Predict the Grammy Award Winners!

Facebook Tweet Facebook Tweet Cast your vote for who will be the night's big winners Click here to download a printable ballot. Click here to download a printable ballot. Pollscompleted:...

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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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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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Israel's Lieberman says Palestinian peace accord impossible

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has no chance of signing a permanent peace accord with the Palestinians and should instead seek a long-term interim deal, the most powerful political partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The remarks by Avigdor Lieberman, an ultranationalist whose joint party list with Netanyahu narrowly won a January 22 election while centrist challengers...

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Sue Paterno Breaks Her Silence, Defends Late Husband Joe

By Nicole Weisensee Egan 02/08/2013 at 03:00 PM EST Sue and Joe Paterno in 2010 Nabil K. Mark/Centre Daily Times/MCT/Getty Nearly one year after Joe Paterno's death amid scandal, his widow is speaking out.The football coach – whose heralded 61-year career at PSU...

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Health officials: 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 flu dropped again last week, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, spiking first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia...

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Wall Street jumps; Nasdaq near 12-year high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Friday, pushing the S&P 500 to a fresh five-year high and putting the Nasdaq within a hair of a 12-year intraday high, following a batch of encouraging domestic and international economic reports. Data showing stronger international trade in China and Germany, and a report indicating the U.S. trade deficit had narrowed in December, pointed to...

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EU leaders approve budget, and everyone wins - at least politically

After a vigorous all-nighter of horse-trading, European Union leaders in Brussels overcame what appeared to be unsalvageable differences and on Friday approved a 960 billion euro ($1.3 trillion), seven-year budget for the 27-member block.But while the new 2014-2020 budget allows the leaders involved to claim victory to their constituents back home, the agreement's significance is mostly political,...

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Ex-cop hunted over California vendetta killings

BIG BEAR LAKE, California (Reuters) – A fugitive former police officer accused of declaring war on law enforcement in an Internet manifesto and wanted as a suspect in three murders eluded a manhunt for a second day on Friday in the snow-swept mountains east of Los Angeles.Search teams combed hillsides and homes around a ski area through the night and past daybreak for Christopher Dorner, 33, a former...

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Jessica Simpson Takes Her Bump For a Workout!

By Maggie Coughlan 02/07/2013 at 04:00 PM EST Jessica Simpson Bruja/Juan Sharma/Pacific Coast News Now that's a bump!While heading to the gym on Wednesday, an expectant Jessica Simpson was photographed in Los Angeles wearing a form-fitting black top that showed...

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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 dips on renewed euro zone fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Thursday as comments by the ECB president on the euro raised worries about Europe's outlook and curbed investors' appetite for risky assets. The euro currency dropped against the safe-haven dollar and yen after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the exchange rate was important to growth and price stability, which investors took as a sign...

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Iran's Khamenei rebuffs U.S. offer of direct talks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday slapped down an offer of direct talks made by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden last week, saying they would not solve the problem between them. "Some naive people like the idea of negotiating with America, however, negotiations will not solve the problem," Khamenei said in a speech to officials and members of...

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Father Gives Daughter $200 to Quit Facebook

Spending too much time on Facebook? More than half of Facebook users say they’ve taken vacations from the site. Now comes the story of a 14-year-old who did better — she managed to get paid for quitting.Rachel Baier, a high school freshman in Massachusetts, went to her dad with a deal: no Facebook for the rest of the school year in exchange for cash.“She approached me. She has been frustrated she...

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Miley Cyrus: My Short Hair Is Here to Stay - Forever!

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/06/2013 at 03:45 PM ET Getty; WireImage (2)Hope you weren’t too attached to Miley Cyrus‘s long hair, because she has a message for you: “I could never see myself having long, long hair again.”“I’m feeling...

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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 pulls back after recent gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks drifted lower on Wednesday as investors pulled back after the recent push to five-year highs on the S&P 500 and as worries about political problems in Europe weighed on sentiment. Transportation stocks were among the worst performers, pressured by a 9.7 percent drop in CH Robinson Worldwide to $60.48 after the freight transport company posted a lower-than-expected...

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Tunisian leader to form new government after activist shot

TUNIS (Reuters) - The killing of an outspoken critic of Tunisia's Islamist-led government on Wednesday sparked street protests by thousands who fear religious radicals are stifling freedoms won two years ago in the first of the Arab Spring uprisings. Chokri Belaid was shot at close range as he left for work by a gunmen who fled on the back of a motorcycle; crowds poured on to the streets...

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Twitter acquires social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it has agreed to acquire advertising analytics company Bluefin Labs.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Twitter Chief Operating Officer Ali Rowghani said in a blog post announcing the deal: “Bluefin‘s data science capabilities and social TV expertise will help us create innovative new ad products and consumer experiences in the exciting intersection...

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Sandra Bullock's Son Louis: Was He the Baltimore Ravens's Lucky Charm?

By Patrick Gomez 02/05/2013 at 03:30 PM EST Sandra Bullock and son Louis with Leigh Ann Tuohy (inset) Splash News Online; Inset: Getty The Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII – and they may have gotten an assist from Sandra Bullock's son Louis who was watching...

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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 climbs on results; Dow above 14,000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Tuesday, pushing the Dow above 14,000 a day after the market's biggest sell-off since November, as stronger-than-expected earnings brightened the profit picture. All 10 S&P sectors were higher, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained more than 1 percent. Dell Inc's stock rose after the world's No. 3 computer maker agreed to be taken...

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Iran's Ahmadinejad kissed and scolded in Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded on Tuesday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Mursi, last June. But it also highlighted deep theological and geopolitical differences....

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EU wants to tackle money laundering on gaming sites

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union may try to counter money laundering through online betting sites by extending legislation beyond casinos to include Internet gambling.The executive European Commission formally proposed on Tuesday to include online gaming in EU-wide legislation that seeks to combat fraud. It could become law within two years if approved by the EU’s 27 member countries.The Commission...

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Sesame Street Spoofs Downton Abbey

02/04/2013 at 03:30 PM EST There's been plenty of drama on Downton Abbey this season but nothing compared to the challenges facing the residents of Upside Downton Abbey. In a Sesame Street spoof of the hit PBS show, a Dowager Countess of Grantham lookalike requests several items from her butler, Carson, including...

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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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Wall Street pulls back after recent gain; data disappoints

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dropped on Monday, pulling back from gains in the prior session that left the S&P 500 at a five-year high and the Dow above 14,000, as factory orders data disappointed and worries about the euro zone crisis resurfaced. The S&P 500 was on track for its biggest daily percentage decline since December 28. Chevron and Wal-Mart were among the biggest drags...

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North Korea nuclear test would face "firm" U.N. action: South Korea

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is united on North Korea's nuclear arms program and will undoubtedly approve tough measures against Pyongyang if it carries out a new atomic test as expected, South Korean U.N. Ambassador Kim Sook said on Monday. "The North Korean nuclear test seems to be imminent," Kim, who is president of the Security Council this month, told reporters....

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Kuwait says backs free speech but must protect ruling emir

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait supports free speech but must act against illegal comments made about the Gulf state’s ruler, the government said on Monday, after a Twitter user was jailed for five years.A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to prison on Sunday for insulting the emir on the social networking site, a rights lawyer and news websites said, in the latest prosecution for criticism of authorities via...

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