents Cup selection by captain Fred Couples. Woods captured the 18th and winning point for his team at Royal Melbourne when he closed out Australian Aaron Baddeley 4&3 on the par-five 15th with an exquisite bunker shot to less than a metre from the flag. The wall of the bunker was so steep Woods could not see the hole when he played from the sand but he quickly scampered up the face of the trap to see where the ball finished. ...
World Cup News Headlines - Yahoo! News
In his latest monthly column for Goal.com, the striker offers his thoughts on North Korea's recent World Cup qualifier matches at Uzbekistan and against historical rivals Japan
In his latest monthly column for Goal.com, the striker offers his thoughts on North Korea's recent World Cup qualifier matches at Uzbekistan and against historical rivals Japan
awaited 100th international century as India reached 281-3 on Thursday at stumps on the third day of the third and final test against West Indies.
LAKE LOUISE, CANADA - NOVEMBER 24: (FRANCE OUT) Bode Miller of the USA in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Downhill training on November 24, 2011 in Lake Louise, Canada. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
LAKE LOUISE, CANADA - NOVEMBER 24: (FRANCE OUT) Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Downhill training on November 24, 2011 in Lake Louise, Canada. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
LAKE LOUISE, CANADA - NOVEMBER 24: (FRANCE OUT) Bode Miller of the USA in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Downhill training on November 24, 2011 in Lake Louise, Canada. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
LAKE LOUISE, CANADA - NOVEMBER 24: (FRANCE OUT) Ted Ligety of the USA in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Downhill training on November 24, 2011 in Lake Louise, Canada. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
LAKE LOUISE, CANADA - NOVEMBER 24: (FRANCE OUT) Didier Defago of Switzerland in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Downhill training on November 24, 2011 in Lake Louise, Canada. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)Tech News Headlines - Yahoo! News
'Tis the season of the tablet. Despite the gloomy economy, shoppers are expected to shell out for tablet computers this December, making them about as popular as candy canes and twinkling lights.
Groupon Inc.'s stock fell below its initial public offering price for the first time Wednesday as investors reassess the challenges facing the still-unprofitable online deals company in a shaky economy.
From time to time, employees lose company laptops, accidentally leaving them in a bar or on a train. USB sticks go missing too, slipping out of pockets or sliding down the back of sofas, never to be seen again. And of course, some equipment gets stolen.
Guards in a South Korean prison will soon be introduced to some new colleagues – 150cm-tall robots on wheels.
An exhibit paying tribute to Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs was unveiled last week at the United States Patent Office Museum, located in Alexandria, Virginia. The museum's Jobs tribute is open to the public and is free of charge.
One of the longest and most storied rivalries in the NFL is that between divisional and geographic rivals, the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. Ubisoft decided to tap into that rivalry in order to celebrate the newest installment in its video game franchise that has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, Assassin's Creed: Revelations. B.J. ...
Like many other booksellers around the world, South Korea's Kyobo Book Centre (Korean) is entering the ereader market with its new Kyobo eReader, and a 5.7-inch XGA display, battery life measured in weeks, Google's Android under the hood, and (not surprising for the Korean market) an emphasis on Korean content. However, the Kyobo eReader has one feature that makes it absolutely unique on the planet: it uses a 5. ...
Added within a recent update to Delta's mobile application available for iPhone, Android and Windows phone owners, air travelers now have the ability to watch the progress of checked bags before, during and after the flight. After the Delta customer launches the application on a smartphone, they select "Track My Bags" and enter either the bag tag number or the file reference number into the screen. After entering a last name as well, the app displays for the current location of the bag as well as previous areas that the bag passed though. ...
The European Court of Justice has ruled (PDF) that Internet service providers cannot be required to install filtering systems designed to block downloads of illegal content, finding that such broad filtering violates the EU's E-Commerce Directive and could impede legal uses of the Internet and legitimate file transfers.
Microsoft has announced that it has inked a deal to acquire video searching startup VideoSurf in a bid to improve searching for entertainment content across its Xbox Live platform. By integrating VideoSurf's technology, users will be able to search for a term (say, "Spider-Man") and pull up unified results across games, the Zune marketplace, TV and film entertainment, and potentially even entertainment content from third-party providers like Netflix, Hulu, or Comcast.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first phone to ship with Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" pre-installed as its operating system—and it's %0A%E2%80%9C>coming%20to%20Verizon%20Wireless%20next%20month%E2%80%94but%20early%20customers%20in%20Europe%20have%20been%20reporting%20problems%20with%20the%20phone%E2%80%99s%20volume%20level:%20the%20device%E2%80%99s%20audio%20volume%20will%20drop%20to%20nothing%20for%20seemingly%20no%20reason,%20after%20which%20the%20device%E2%80%99s%20hardware%20volume%20controls%20become%20unresponsive. ...
Seattle's Big Fish Games scored a bit of a coup this week by being the first app developer to get a subscription-based game app into the iTunes App Store. But, the bubble has burst, at least for now: Apple has removed Play Instantly from the iTunes App Store.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Adam Holm has been looking to sell his three-bedroom Victorian house in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood all year, but he needs one thing to happen first: gaming-company Zynga's initial public offering. "It seems foolish to put it on the market before when there are a thousand people down the street who are about to make a million dollars," said Holm. His place is within walking distance of Zynga's headquarters, and he expects prices in the neighborhood to rise significantly in the wake of the IPO. ...
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce firm, posted an 11.9 percent rise in quarterly net profit, its slowest growth in nearly two years, with the company raising concerns due to a weak trade outlook stemming from debt woes in Europe and the United States. The third-quarter results missed analyst forecasts and were attributed to a weak macroeconomic climate that led to a slower pace of customer additions. ...
The digital era might be more aptly named the era of the couch potato. With over half of US adults spending more than three hours a day sitting in front of their TVs it's no wonder many are looking to upgrade their set.
AYUTTHAYA, Thailand (Reuters) - Knee-deep in foul-smelling water, workers are piling office equipment, documents and food onto fiber boats that ferry them from one building on Hana Microelectronics' 12-acre company site to another with more space on higher floors. It has been six weeks since Thailand's worst flooding in decades turned its industrial heartland into a real-life 'Waterworld' and the water is going down 20 cm a day. But it reached 2 meters at one point and will take time to clear, said General Manager Bruce Stromstad. ...
Google officially announced an update for its product search feature, which is good timing for the upcoming holiday shopping rampage. The company has overhauled its Product Search, a comparison shopping tool, creating a fuller, more intuitive experience and incorporating popular features from the recently shuttered Boutiques.com.
Netflix may need to start keeping an eye on YouTube's rental service. Thanks to a new partnership, Disney movies will be available for rent through the popular Google-owned streaming service. The first batch of many Disney movies are available beginning today, some starting at $1.99.
Internet News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Britney Spears has pushed Google CEO Larry Page out of the top spot on social media site Google+, ending the reign of technology elites on the newly minted social network.
These days there are so many sites and accounts you need to log into that it is hard to think of new, unique passwords. So often, when it comes down to creating a new password people either use the same password over and over again or create easy to remember passwords (or both).
Staff members at the social networking site Twitter have put together a list of influential Twitter accounts to follow on Thanksgiving Day.
Swedish online music star Spotify said Wednesday ahead of a mystery announcement next week that it has reached 2.
Google+, the Internet search giant's rival to Facebook, has a high-profile new member: US President Barack Obama.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Sorry, soap opera fans; you have little to be thankful for as we head into the U.S. national day of gratitude. Prospect Park has suspended its plans to revive "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" online, the company said on Wednesday. Prospect Park's Rich Frank and Jeff Kwatinetz cited "mounting issues" that make it "impossible" for the company to meet its "One Life to Live" deadlines. Plans for its online version of "All My Children" were abandoned earlier this month. ...
(Reuters) - Shares of Pandora Media fell more than 10 percent on Wednesday after the online streaming music service company gave a muted fourth-quarter outlook. The company posted higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue after the market closed on Tuesday. Investors shrugged off that news and focused on broader concerns about the company's growth potential, given a flock of competitors as well as executives' remarks about fourth-quarter revenue. ...
According to a November 22 report by analytics company Sociable Labs, a large percentage of internet shoppers log into the world's biggest social network while simultaneously browsing for goods.
A series of posts by Twitter user @Enchancers_Sis (aka Ryan Hope) have sparked a hot debate about suicide and bullying on the microblogging site.
The European Court of Justice has ruled (PDF) that Internet service providers cannot be required to install filtering systems designed to block downloads of illegal content, finding that such broad filtering violates the EU's E-Commerce Directive and could impede legal uses of the Internet and legitimate file transfers.
While most companies are teasing their holiday deals and holding out for Black Friday sales, Internet-direct speaker maker Aperion Audio is thumbing its nose at the holiday craze by making its seasonal deals available today.
Google+, the Internet search giant's rival to Facebook, has a high-profile new member: US President Barack Obama.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc has abandoned an ambitious project to make renewable energy cheaper than coal, the latest target of Chief Executive Larry Page's moves to focus the Internet giant on fewer efforts. Google said on Tuesday that it was pulling the plug on seven projects, including Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal as well as a Wikipedia-like online encyclopedia service known as Knol. The plans, which Google announced on its corporate blog, represent the third so-called "spring cleaning" announcement that Google has made since Google co-founder Page took the reins in April. ...
