After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four...

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Stocks end higher for sixth straight week, tech leads

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite stock index closed at a 12-year high and the S&P 500 index at a five-year high, boosted by gains in technology shares and stronger overseas trade figures. The S&P 500 also posted a sixth straight week of gains for the first time since August. The technology sector led the day's gains, with the S&P 500 technology index...

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Venezuela, Despite Myriad Problems, Seizes On a Hat

Carlos Garcia Rawlins/ReutersVice President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela wore a patriotic cap to a parade Monday in Caracas. CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela seems to lurch from one crisis to another. President Hugo Chávez has virtually disappeared since going to Cuba for cancer surgery more than eight weeks ago. Last month, 58 people were killed in a prison when inmates clashed with soldiers. Inflation...

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Email hacker reveals Bush family photos, addresses

(Reuters) – The Secret Service is investigating the hacking of email accounts belonging to members of the Bush family that divulged correspondence, addresses, phone numbers and a picture of a self-portrait painted by former President George W. Bush standing in a shower.A report on the Smoking Gun website, said the pilfered emails provided a rare glimpse into the private lives of one of America’s most...

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Anne Hathaway's Channeling Audrey Hepburn In Your Favorite Dress This Week

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/09/2013 at 12:00 PM ET Kevin Winter/GettyWe’ve always said that StyleWatch readers appreciate the power of the perfect little black dress. The two most loved star looks this week weren’t jaw-dropping...

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After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four...

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Optimism about economy sends stocks to multiyear highs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite stock index closed at a 12-year high and the S&P 500 index at a five-year high after stronger U.S. and international trade data improved the outlook for economic growth. The S&P 500 also posted a sixth straight week of gains for the first time since August. Data showed Chinese exports grew more than expected, while another...

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IHT Rendezvous: French Communists Abandon Hammer and Sickle

LONDON — The Communist Party of France has sparked a revolution among the comrades by removing the hammer and sickle from their membership cards.The iconic symbol of the international proletariat has been replaced with the star of the multi-party European Left alliance, much to the horror of traditionalists at the party’s 36th congress that opened near Paris on Thursday.What was billed by the party...

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Dell’s largest investor opposes buyout as too low

(Reuters) – Dell Inc’s largest independent shareholder Southeastern Asset Management said it plans to oppose the buyout of the personal computer maker, setting up a battle for founder Michael Dell who is leading the effort to operate the company away from public scrutiny.Southeastern sent a letter to Dell’s board expressing its “extreme disappointment” in the offer price of $ 13.65 a share, it said...

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Nigella Lawson: Inside Her Kitchen

By Liza Hamm 02/08/2013 at 05:15 PM EST One day British cook Nigella Lawson found herself inspired while watching an episode of MTV Cribs. "I saw Missy Elliott had the world's biggest fridge, and I thought, 'One day I've got to have that fridge!' " says Lawson, as she gestures toward the 7-ft.-tall Sub-Zero...

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.Blacks were five times more likely than whites...

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Wall Street ends lower on renewed euro zone fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks declined on Thursday, taking a step back from their recent advance, prompted by comments by the ECB president on the euro and Europe's outlook. The euro currency dropped against the safe-haven dollar and yen, spurring a retreat from risky assets such as stocks, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the exchange rate was important to growth...

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IHT Rendezvous: Baron Von Fancy Goes to Paris

PARIS—Baron Von Fancy’s name may belong in an 18th-century German royal court, but he is very much a 20th-century child. He’s a multimedia artist who lives in New York and surfs on the vintage-is-cool wave, using social media as his manager, agent and public relations firm.His latest exhibition, “A Thing Called Love,” opened on Monday at the Paris Colette shop, a European mecca of all things fashionable,...