Gadgets News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad, which is being axed by the company, was the top-selling tablet computer in the United States after Apple's iPad in the first 10 months of the year, market research company NPD Group said Tuesday.
Publishing giant Penguin Group on Tuesday stopped adding digital works to US library shelves where they can be borrowed by owners of Kindle electronic readers.
(Reuters) - Apple Inc does not violate patents owned by S3 Graphics Co, the International Trade Commission said on Monday in the latest ruling in the smartphone patent wars. S3 had filed a complaint with the ITC in May 2010, accusing Apple of infringing four patents for compressing data for transmission and then decompressing it. S3 said the technology was used to make Apple iPhones, the iPad, iPod touch and some Apple computers. An ITC internal judge had issued a preliminary ruling in July that Apple infringed two of the patents and did not infringe two others. ...
(Reuters) - Apple Inc does not violate patents owned by S3 Graphics Co, the International Trade Commission said on Monday in the latest ruling in the smartphone patent wars. S3 had filed a complaint with the ITC in May 2010, accusing Apple of infringing four patents for compressing data for transmission and then decompressing it. S3 said the technology was used to make Apple iPhones, the iPad, iPod touch and some Apple computers. An ITC internal judge had issued a preliminary ruling in July that Apple infringed two of the patents and did not infringe two others. ...
Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire tablet, which started shipping this week, costs $201.70 to make, a research firm said Friday. That's $2.70 more than Amazon charges for it.
At $199, Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire slightly below the cost it takes to manufacture the tablet computer, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc may launch its own smartphone in the fourth quarter of 2012, Citigroup said, citing its supply-chain channel checks in Asia. In a research note dated November 17, the brokerage said it believes the online retail giant is now jointly developing the phone with the world's top contract cellphone maker Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. "With the clear success of the Kindle e-Reader over the past 3 years, and Kindle Fire possibly succeeding in the low-priced tablet market, we view this as the next logical step for Amazon," the brokerage said. ...
Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire tablet, which started shipping this week, costs $201.70 to make, a research firm said Friday. That's $2.70 more than Amazon charges for it.
BARCELONA (Reuters) - The semiconductor industry is looking at first signs of recovery as it struggles to clear inventories of unsold chips stemming from a slowdown in consumer spending, industry executives said on Thursday. The industry hit a slump as demand for consumer gadgets has slowed in Europe and elsewhere due to economic uncertainties at a time when vendors have invested heavily in the new production gear. Chip designer ARM said it was optimistic that reductions in inventory by device makers, which is dampening demand for semiconductors, would be short-lived. ...
Wireless News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Like many other booksellers around the world, South Korea's Kyobo Book Centre (Korean) is entering the ereader market with its new Kyobo eReader, and a 5.7-inch XGA display, battery life measured in weeks, Google's Android under the hood, and (not surprising for the Korean market) an emphasis on Korean content. However, the Kyobo eReader has one feature that makes it absolutely unique on the planet: it uses a 5. ...
Added within a recent update to Delta's mobile application available for iPhone, Android and Windows phone owners, air travelers now have the ability to watch the progress of checked bags before, during and after the flight. After the Delta customer launches the application on a smartphone, they select "Track My Bags" and enter either the bag tag number or the file reference number into the screen. After entering a last name as well, the app displays for the current location of the bag as well as previous areas that the bag passed though. ...
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first phone to ship with Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" pre-installed as its operating system—and it's %0A%E2%80%9C>coming%20to%20Verizon%20Wireless%20next%20month%E2%80%94but%20early%20customers%20in%20Europe%20have%20been%20reporting%20problems%20with%20the%20phone%E2%80%99s%20volume%20level:%20the%20device%E2%80%99s%20audio%20volume%20will%20drop%20to%20nothing%20for%20seemingly%20no%20reason,%20after%20which%20the%20device%E2%80%99s%20hardware%20volume%20controls%20become%20unresponsive. ...
Apple's iPad 2, Sony's PlayStation 3 and the iPhone 4S are some of the products with the biggest buzz on Twitter in the lead-up to Black Friday according to data released November 22 by social networking analysts Mashwork.
(Reuters) - Nearly three-quarters of Britons think it is inappropriate for children under 12 to own a mobile phone, despite the fact that most kids already have them, according to a poll on Thursday. The survey of 2,000 people found that expensive bills, unmonitored internet use and lack of parental control were some of the reasons adults felt uncomfortable about kids owning mobiles. However, more than one in 10 would buy a child a mobile phone as a treat to encourage good behavior, or for doing well at school. ...
Starting on Black Friday and running through the entire shopping season, the Promenade Temecula shopping mall in southern California and Short Pump Town Center shopping mall in Richmond, Virginia plan to track customers locations within the mall by monitoring cell phone signals as reported by CNN earlier today. The malls intend to follow the path of each shopper and collect data to understand typical shopping patterns. ...
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's HTC Corp cut its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter to no growth over the same period a year earlier from around 20 percent to 30 percent year on year growth previously, surprising the market and sending its shares tumbling 7 percent. The world's No.4 smartphone maker has been facing a slowdown in shipment growth in the second half of this year after growth more than doubled in the first half, as competition from bigger rival such as Apple Inc and Samsung intensifies and the global economy weakens. ...
French anti-racism groups have dropped anti-Semitism suits against Apple after it withdrew a "Jew or not Jew" iPhone app from its online stores worldwide, the groups' lawyer said on Thursday.
Taiwan-based handset maker HTC has cut its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter, reports Bloomberg. The anticipated drop in revenue, which could be as much as 23 percent for the quarter, is due to increased competition from Samsung and Apple, as well as the overall weak state of the global economy, the company said.
Something's just wrong when a sales tactic brings to mind a Fourth Amendment case pending before the Supreme Court.
Incidents such as the prolonged service outage that affected millions of subscribers across the globe and the recent battery issues in the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 can dent the company's image and sink sales in no time
Tablets will see huge demand this holiday season with Apple continuing to reign the tablet market and Amazon poised to take over from Samsung as the new No. 2 according to a survey conducted by market research firm, ChangeWave. The survey showed that almost 65% of the holiday shoppers would buy the iPad while 22% were eying the Kindle Fire.
China has overtaken the United States to become the world's largest smartphone market by volume although the US still leads in terms of revenue, a market research firm said Wednesday.
High-tech product releases announced the week ending November 23 include the Kyobo color e-reader, the kid-friendly Nabi tablet, a compact desktop PC from Lenovo, a tiny DIY PC from VIA and an affordable Hugo Boss smartphone.
Image via Wikipedia Apple is dealing Sharp into its iPad and iPHone business in a big way, Peter Misek, at Jefferies & Co., wrote in a note to investors Tuesday. Misek believes Sharp began production of high resolution displays for the next iPad began two weeks ago, and that Sharp will [...]
Nuance Communications - a once obscure voice technology company that has emerged into the spotlight as a key player in the Apple iPhone 4S Siri voice command system - this afternoon posted financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30 that topped Street estimates. For the quarter, the [...]
Social Media News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The popularity of Twitter has soared in the Arab world over the past year, a study has revealed, reflecting the key role of the social networking site in the "Arab Spring" revolutions.
Apple's iPad 2, Sony's PlayStation 3 and the iPhone 4S are some of the products with the biggest buzz on Twitter in the lead-up to Black Friday according to data released November 22 by social networking analysts Mashwork.
(Reuters) - German drugmaker Merck KGaA accused U.S. rival Merck & Co of hijacking its Facebook page and said it plans to sue to get it back. Merck KGaA asked a New York judge to force Facebook Inc to turn over information to help determine how the German company lost the page, http://www.facebook.com/merck , and the ability to administer it. According to a Monday filing with a New York state court in Manhattan, Merck KGaA contracted with Facebook in March 2010 for exclusive use of the page, but discovered last month that the unrelated Merck & Co was using it. ...
Bankers hyped up Groupon to get the deal done fast. Beware Facebook's banker who do the same for their IPO. Test the key assumptions built into the business model.
Tens of thousands of sympathetic Facebook users helped reunite a Philippine grandmother with her 78-year-old husband who went missing for two weeks, the family said Wednesday.
Guest post written by Bill Ruh Bill Ruh is VP and Global Technology Director for General Electric. Bill Ruh: Connecting everything to everything else. By now it's likely that you've heard the term "Internet of things," a catchy phrase that speaks to the broad notion that our world is becoming more and more [...]
When America's unofficial start to the holiday shopping season Black Friday commences on November 25 numerous Twitter users will be heading to Walmart, Best Buy and Target according to data from social media analysts Mashwork released November 22.
According to a November 22 report by analytics company Sociable Labs, a large percentage of internet shoppers log into the world's biggest social network while simultaneously browsing for goods.
A series of posts by Twitter user @Enchancers_Sis (aka Ryan Hope) have sparked a hot debate about suicide and bullying on the microblogging site.
Embattled Australian airline Qantas was Wednesday facing a social media storm after a publicity exercise on Twitter dramatically backfired, prompting an outpouring of negative comments.
Facebook might be developing a phone—but is it even worth buying, asks Dan Lyons.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - With the release of "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" less than a month away, Paramount Pictures has accepted a new mission: to release the first three installments for rent via Facebook. By using 30 Facebook credits (which amounts to $2.99), U.S.-based fans of the Tom Cruise action series can view individual streams of the movies directly through its Facebook page, the studio announced Tuesday. The streams can be rented for up to 48 hours and can be accessed by clicking the "rent movies" link. ...
Facebook has allied with Taiwan's HTC to build a customized smartphone powered by Google's Android mobile operating system, according to technology blog All Things Digital.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - LeapFrog Enterprises' new learning tablet computer for kids is likely to be the hottest toy this holiday, according to new Facebook data released on Tuesday by online search firm TheFind. TheFind, a shopping search engine run by Siva Kumar, crunches data from social networks like Facebook and other sources online to help consumers track down products. The company is working closely with Facebook to help the largest social network expand its e-commerce efforts. ...
Foursquare can help small business compete with the big guys.
Facebook has been valued as high as $100 billion – a number that would make it the undisputed darling of the tech community, crushing more recent public offerings by LinkedIn and Groupon.
Facebook is working on an Android-based smartphone, dubbed "Buffy," that will put the social network at the forefront of users' mobile experiences -- and the company has asked HTC to manufacture the device.
A disobedient Labrador, called Benton, has become famous around the globe after a video of the dog chasing deer while pursued by his hapless owner went viral on YouTube.
Twitter's most popular users are celebrating their triumphs at the American Music Awards and congratulating fellow artists on their successes.
Danielle Mitterrand, the widow of former French president François Mitterand, died during the night aged 87, report Twitter users on the morning of November 22.
Since the days of Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richard's Almanac, politicians of every stripe have looked to ever-advancing technology to get their message across to potential voters. During the time of the American Revolution, pamphlets by Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, John Dickinson and others were used to inform and inspire the public to one or the other point of view concerning colonial independence from England. As communications technology has advanced, savvy politicians have been making use of each new medium to communicate more effectively.
Security News Headlines - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal investigation into last year's cyber attack on Nasdaq OMX Group found surprisingly lax security practices that made the exchange operator an easy target for hackers, people with knowledge of the probe said. The sources did not want to be identified because the matter is classified. The ongoing probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is focused on Nasdaq's Directors Desk collaboration software for corporate boards, where the breach occurred. The Web-based software is used by directors to share confidential information and to collaborate on projects. ...
(Reuters) - Hackers attacking Canadian organizations are determined to make money in targeted campaigns while government insiders stole more data than ever before, a security study released on Tuesday showed. The number of breaches in Canada and the cost of dealing with them have spiked since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a joint study from telecom company Telus and the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. The study, its fourth annual report, said the crisis had both pressured budgets for information security and created a darker "threat environment. ...
Iran said on Sunday it had found a way to "control" the computer malware Duqu, which is similar to Stuxnet virus which in 2010 attacked its nuclear programme and infected more than 30,000 computers.
(Reuters) - A software flaw in Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads may allow hackers to build apps that secretly install programs to steal data, send text messages or destroy information, according to an expert on Apple device security.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should be more open about its development of offensive cyber weapons and spell out when it will use them as it grapples with an increasing barrage of attacks by foreign hackers, the former No. 2 uniformed officer in the U.S. military said.
A fansite for a French rugby union team is recovering after hackers mistook it for the website of the German stock exchange and launched an attack.
(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said hackers exploited a previously unknown bug in its Windows operating system to infect computers with the Duqu virus, which some security experts say could be the next big cyber threat.
Hackers from around the world have attacked Palestinian servers, cutting Internet service across the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian communications minister said on Tuesday.
Linux/Open Source News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Gaming News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Microsoft has announced that it has inked a deal to acquire video searching startup VideoSurf in a bid to improve searching for entertainment content across its Xbox Live platform. By integrating VideoSurf's technology, users will be able to search for a term (say, "Spider-Man") and pull up unified results across games, the Zune marketplace, TV and film entertainment, and potentially even entertainment content from third-party providers like Netflix, Hulu, or Comcast.
Alright, I've been hunting through the internet all morning, and have come up with a list of what I think are the best deals this Black Friday at major retailers for video games, consoles and all things gaming related. The long and short of it is that it's time to buy [...]
It has been a brutal year for fans of the Wii. Other publishers have stopped bringing AAA games to Nintendo's low-powered console. The best-reviewed new game on the system, "Xenoblade Chronicles," has inexplicably been withheld from the United States. Nintendo itself seems ready to move on to its forthcoming Wii U.
Vodafone has been chosen as Sony PlayStation's preferred provider of PS Vita data connections in Europe ahead of a February 22 launch.
(Reuters) - Retailers are saving some of their deepest discounts on Black Friday for video game products, with large chains Wal-Mart and Best Buy putting some rock-bottom prices tags on hot games to lure shoppers into stores. The $64 billion global video game industry faces the challenge of selling an array of highly anticipated game titles that are released in a short time, while consumers do not have the cash to shell out for all of them. ...
Shown for the first time at the MineCon festival in Las Vegas, with a trailer starring the game's developers, Minecraft's Xbox 360 iteration captures many of the game's hallmark features.
It's got good looks, a reasonable price, and a new way to play against your friends.
Chuck Norris, he of roundhouse kick, Texas Ranger, and internet meme fame, is World of Warcraft's newest celebrity advocate.
Former Facebook COO and MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta is once again looking for a job: he's just resigned as the chief business officer of social game maker Zynga, the company that pushes popular online games like Words with Friends and Farmville. Van Natta will continue to serve on Zynga's board of directors, but his position as chief business officer ended on November 16. As a result, Van Natta will explicitly miss out on millions of dollars in stock options related to Zynga's pending IPO.
The giant hasn't fallen yet, but it's certainly staggering a bit. World of Warcraft has been king of the MMO landscape for the better part of a decade, but now it seems it might be approaching its twilight years, as despite new expansions, its subscriber numbers continue to drop. In a recent [...]
A new Zelda game on the Wii, a fine return to form for the Rayman series, and Serious Sam's unapologetic enthusiasm for first-person shooters are among new games during the week beginning November 20.
Kids across the US will be hoping to unwrap a Nintendo Wii, DS, or PS3 this holiday season, according to the results of a Nielsen survey released November 17.
Visitors attending the Los Angeles Auto Show will be greeted by its typical mix of new models and far-fetched fantasies -- and this year, even Super Mario will be making an appearance.
Down nearly 50pc, analysts are now seriously questioning the company's long-term [...]
Image via Wikipedia Two predictable events for Microsoft this week, along with its annual shareholder meeting: On Tuesday, the Xbox celebrated its 10th anniversary. Strictly speaking, this is the anniversary of the brand rather than the product - the Xbox itself having been superseded by the Xbox 360 in 2005. This is [...]
Fan have been clamoring to take a trip back to 1960's New York and wander the halls of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce on AMC's "Mad Men," but their wait will continue until March 2012, something star Christina Hendricks says will pay off in big ways.
Stealthy death-dealer Ezio Auditore takes his noble crusade to the 16th Century Ottoman Empire with the Tuesday release of Ubisoft's latest Assassin's Creed video game.
Vivendi has sold 35 million shares of Activision Blizzard, reducing its stake in the video game publisher by about 3 percentage points to 60%. Reuters estimates that the sale generated proceeds of about $426 million. A spokesman told Vivendi that the sale was "a tactical disposal with regards to our overall capital [...]
Stealthy death-dealer Ezio Auditore takes his noble crusade to the 16th Century Ottoman Empire with Tuesday's release of Ubisoft's latest Assassin's Creed video game.
It's a frightening thing for any gamer to worry over in this day and age. With video games demanding double-digit numbers of gameplay hours these days, losing a save file could conceivably mean that you're losing 20+ hours of progress. Batman fans are living through this fear now, with word that the Xbox 360 version of Batman: Arkham City has been hit with a glitch that is causing save file data to become corrupted.
Social gaming giant PopCap, behind such new classic casual hits as Bejeweled, Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies, has come out with a new survey that has a lot of interesting data about the rise of social games. The report was conducted for PopCap by the Information Solutions Group and is available [...]
Batman: Arkham City and Portal 2 will battle it out with other nominees at the 9th annual Video Game Awards on Spike TV it was announced this month, along with word that gamers can stream the show.
Politics News Headlines - Yahoo! News
They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.
Whether they like it or not, Republican presidential candidates are joining New Hampshire's intensifying gay marriage debate.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria faces a Friday deadline to sign an Arab deal allowing monitors into the country or incur sanctions over its crackdown on protests including halting flights, curbing trade and stopping deals with the central bank. Arab foreign ministers warned in Cairo that unless Syria agreed to let the monitors in to assess progress of an Arab League plan to end eight months of bloodshed, officials would consider imposing sanctions on Saturday. ...
CAIRO (Reuters) - Activists vowed to crank up pressure on Egypt's generals on Friday with an overwhelming show of people power to cap almost a week of protests against army rule that have left 41 people dead. State media said the army leaders picked a political veteran in his late 70s to form a national salvation government, a choice that was quickly snubbed by many of the young activists who have led the demonstrations in Tahrir Square. ...
RABAT (Reuters) - As a group of young men stood chatting in the Douar L'Koura slum in Morocco's capital, another man rushed up and warned them the police could soon be on their way. "I just assaulted someone with a knife," he said. Morocco votes Friday in a parliamentary election which the authorities say is a big step toward democracy and testimony that this north African kingdom is responding to the "Arab Spring" uprisings by embracing reform. ...