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TSX ends lower as ECB comments weigh; BlackBerry up

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada‘s main stock index closed slightly lower on Thursday as a wave of negative sentiment after the European Central Bank warned about weak euro zone economies pulled down energy and financial shares, offsetting a rise in BlackBerry .The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> unofficially ended down 5.67 points, or 0.04 percent, at 12,755.92. Four...

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Phaedra Parks: I Do Not Eat for Two When I'm Pregnant

TV Watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta By Dahvi Shira 02/07/2013 at 05:35 PM EST Unlike many other famous moms-to-be, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks doesn't consider her pregnancy as an excuse to overindulge."Some people subscribe to the myth, 'I'm eating for two people,' " Parks tells PEOPLE....

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New whooping cough strain in US raises questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have discovered the first U.S. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be resistant to the vaccine.Health officials are looking into whether cases like the dozen found in Philadelphia might be one reason the nation just had its worst year for whooping cough in six decades. The new bug was previously reported in Japan, France and Finland."It's quite intriguing....

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Wall Street ends flat as investors pull back

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks ended mostly flat on Wednesday, taking another pause in the recent rally that has driven the S&P 500 to five-year highs, as transportation and technology shares lost ground. Transportation stocks were among the worst performers. Shares of CH Robinson Worldwide fell 9.7 percent to $60.50 and the stock was the biggest percentage loser on the Nasdaq 100 after...

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India Ink: Your Suggestions on Curbing Violence Against Women in India

The trial of five of the six suspects in the New Delhi gang rape case that has captured worldwide attention began on Tuesday, just as the Indian government moved to strengthen its sexual assault laws in response to public outrage.Last week, we asked you to weigh in on what needs to be done to end the problem of sexual assault and violence against women in India, and you offered a wide range of solutions....

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Exclusive: Microsoft and Symantec disrupt cyber crime ring

BOSTON (Reuters) – Software makers Microsoft Corp and Symantec Corp said they disrupted a global cyber crime operation by shutting down servers that controlled hundreds of thousands of PCs without the knowledge of their users.The move made it temporarily impossible for infected PCs around the world to search the web, though the companies offered free tools to clean machines through messages that were...

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Jack Osbourne: How Marriage and a Baby Changed My Life

Jack Osbourne says his life has changed so much now that's married with a child that the only rockstar he hangs out with is Grandpa Ozzy Osbourne. "Getting married and having a child definitely has focused me," the senior correspondent for Fuse News tells PEOPLE. "Now I'm not so much worried about going out on a Tuesday night and staying up until 3 in the morning and meeting hot chicks. No." Jack,...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Wall Street bounces back after sell-off; results a boost

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Tuesday, recovering a day after the market's biggest sell-off since November, as stronger-than-expected earnings brightened the profit picture. Dell Inc's stock rose after the world's No. 3 computer maker agreed to be taken private in a $24.4 billion deal, the largest leveraged buyout since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The stock gained 1.1 percent...

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The Lede Blog: Ahmadinejad Attacked With Shoe in Cairo

Last Updated, 5:44 p.m. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Cairo, which started with an affectionate welcome on Tuesday from Egypt’s new Islamist president, turned less pleasant as the day wore on. First, Mr. Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, was lectured by a senior Sunni Muslim cleric and then was nearly struck with a shoe by a man furious at Iran’s support for the Syrian government.A correspondent...

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BlackBerry eyes future beyond its new line of devices

TORONTO (Reuters) – Barely a week after launching an all-new, make-or-break line of smartphones, BlackBerry is already looking at a future in which it is a leader in “mobile computing,” Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said on Tuesday.Heins said BlackBerry is aiming to reclaim its spot as an innovator in a world where smartphones already have the processing power to replace tablets and laptops.The company,...

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Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway & More Share Oscar Dress Hints

By Alex Apatoff 02/05/2013 at 04:30 PM EST Clockwise from top left: Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Amy Adams Splash News Online; PR Photos; Getty; WireImage The countdown to the Academy Awards has officially begun, and so has the buzz around what the nominees will be...

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Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens

CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the...

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