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Suspected drug gang hitmen murdered at least 26 people and dumped their bodies in the center of Mexico's second city of Guadalajara on Thursday as a showdown between rival drug gangs intensified. The bodies were found in several vans abandoned around the western city's iconic Millennium Arches monument, together with a message from drug cartels. An official with the attorney-general's office said the death toll could rise beyond the 26 confirmed so far. ...
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - One of the most senior figures in Libya's outgoing government has denounced its leaders as an unelected elite, supported by "money, arms and PR," and warned that 90 percent of Libya is politically voiceless. Outgoing acting Prime Minister Ali Tarhouni's comments were the strongest criticism to date by a senior politician of the country's new rulers, who led the rebellion that ended Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule and have been in charge since his fall. ...
ZINTAN/TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam needs surgery to remove gangrenous flesh from a severed thumb and finger which if not treated could make him seriously ill, a doctor who examined him told Reuters on Thursday. Saif al-Islam has been nursing injuries to his right hand which he says were sustained during a NATO airstrike weeks ago. No further details have been available on the state of his heavily bandaged thumb, index and middle fingers. ...
Whether they like it or not, Republican presidential candidates are joining New Hampshire's intensifying gay marriage debate.
They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli archaeologists Wednesday said they had found ancient coins that overturned widely-held beliefs about the origins of Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites. For centuries, many thought the wall was built by King Herod - also infamous, in the Christian tradition, for his efforts to hunt down the baby Jesus in the original Christmas story. But archaeologists said they had found coins buried under the wall's foundations minted 20 years after King Herod's death in 4 B.C., showing the structure was completed by his successors. ...
MONTREAL (Reuters) - A Canadian consortium aiming to buy the operator of the country's largest exchanges said the C$3.8 billion deal would likely win regulatory approval, its hopes boosted by a first day of hearings on Thursday. In an appearance before regulators in the French-speaking province of Quebec, Maple Group defended its proposal to buy TMX Group against criticism it would create a monopoly and squash competition. Maple is comprised of 13 of Canada's most powerful financial institutions. "There was nothing there that was troubling for us, they were completely understandable questions. ...
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At the peak of the United States's war in Iraq, the U.S. military had more than 170,000 troops, 500 bases replete with tents and toilets, kitchens and motor pools, and an airline that flew hundreds of times a day across the country. Moving day has lasted more than a year. The U.S. withdrawal from Iraq after nearly nine years of war is believed to be one of the largest removal jobs in history. At the start of the year logistics experts calculated there were nearly 3 million pieces of equipment to be moved, from airplanes, helicopters and tanks to laptops and lights. ...
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is very concerned about the European debt crisis, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday in the latest comment by a senior Canadian government official about the problems in Europe. Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have repeatedly urged European officials to deal quickly with the crisis. "We're obviously very concerned about the situation in Europe," Harper told the House of Commons. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)
WARSAW (Reuters) - Lech Walesa will finally see his life made into a movie, more than three decades after the shipyard electrician launched the Solidarity union that helped topple communism in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda began filming the first biopic about Walesa, who remains a respected but controversial figure. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling told a public inquiry into British media standards on Thursday she was forced to move house because of tabloid harassment and had been made to feel like a hostage in her home after she gave birth. During two hours of evidence, Rowling revealed a note had been slipped into her young daughter's schoolbag by a journalist and that she had chased a paparazzo photographer down the street when he tried to take a picture of her with her children. ...
ATHENS (Reuters) - For self-made businessman Dimitrios, the threats began with a phone call from a man who said they knew where his daughter was. At first the 57-year-old window installer kept quiet about the calls. When his car was torched in front of his house, he hid the blackened metal shell from his family. But when he awoke to his wife's screams at a huge banner that had been strung across their street, he could no longer hide the truth. "I WANT MY MONEY BACK," the banner read. And Dimitrios knew the illegal loan shark to whom he owed thousands was not prepared to wait. ...
White House News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The National Thanksgiving Turkey "Liberty" is seen as US President Barack Obama pardons him in a ceremony in the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may not help the economy, but President Barack Obama found another move he can make without congressional approval on Wednesday: pardon a turkey. Obama, a Democrat, has spent the last several weeks criticizing the Congress and Republicans for not embracing his jobs proposals, launching a "We Can't Wait" campaign to highlight executive actions he was taking to boost the economy without lawmakers' input. With tongue in cheek, the president brought the same logic -- minus the economic incentive -- to the annual White House ritual of sparing a turkey. ...
US President Barack Obama's reelection campaign enlisted two Hispanic lawmakers on Wednesday to blast Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney over his tough talk against undocumented immigrants.
The point man for carrying out President Barack Obama's health care law will be stepping down after Republicans succeeded in blocking his confirmation by the Senate, the White House announced Wednesday.
Republican voters are uneasy about White House hopeful Mitt Romney's Mormon faith, but not enough to hurt him in a general election battle with President Barack Obama, according to a survey out Wednesday.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday announced the endorsement of South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a rising star in the Republican Party who had weighed a White House bid of his own.
White House Says Defense System Doesn't Threaten Russia, Sees 'No Basis for Threats'
White House Says Defense System Doesn't Threaten Russia, Sees 'No Basis for Threats'
(Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will pick up the endorsement of Senator John Thune in Iowa later on Wednesday in a boost to his campaign for the 2012 White House race, a local newspaper reported. The Sioux City Journal said Thune, a highly respected two-term senator from South Dakota, would endorse Romney at an event at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. EST) in Iowa, a key state which holds the first nominating contest on January 3. The former Massachusetts governor has been running high in the polls among Republicans and Thune's backing will be a fillip to his campaign. ...
The White House accused Republican Mitt Romney's camp of blatant dishonesty Tuesday after he savaged President Barack Obama's jobs record in a testy preview of a possible 2012 election showdown.
The White House said Tuesday that the resignation of Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Hussain Haqqani, was an "internal issue" for Pakistan but praised him as "a very close partner."
With new trouble appearing in the Middle East and the Pentagon facing possible budget cuts, the Republican White House contenders are debating for the second time in as many weeks how they would do better than President Barack Obama in protecting and extending America's national security.
Congress News Headlines - Yahoo! News
GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann received an apology from an NBC executive after an off-color song was played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night," her spokeswoman said late Wednesday.
GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has received an apology from an NBC executive after an off-color song was played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night" show.
US President Barack Obama performed his seasonal role of pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey Wednesday, joking it was one duty he could perform without approval of an obstructive Congress.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may not help the economy, but President Barack Obama found another move he can make without congressional approval on Wednesday: pardon a turkey. Obama, a Democrat, has spent the last several weeks criticizing the Congress and Republicans for not embracing his jobs proposals, launching a "We Can't Wait" campaign to highlight executive actions he was taking to boost the economy without lawmakers' input. With tongue in cheek, the president brought the same logic -- minus the economic incentive -- to the annual White House ritual of sparing a turkey. ...
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian government on Wednesday suspended Chevron Corp's drilling rights in Brazil until it clarifies the causes of an offshore oil spill, the latest twist in a political firestorm threatening the U.S. company's role in Brazil's oil bonanza. The decision was announced as the chief executive of Chevron's Brazilian unit was testifying before the Brazilian Congress, where he publicly apologized for the November 8 spill that leaked about 2,400 barrels of oil into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. ...
The failure of Congress' deficit-reduction supercommittee adds a new dimension to the 2012 political contests, drawing political battle lines around broad tax increases and massive spending cuts that now are scheduled to begin automatically in 2013.
GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann lashed out Wednesday at NBC for not apologizing or taking immediate disciplinary action for an off-color song played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was accused on Wednesday of flip-flopping for comments he made in 2007 indicating he was open to a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Romney's remarks, made on NBC's "Meet the Press" when he was a candidate for president, were circulated by rival Newt Gingrich's campaign the day after the former Speaker of the House of Representatives came under similar fire for suggesting during a debate Tuesday night that he was in favor of such a pathway for immigrants. ...
Chevron's top official in Brazil on Wednesday apologized to lawmakers for the oil spill off Rio de Janeiro state which could resulted in fines worth more than $145 million (105 million euros).
Michele Bachmann did not intend to be taken literally when she told the Republican presidential debate Tuesday that civil-liberties activists have taken over the interrogation of terrorists from the CIA. But even as a rhetorical point, it didn't hold water.
GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is lashing out at NBC for not apologizing or taking immediate disciplinary action for an off-color song played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night."
NBC's Jimmy Fallon says he's sorry for the snarky welcome his "Late Night" band gave to Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann.
Congress' failed deficit-cutting supercommittee has faded away, but the pressure on lawmakers to quickly confront a stack of expensive economic issues is only growing.
U.S. Government News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The Navy's Blue Angels have been thrilling audiences for more than six decades with their acrobatic flying in fighter planes, but a new era of federal budget worries and proposed deficit cutting has some inside and outside the military raising questions about the millions it costs to produce their shows.
At one Department of Motor Vehicles' office in the nation's capital, motorists can get a driver's license, temporary tags and something wholly unrelated to the road: a free HIV test.
Congress' supercommittee conceded ignominious defeat Monday in its quest to conquer a government debt that stands at a staggering $15 trillion, unable to overcome deep and enduring political divisions over taxes and spending.
Hezbollah has partially unraveled the CIA's spy network in Lebanon, severely damaging the intelligence agency's ability to gather vital information on the terrorist organization at a tense time in the region, former and current U.S. officials said.
The CIA's operations in Lebanon have been badly damaged after Hezbollah identified and captured a number of U.S. spies recently, current and former U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The intelligence debacle is particularly troubling because the CIA saw it coming.
For the average private sector worker, it's been a lost decade for raises. In inflation adjusted terms, companies are paying lower wages than they did back in 2002. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) National Compensation Survey shows that the per-hour cost of wages and salaries incurred by private [...]
Can Americans continue living beyond their means? Apparently...yes.
A nuclear power plant in central Virginia, the North Anna Power Station, has lost offsite power after enduring the 5.8 earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., according to U.S. nuclear officials. The North Anna Power Station has two nuclear reactors and is reportedly operating on four diesel generators to maintain cooling [...]
If there is a trend that best captures America's fecklessness over the past decade, this would be a top contender among a very strong field: Even as bank misbehavior reached world-historical proportions, and brought so many Americans to financial ruin, federal bank fraud prosecutions were falling - the result of [...]
Whatever you think of Herman Cain's politics, he has had a remarkably fast ascent in the Republican Presidential polls from asterisk to front-runner. Start-ups of all stripes would love to emulate that kind of success. What business lessons can we learn from this story? Cain's rise holds four take-aways for upstarts [...]
Image via Wikipedia The Honorable Julia Gillard is the first female Prime Minister of Australia. She is an immigrant to Australia--a British citizen who renounced her British citizenship before entering the Australian parliament. She is an innovator: as Prime Minister, she has launched a clean energy plan for Australians—Australia's biggest polluters [...]
Would you forgive and forget if your employer didn't pay you part of your salary? Nationwide, government entities are owed a total of approximately $180 billion. To be sure, there are some people who owe money that simply cannot pay. But it is also true that some can, and do not, [...]
Are they listening? They better be. Folks are lining up at the door. This release came out yesterday: Tech Industry Urges Congressional Supercommittee to Seize Opportunity to Spur Innovation as Key
Six of America's leading technology trade organizations and their members urged the bipartisan Joint Committee on Deficit [...]
Memo to newspaper publishers: News websites do pay off! Matt Drudge, the owner of the popular conservative news website Drudge Report, just bought a new house in south Miami-Dade County. He snagged the ranch-like place in Redland, an unincorporated farming area known for its organic strawberries, for $1.45 million — cash. -- Click [...]
Temporary Error
The Courts News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The Philippine Supreme Court has ordered vast sugarcane plantation lands owned by relatives of the president to be distributed to thousands of farmers under a government land reform program.
ANALYSIS | As soon as "Obamacare" passed, people began to speculate on whether or not the Supreme Court would shoot it down. It would become an easy game of prediction. All of the judges appointed by Democrats would uphold it. All of the Republican appointees would defeat it, right?
Something's just wrong when a sales tactic brings to mind a Fourth Amendment case pending before the Supreme Court.
(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co does not have to turn over to a shareholder an internal report that led to the departure of former chief executive Mark Hurd, Delaware's Supreme Court ruled. Hurd abruptly resigned last year following allegations of sexual harassment against an HP contractor. A company investigation cleared Hurd of harassment, but accused him of filing inaccurate expense reports. A shareholder, Ernesto Espinoza, sued the company to determine whether the board had grounds to fire Hurd rather than pay him a $30 million separation. Hurd has since joined Oracle Corp as president. ...
(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co does not have to turn over to a shareholder an internal report that led to the departure of former chief executive Mark Hurd, Delaware's Supreme Court ruled. Hurd abruptly resigned last year following allegations of sexual harassment against an HP contractor. A company investigation cleared Hurd of harassment, but accused him of filing inaccurate expense reports. A shareholder, Ernesto Espinoza, sued the company to determine whether the board had grounds to fire Hurd rather than pay him a $30 million separation. Hurd has since joined Oracle Corp as president. ...
The former top Alabama judge known for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse said Tuesday that he's seeking to regain his old job as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
Opinion News Headlines - Yahoo! News
2012 Elections News Headlines - Yahoo! News
A fourth woman has accused Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment--this time in public. Sharon Bialek told reporters in a press conference Monday that Cain groped her and exhibited "sexually inappropriate" behavior toward her when he was head of the National Restaurant Association. Bialek, a former NRA employee who worked for the association [...]
Allegations of sexual harassment have put a dent in pizza mogul Herman Cain's popularity among Republican voters, an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters found.
The GOP's 2012 field is dominated by frivolous flops. Matt Latimer on why it's not too late for a newcomer.
Ron Paul won another Republican straw poll this weekend, in Illinois this time.
They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.
Enjoy your sales tax free Internet shopping while you can. The tax collectors are closing in on the Web.
The failure of Congress' deficit-reduction supercommittee adds a new dimension to the 2012 political contests, drawing political battle lines around broad tax increases and massive spending cuts that now are scheduled to begin automatically in 2013.
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich cemented his place as the main rival to Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination with a solid debate performance on foreign policy.
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President Barack Obama challenged the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to vote next week to save an expiring payroll tax cut, a day after a high-profile effort to tackle huge U.S. deficits collapsed in acrimony. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll showing that Americans blamed Obama in part for the "super committee" failure underscored the challenges he faces to persuade voters he is the still the best steward of the economy. ...
The White House accused Republican Mitt Romney's camp of blatant dishonesty Tuesday after he savaged President Barack Obama's jobs record in a testy preview of a possible 2012 election showdown.
Unemployment fell in 36 states last month, the US Labor Department said Tuesday, with 2012 election battleground states South Carolina, Michigan and Minnesota seeing significant drops in joblessness.
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to turn up the heat on congressional Republicans in a campaign-style visit to New Hampshire on Tuesday, but came under fire himself from Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in the political battleground state. Obama struck up a populist tone over jobs and taxes a day after a bipartisan congressional committee announced it had failed to reach a deal to slash federal deficits. It was fresh evidence of partisan gridlock and legislative dysfunction in Washington. ...
With new trouble appearing in the Middle East and the Pentagon facing possible budget cuts, the Republican White House contenders are debating for the second time in as many weeks how they would do better than President Barack Obama in protecting and extending America's national security.
Confronting Republicans, President Barack Obama on Tuesday dashed into the home of the nation's first presidential primary, urging GOP lawmakers to support a payroll tax cut next week and stand by their own pledges not to increase taxes.
A long-running war between Democrats and Republicans over Bush-era tax cuts doomed the debt supercommittee's chances of reaching a deal. Efforts to overhaul the tax code may await the same fate as both parties gear up to make taxes a central issue in the 2012 elections.
(Reuters) - Now that the Super Committee has ground to a halt, the threatened "sword of Damocles" is poised to slash $1.2 trillion in federal spending. As we move to this next phase of the budget wars, deficit hawks will rev up one of their most phony arguments -- namely, that protecting entitlement programs rewards the old at the expense of the young. The debt ceiling deal last summer calls for automatic cuts to start in 2013, absent a Super Committee deal, with the reductions split evenly between defense and domestic spending programs -- but Social Security and Medicare are mostly exempt. ...
A new study shows how Obama might be able to use demographics to win reelection, says Michael Tomasky.
Failure by Congress' debt-cutting supercommittee to recommend $1.2 trillion in savings by Wednesday is supposed to automatically trigger spending cuts in the same amount to accomplish that job.
Emboldened by a recent surge in the topsy-turvy Republican nomination race, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has launched a new webpage to preemptively ward off attacks by opponents.
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who said he was robbed of victory in 2008 elections, pleaded Sunday for 2012 polls to reflect the will of the people.
US foreign policy is indisputably linked to the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people a decade ago, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Sunday.
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama sought to charm Asia-Pacific leaders this week with Australian slang and memories from his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia in his bid to boost U.S. ties with the fast-growing region. The top goal of the nine-day trip, which took Obama away from Washington just as U.S. budget battles were intensifying, was to cement a foreign policy "pivot" toward Asia that could open the door to more American exports and jobs. ...
Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Imagine the savannas of South Africa's flagship Kruger Park so choked with brush, viewing what game is left is nearly impossible. The Cape of Good Hope without penguins. The Karoo desert's seasonal symphony of wildflowers silenced.
Air pollution isn't just harmful — it's expensive, resulting in health care and environmental costs of more than euro100 billion ($130 billion) in 2009, the European Union's environment agency said Thursday.
The British climatologist ensnared in a major new email leak took his case to the public Wednesday, arguing that his and his colleagues' comments have again been taken out of context.
The European Space Agency has received the first signal from an unmanned Russian spacecraft bound for a moon of Mars since it got stuck in Earth's orbit two weeks ago, officials said Wednesday, raising hope the mission might be saved.
As big as a car and as well-equipped as a laboratory, NASA's newest Mars rover blows away its predecessors in size and skill.
GENEVA (Reuters) - An international team of scientists in Italy studying the same neutrino particles colleagues say appear to have travelled faster than light rejected the startling finding this weekend, saying their tests had shown it must be wrong. The September announcement of the finding, backed up last week after new studies, caused a furor in the scientific world as it seemed to suggest Albert Einstein's ideas on relativity, and much of modern physics, were based on a mistaken premise. ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - An international team of scientists in Italy studying the same neutrino particles colleagues say appear to have travelled faster than light rejected the startling finding this weekend, saying their tests had shown it must be wrong. The September announcement of the finding, backed up last week after new studies, caused a furore in the scientific world as it seemed to suggest Albert Einstein's ideas on relativity, and much of modern physics, were based on a mistaken premise. ...
Think of the Texas drought, floods in Thailand and Russia's devastating heat waves as coming attractions in a warming world. That is the warning from top international climate scientists and disaster experts after meeting in Africa.
Weather News Headlines - Yahoo! News
High levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may have less of an impact on the rate of global warming than feared, a study said Thursday.
LONDON (Reuters) - The government wants a new globally binding climate deal to be "operational" by 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep world temperature rises to a limit of 2 degrees Celsius, the UK's minister for energy and climate change said. "The key thing is to have a deal to reduce emissions by 2020. As long as it is operating by then, that's fine," Chris Huhne told reporters on Thursday. Negotiators from around the world will meet in Durban, South Africa, next Monday for two weeks to work on a new globally binding United Nations deal towards cutting emissions. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain wants a new globally binding climate deal to be "operational" by 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep world temperature rises to a limit of 2 degrees Celsius, the minister for energy and climate change said. "The key thing is to have a deal to reduce emissions by 2020. As long as it is operating by then, that's fine," Chris Huhne told reporters on Thursday. Negotiators from around the world will meet in Durban, South Africa, next Monday for two weeks to work on a new globally binding United Nations deal towards cutting emissions. ...
Expect a wet weather day in parts of the West this Thanksgiving, while conditions generally improve in the East.
Rain and Snow to Hit Northeast and Northwest Today
Rain and Snow to Hit Northeast and Northwest Today
As millions of people begin their travel plans for the Thanksgiving holiday some of the nation's largest cities will be pounded with severe weather that could potentially cause major delays on highways and at airports as two major storms hit the Northeast and Northwest. Forecasters...
Space and Astronomy News Headlines - Yahoo! News
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A nuclear-powered rover as big as a compact car is set to begin a nine-month journey to Mars this weekend to learn if the planet is or ever was suitable for life. The launch of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory aboard an unmanned United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is set for 10:02 a.m. EST (1502 GMT) on Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located just south of the Kennedy Space Center. ...
As big as a car and as well-equipped as a laboratory, NASA's newest Mars rover blows away its predecessors in size and skill.
Three astronauts landed safely in the Kazakh steppe aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule on Tuesday after a stay of over five months aboard the International Space Station, Russian mission control said.
A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts back from the International Space Station touched down safely in the snow-covered steppes of Kazakhstan early Tuesday morning.
Animal and Pets News Headlines - Yahoo! News
A jury including provocative French writer Michel Houellebecq handed out a book prize Wednesday dubbed the "Goncourt for pets", in a nod to France's top literary award, to a Paris vet and first-time writer.
Houdini the dog lived up to his name.
More than 2 million years ago, scores of whales congregating off the Pacific Coast of South America mysteriously met their end.
Kim Kardashian just can't seem to catch a break these days. The reality star has been blasted from all sides for the quick collapse of her wedding to Kris Humphries. The soon-to-be-divorcee has caught the attention of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
The anti-animal cruelty organization urges the newly single star to "divorce herself from fur"
PETA's campaign to raise awareness about the origins of animal products riffs on Mario in its latest spoof, Super Tanooki Skin 2D.
A beloved videogame star comes under attack from an animal rights group.
Rescuers were racing against the clock Monday to save two huge sperm whales stranded on a Tasmanian sandbank after 22 others died, the Parks and Wildlife Service said.
His cohost believed a stuffed animal that flew away attached to balloons was her dog Charlie Roo
A French zoo has placed its white rhinos under video surveillance fearing poachers could kill them for their horns which can fetch hundreds of thousands of euros on the black market.
After getting their start as screenwriters in Hollywood, high school pals Mike Bender and Doug Chernack's careers took a surprising turn with the launch of one small website.
PHOTOS: 10 Awkward Family Pet Photos
When Bernard Melekian began working in the '70s as a law-enforcement dog handler, he wished then that there had been information available about interacting with canines to help him in his police work. Now director of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, his office recently released a manual that's a how-to [...]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Traveling with pets can be a nerve-racking adventure for first-time fliers - and even more so for their owners. But preparing ahead, from organized feeding schedules to vet visits, is a strategic way to guarantee you and your furry friend will be fine 35,000 feet in the air.
Interpol has launched a campaign to help save the world's last wild tigers in the 13 Asian countries where they still exist, winning praise from conservationists.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday monitored the waters off Santa Cruz, where a pod of whales has settled unusually close to shore drawing crowds and threatening the safety of kayakers and other boaters trying to get a look at the creatures.
Dinosaurs and Fossils News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The British university whose stolen emails caused a global climate science controversy in 2009 says those behind the breach have apparently released a second and potentially far larger batch of old messages.
Global warming gases have hit record levels in the world's atmosphere, with concentrations of carbon dioxide up 39 percent since the start of the industrial era in 1750, the U.N. weather agency said Monday.
More than 2 million years ago, scores of whales congregating off the Pacific Coast of South America mysteriously met their end.
Think of the Texas drought, floods in Thailand and Russia's devastating heat waves as coming attractions in a warming world. That is the warning from top international climate scientists and disaster experts after meeting in Africa.
Australian scientists exploring areas of the Indian Ocean said Thursday they had found sunken parts of the megacontinent Gondwana which could offer clues on how the current world was formed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sun's abundant energy, if harvested in space, could provide a cost-effective way to meet global power needs in as little as 30 years with seed money from governments, according to a study by an international scientific group. Orbiting power plants capable of collecting solar energy and beaming it to Earth appear "technically feasible" within a decade or two based on technologies now in the laboratory, a study group of the Paris-headquartered International Academy of Astronautics said. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sun's abundant energy, if harvested in space, could provide a cost-effective way to meet global power needs in as little as 30 years with seed money from governments, according to a study by an international scientific group.
Poaching and illegal trade in sturgeon caviar persist in Romania and Bulgaria, environmental group WWF warned on Monday, posing a serious risk to the highly threatened species of fish.
BioTech News Headlines - Yahoo! News
LONDON (Reuters) - A decision by one of the biggest names in stem cell research to throw in the towel will not stop other pioneering work that could yet produce cures for blindness and help mend broken hearts. Scientists were shocked by U.S. biotech company Geron Corp's decision on Monday to quit embryonic stem cell research -- a move it blamed on a lack of money and the complexities of getting regulatory approval. Yet, at the same time, teams working with adult stem cells -- a less ambitious area -- are making good progress. ...
Geron Corp. is exiting the field it pioneered in a calculated business move that underscores the long, costly path embryonic stem cells face to become real-world products.
The first-ever trial using human embryonic stem cells to treat paralysis has been halted due to high costs and the company will focus instead on new cancer treatments, Geron said Tuesday.
People with a certain gene trait are known to be more kind and caring than people without it, and strangers can quickly tell the difference, according to US research published on Monday.
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday spoke out in favour of adult stem cell research and called for any ensuing treatments to benefit all who need the care regardless of their financial means.
Energy News Headlines - Yahoo! News
NIAMEY (Reuters) - The West African state of Niger said it will commission an audit on the cost of an oil refinery built by its joint venture with Chinese oil company CNCP after the price tag rose to $980 million from the $600 million agreed at signing. The announcement on state television came days before Monday's official inauguration of the 20,000 barrel-per-day Soraz plant near the town of Zinder, some 900 km (560 miles) east of the capital Niamey. "Niger is going to commission an audit on the cost of the refinery and the Chinese are in agreement with that. ...
RABAT (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday said it was close to approving 373 million euros in financing for renewable energy in Morocco, which has embarked on one of the world's most ambitious solar energy developments. The financing is in the course of being finalised, AfDB said in a statement, noting that it expects its board to vet it before the end of 2011. AfDB did not explicitly refer in its statement to Morocco's $9 billion solar power programme, which is vital for a country that has no oil or gas but has an abundance of sun. ...
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's government suspended Chevron Corp's drilling rights until Chevron clarifies the causes of an offshore oil spill, the latest twist in a political firestorm threatening the U.S. company's role in Brazil's oil bonanza. The decision on Wednesday came as the head of Chevron's Brazilian unit testified before Brazil's Congress, where he apologized for the November 8 spill that leaked about 2,400 barrels of oil into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. ...
US oil giant Chevron Corporation said on Thursday that it had suspended its current and future drilling operations off Rio de Janeiro state, following a crude oil slick in the area.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian government on Wednesday suspended Chevron Corp's drilling rights in Brazil until it clarifies the causes of an offshore oil spill, the latest twist in a political firestorm threatening the U.S. company's role in Brazil's oil bonanza. The decision was announced as the chief executive of Chevron's Brazilian unit was testifying before the Brazilian Congress, where he publicly apologized for the November 8 spill that leaked about 2,400 barrels of oil into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. ...
Chevron was banned from drilling for oil in Brazil until an investigation into an offshore oil leak at one of the U.S.-based oil company's well sites is completed, regulators said Wednesday.
Brazilian regulators have banned Chevron fro drilling in the country after a spill at the Frade field, where the company was trying to tap into ultra deepwater pre-salt fields.
Brazil on Wednesday suspended the exploration activities of US energy giant Chevron in its territory following an oil spill off Rio de Janeiro state.
Chevron's top official in Brazil on Wednesday apologized to lawmakers for the oil spill off Rio de Janeiro state which could resulted in fines worth more than $145 million (105 million euros).
Brazil could slap fines of more than $145 million (105 million euros) on Chevron over its oil spill, and the US energy giant could be barred from operating in the country's deepwater fields, officials said Tuesday.
There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on August 19, Zoltek Companies Inc's Exec. VP - Wind Energy, Philip L Schell, invested $8,200.00 into 1,000 shares of ZOLT, for a cost per share of $8.20. Bargain hunters tend to pay particular attention to insider buys like this one, because presumably the only reason an insider would take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock of their company in the open market, is that they expect to make money.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) has been named as the ''Top Dividend Stock of the Dow'', according to Dividend Channel, which published its most recent ''DividendRank'' report. The report noted that among the components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,CVX shares displayed both attractive valuation metrics and strong profitability [...]
U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson said Chinese officials promised foreign technology suppliers equal access to their booming clean energy industry in trade talks amid pressure to revive global growth.
Brazil's environmental agency said Monday it will fine Chevron nearly $28 million for a continuing oil spill off the Rio de Janeiro coast, and the company could face several more similar fines in the coming days.
Brazil slapped a $28 million fine on US energy giant Chevron Monday for an oil spill from a leaking well off Rio de Janeiro state and warned the fines could total much more.
Brazil is expected to fine Chevron nearly $28 million for an ongoing offshore oil spill, Rio de Janeiro state's environment secretary said Monday.
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Africa is leading the push for clean energy policy-making as climate change turns millions of its people into "food refugees", the head of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner said. "On the African continent, there is sometimes more leadership being shown by countries, by governments, than we see in some of the industrialised nations," Steiner told Reuters. "Kenya is currently doubling its energy and electricity generating infrastructure largely using renewables. These are policies that are pioneering, that are innovative," he said. ...
I stepped up and bought both Chevron and Transocean. Small oil spills are common in deepwater drilling, big spills are rare. Chevron has not been known for aggressive cost-cutting measures like BP was in drilling.
An oil spill from a leaking well off the Brazilian coast northeast of Rio de Janeiro involving US oil giant Chevron "is not over," the National Oil Agency warned Sunday.
An ongoing oil spill off the Brazilian coast occurred because Chevron underestimated the pressure in an underwater reservoir, the head of the company's Brazil operations said Sunday.
Green News Headlines - Yahoo! News
One of the longest and most storied rivalries in the NFL is that between divisional and geographic rivals, the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. Ubisoft decided to tap into that rivalry in order to celebrate the newest installment in its video game franchise that has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, Assassin's Creed: Revelations. B.J. ...
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce firm, posted an 11.9 percent rise in quarterly net profit, its slowest growth in nearly two years, with the company raising concerns due to a weak trade outlook stemming from debt woes in Europe and the United States. The third-quarter results missed analyst forecasts and were attributed to a weak macroeconomic climate that led to a slower pace of customer additions. ...
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Nigeria, Indonesia and North Korea have the world's highest rates of deforestation while China and the United States, the top two greenhouse gas polluters, have the lowest, a global ranking released on Thursday shows. Growing demand for food and biofuels, rising populations, poverty and corruption are driving deforestation in many developing countries, said risk analysis and mapping company Maplecroft, which compiled an index for 180 countries. The company used the latest data from the U.N. ...
The British university whose stolen emails caused a global climate science controversy in 2009 says those behind the breach have apparently released a second and potentially far larger batch of old messages.
Eight South American countries pledged Tuesday to boost cooperation to protect one of the planet's largest natural reserves from deforestation and illegal trafficking in timber and minerals.
The Obama administration Tuesday said it was optimistic ahead of a new round of UN climate talks in South Africa next week, but did not raise hopes of sealing a binding deal on gas emissions.
Global warming gases have hit record levels in the world's atmosphere, with concentrations of carbon dioxide up 39 percent since the start of the industrial era in 1750, the U.N. weather agency said Monday.
A new round of UN climate talks opens in South Africa next week against a backdrop of record greenhouse-gas emissions but deep frustration in the quest for a solution.
Think of the Texas drought, floods in Thailand and Russia's devastating heat waves as coming attractions in a warming world. That is the warning from top international climate scientists and disaster experts after meeting in Africa.
Man-made climate change has already boosted heatwaves and flood-provoking rainfall and is likely to contribute to future natural disasters, according to a report by UN scientists unveiled Friday.
The vast palm groves of Marrakesh in southern Morocco are in danger from urbanisation, massive tourist projects and even golf courses, so a conservation programme is in hand to save them.
A group of climate science experts have recommended measures to manage billions of dollars earmarked to help poor countries fight climate change, and avoid problems common among aid programs.
Really, it's enough to drive a climate scientist over the edge.
(Reuters) - Green tea, taken in a capsule or drunk in a cup, may shave a few points off "bad" cholesterol readings, according to a U.S. study involving more than a thousand people. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, showed that green tea trimmed 5 to 6 points more from people's total cholesterol and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels than dummy capsules or other treatments. The trials tested either green tea itself or capsules containing green-tea compounds called catechins, which are thought to decrease cholesterol absorption in the gut. ...
Apple has for the first time held talks with environmental campaigners who accuse the company's Chinese manufacturers of widespread pollution, participants said Wednesday.
(Reuters) - Hackers attacking Canadian organizations are determined to make money in targeted campaigns while government insiders stole more data than ever before, a security study released on Tuesday showed. The number of breaches in Canada and the cost of dealing with them have spiked since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a joint study from telecom company Telus and the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. The study, its fourth annual report, said the crisis had both pressured budgets for information security and created a darker "threat environment. ...
In a tough environment for venture capital, Intel Capital, the chip giant's venture arm, has had 31 exits this year, including six IPOs.
Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The government delivered a blow to some desperate patients Friday as it ruled the blockbuster drug Avastin should no longer be used to treat advanced breast cancer.
British patients will soon take part in a trial of a Cuban-designed therapeutic lung cancer vaccine, the first of its kind, a company executive announced.
A very rare strain of AIDS virus previously found only among a few people in Cameroon has most probably spread outside the West African country, according to a case reported by The Lancet on Friday.
British women and Maltese men topped European obesity ratings according to data released Thursday that also undermined popular belief that all French women are thin.
A very rare strain of AIDS virus previously found only among a few people in Cameroon has most probably spread outside the West African country, according to a case reported by The Lancet on Friday.
ZINTAN/TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam needs surgery to remove gangrenous flesh from a severed thumb and finger which if not treated could make him seriously ill, a doctor who examined him told Reuters on Thursday. Saif al-Islam has been nursing injuries to his right hand which he says were sustained during a NATO airstrike weeks ago. No further details have been available on the state of his heavily bandaged thumb, index and middle fingers. ...
Conservationists in St. Maarten are warning islanders not to eat lionfish after tests found a naturally occurring toxin in the flesh of the candy-striped invasive species, officials said Thursday.
By Linda Thrasybule NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Middle aged women who eat a lot of refined carbs might offset their risk of type 2 diabetes by drinking a moderate amount of alcohol, a new study suggests. Following more than 80,000 women over 26 years, researchers found that those who ate a diet high in refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, potatoes and sugary drinks, had a 30 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than women with similar eating habits who didn't drink alcohol. ...
British women and Maltese men topped European obesity rates according to data released Thursday that also undermined popular belief that all French women are thin.
The US Food and Drug Administration, for the first time, approved Wednesday medication specifically designed for those who wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall back to sleep.
Sexual Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News
LONDON (Reuters) - More people than ever are living with the AIDS virus but this is largely due to better access to drugs that keep HIV patients alive and well for many years, the United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) said on Monday. In its annual report on the pandemic, UNAIDS said the number of people dying of the disease fell to 1.8 million in 2010, down from a peak of 2.2 million in the mid-2000s. UNAIDS director Michel Sidibe said the past 12 months had been a "game-changing year" in the global AIDS fight. About 2. ...
The economy may well be the best form of birth control.
LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's health is suffering, with around 80,000 cases of tuberculosis infection a year and serious problems with measles, HIV and threats from "superbug" infections, an annual health report on the region said Thursday.
Defying Mississippi's conservative reputation, women voters appeared to lead the charge against a ballot measure that sought to ban abortion, and could've made some birth control illegal and deterred doctors from doing in vitro fertilization.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States set a new direction for its global AIDS campaign on Tuesday, emphasizing HIV-fighting drugs that can prevent new infections to bring the goal of "an AIDS-free generation" within reach, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
Some birth control products, including contraceptive pills, rings and patches for women, carry a significantly higher risk of blood clot than low-dose medications, US regulators said Thursday.
Some birth control products, including contraceptive pills, rings and patches for women, carry a significantly higher risk of blood clot than low-dose medications, US regulators said Thursday.
A vaccine against the sexually transmitted disease HPV, which can cause cervical cancer in women, has also been shown to prevent most anal cancers in gay men, an international study said Wednesday.
Medications/Drugs News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The word's first artificial windpipe transplant has been such a success that a second operation has been carried out and a third is being planned, The Lancet reported on Thursday.
Haribo Candies May Make Teens Happy, But Not Their Parents
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's largest backer of the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria said on Wednesday it was cutting new grants for countries battling the diseases and bringing in a new manager to ensure better administration. The move by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria takes management responsibility away from Michel Kazatchkine, currently executive director, and means the fund will make no new grants or funding until 2014. ...
Statins safely reduce the risk of cardiovascular illness even years after treatment is stopped, according to a probe into the popular cholesterol-busters published on Wednesday.
(Reuters) - Merck & Co will pay roughly $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it promoted the painkiller Vioxx for an unapproved use, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. The fine will conclude a long-running investigation into Merck's promotion of its one-time blockbuster drug, which was withdrawn from the market in September 2004 after being linked to heart risks. The Justice Department alleged that Merck promoted the drug for treating rheumatoid arthritis before it had been approved for that condition by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ...
(Reuters) - Merck & Co will pay roughly $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it promoted the painkiller Vioxx for an unapproved use, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. The fine will conclude a long-running investigation into Merck's promotion of its one-time blockbuster drug, which was withdrawn from the market in September 2004 after being linked to heart risks. The Justice Department alleged that Merck promoted the drug for treating rheumatoid arthritis before it had been approved for that condition by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ...
Parenting/Kids News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Birth rates by teenage and young adult mothers in the United States fell to historic lows last year, while birth rates among women over 40 hit a 30-year high, according to data released Thursday.
(Reuters) - Most U.S. doctors believe pregnancy starts when the sperm fertilizes the egg, a survey shows, contradicting the position of a key medical group with a view that could potentially affect U.S. policy and laws regarding contraception and research. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), the leading organization for this field of medicine, defines pregnancy as beginning when the fertilized egg implants in the uterus, roughly a week after fertilization. ...
Birth rates by teenage and young adult mothers in the United States fell to historic lows last year, while birth rates among women over 40 hit a 30-year high, according to data released Thursday.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though most doctors will give you a definition of when pregnancy begins, it's not always the same one, according to a new survey. Most of the polled obstetrician-gynecologists believe pregnancy begins when the sperm fertilizes the egg. But a minority say it doesn't begin until a week later when the fertilized egg implants in the uterus -- the definition given by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). "People say that the medical profession has settled on this," said Dr. ...
One of the key problems in any health scare is translating the complexity of the science. Studies with alarming findings, often based on overly simplistic statistical associations (such as the recent claim of a link between soda consumption and teen violence), get a huge amount of coverage because they are [...]
One way to fight childhood obesity? Banish daylight savings time, which keeps kids indoors in the evenings and not playing outside and being active, claims a study announced last week.
Seniors/Aging News Headlines - Yahoo! News
The point man for carrying out President Barack Obama's health care law will be stepping down after Republicans succeeded in blocking his confirmation by the Senate, the White House announced Wednesday.
Poor treatment of many elderly people in their own homes is breaching their human rights, says a study of England's home care services.
Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich on Monday proposed allowing younger workers still decades away from retirement to bypass Social Security and instead choose private investment accounts that would be subject to stock market gyrations.
Republican Herman Cain served on the board of a Midwest utility company that paid $10.5 million to settle claims it failed to protect the retirement savings of its employees and paid another $26.5 million over claims it manipulated gas prices, potentially embarrassing episodes for a candidate running for president on his business experience.
NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - When baby boomers listen to Bob Seger's new release, "Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets," they may find themselves hearing the soundtrack of their lives. Classic Seger tunes like "Night Moves," "Old Time Rock and Roll," "We've Got Tonight" and "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You," may trigger flashbacks because the hits received so much radio airplay in the 1970s and '80s. Seger, 66, said he is flattered by his imprint on the collective pop rock memory, and he never tires of performing the old hits. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It is make or break time for a special U.S. committee on deficit reduction, but even if it succeeds in striking a last minute deal, it will not be enough to address future financial strains from an aging population.
Poland's newly re-elected prime minister said Friday that he will raise the retirement age to 67 as he announced a series of far-reaching measures aimed at bringing down public debt.
Former ADP CEO Gary Butler was arrested on a criminal domestic violence charge a few days before the payroll processor announced his retirement earlier this month, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Diseases/Conditions News Headlines - Yahoo! News
By Linda Thrasybule NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Middle aged women who eat a lot of refined carbs might offset their risk of type 2 diabetes by drinking a moderate amount of alcohol, a new study suggests. Following more than 80,000 women over 26 years, researchers found that those who ate a diet high in refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, potatoes and sugary drinks, had a 30 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than women with similar eating habits who didn't drink alcohol. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's largest backer of the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria said on Wednesday it was cutting new grants for countries battling the diseases and bringing in a new manager to ensure better administration. The move by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria takes management responsibility away from Michel Kazatchkine, currently executive director, and means the fund will make no new grants or funding until 2014. ...
Statins safely reduce the risk of cardiovascular illness even years after treatment is stopped, according to a probe into the popular cholesterol-busters published on Wednesday.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who down four or more cups of coffee a day may have a reduced risk of developing cancer in the lining of their uterus, researchers reported Tuesday. A study of more than 67,000 U.S. nurses found that women who drank that much coffee were one-quarter less likely to develop endometrial cancer than women who averaged less than a cup a day. The absolute risk that any one woman, coffee drinker or not, would develop the cancer was fairly small: over 26 years, 672 women -- or one percent of the whole study group -- were diagnosed with endometrial cancer. ...
The government delivered a blow to some desperate patients Friday as it ruled the blockbuster drug Avastin should no longer be used to treat advanced breast cancer.
Vitality News Headlines - Yahoo! News
As the daughter of a minister, Jennifer James traveled frequently while her family served the less fortunate, from the rural heartland to the inner city. A lot of the time, she went without as a kid.
Philips recently launched an iPad app dubbed Vital Signs Camera that can measure your heart rate and breathing via the tablet's camera.
A new study announced Sunday finds that married seniors who are sexually active once a month report happier lives and marriages.
A California Pinot Noir produced by a small Sonoma winery that doesn't own a single vine has been named Wine Spectator magazine's Wine of the Year.
Diet and exercise may be the most common prescription for losing weight, but a team of US scientists believes they're close to delivering a gum that can help users fight the battle of the bulge one chew at a time.
The 90-and-older population nearly tripled in the United States over the past three decades to reach 1.9 million in 2010 and will more than quadruple by 2050, the US Census Bureau said Friday.
The slate-blue crepe dress worn in 1933 by Eleanor Roosevelt at her husband's inauguration ball and Michelle Obama's white silk chiffon gown are among treasures on display at a new first ladies' exhibit in Washington.
Iris Apfel is teaming up with eyewear company eyebobs for an affordable glasses line.
David Whiting is a Northern gardener who can't get enough of a good thing. He uses extenders to jumpstart his growing season in the spring and to harvest late maturing plants after the snow falls in autumn.
(Reuters) - Now that the Super Committee has ground to a halt, the threatened "sword of Damocles" is poised to slash $1.2 trillion in federal spending. As we move to this next phase of the budget wars, deficit hawks will rev up one of their most phony arguments -- namely, that protecting entitlement programs rewards the old at the expense of the young. The debt ceiling deal last summer calls for automatic cuts to start in 2013, absent a Super Committee deal, with the reductions split evenly between defense and domestic spending programs -- but Social Security and Medicare are mostly exempt. ...
Older people may cook for prosaic health reasons, but Millennials are more likely to cook to experiment with new flavors and show off their gastronomic prowess.
Bruce Springsteen is making plans for a world tour in the new year, with European dates to be revealed in a matter of days, as well as a new album of new material, his official website brucespringsteen.net said Sunday.
On Tuesday, iconic Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen confirmed full details of his upcoming album, Old Ideas, set to release January 31 in the US (and presumably January 30 in the UK).
Retirement communities may have their perks, but Beryl O'Connor says it would be tough to match the birthday surprise she got in her own backyard when she turned 80 this year.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exercise loves company and adores rhythm, so why pound a treadmill when you can dance your cardio workout away? Experts say dance-based workouts, from Zumba to Bollywood aerobics to flexes at the ballet barre, can take your fitness from grind to gladness, with an international flair. "It's killing two birds with one stone," said instructor Rahul Nath, of the Bollywood-inflected aerobics class he developed and teaches at a 24 Hour Fitness center in California. "You're learning the basics of a world dance while burning calories and building up the cardio," he said. ...
Stories about time travel generally share one trait: They believe, by implication or open statement, that yesterday remains a malleable canvas, if only you could access it. "The past," author William Faulkner once wrote, "is never dead. It's not even past."
The rolls of America's oldest old are surging: Nearly 2 million now are 90 or over, nearly triple their numbers of just three decades ago.
Some dresses you remember: Michelle Obama's inaugural gown, Coco Chanel's little black dress, Cher's Oscar getups. They make an impression on the collective culture beyond a fleeting fashion trend.
Many baby boomers don't have end-of-life legal documents such as a living will — and some say it's because they feel healthy and young in their middle-age years and don't need to dwell on death.
Weaver Shepperson has been blind for nearly 50 years. He's lived alone since his wife died in 1999 and needs transportation several times a month to visit his doctors.
Is there an avid traveler on your gift list? Or even someone who doesn't go too far from home, but simply loves reading about faraway places and other cultures? Maybe you have a friend or loved one who might enjoy spending a winter's day gazing at pictures of places they love or long to see. Books with a travel theme — whether practical, beautiful, inspirational or just a good read — make a good holiday gift. Here are a few ideas and recommendations.
