Katy Perry (Sort Of) Steals Spotlight at Bruce Springsteen Pre-Grammy Tribute

By Patrick Gomez and Marisa Laudadio 02/09/2013 at 11:45 AM EST Katy Perry at the MusiCares Person of the Year gala Lester Cohen/WireImage It may have been a tribute to Bruce Springsteen but Katy Perry seemed to be the main attraction for some at Friday's MusiCares Person of the Year tribute...

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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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Egypt Court Orders Block on YouTube Over Anti-Islam Video

CAIRO (AP) — A Cairo court on Saturday ordered the government to block access to the video-sharing Web site YouTube for 30 days for carrying an anti-Islam film that set off deadly riots last year, but the ruling can be appealed and, based on precedent, may not be enforced. Judge Hassouna Tawfiq described the video as “offensive to Islam” and to the Prophet Muhammad. The first protests against...

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Egypt court suspends YouTube over anti-Islam film

CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court ordered the suspension of online video service YouTube for a month on Saturday for broadcasting a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad, state media reported.The country’s administrative court ordered the ministries of communication and investment to block YouTube, owned by Google, inside Egypt because it had carried the film “Innocence of Muslims,” said state news...

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Manhunt Escalates for Former L.A. Cop Christopher Dorner

By Stephen M. Silverman 02/08/2013 at 12:40 PM EST Undated photo of Christopher Dorner LAPD/AP A massive manhunt continues Friday in Southern California for Christopher Dorner, a rage-filled former Los Angeles police officer on a self-confessed vendetta that left...

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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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Market rises on data but caution settles on Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Friday, with the benchmark S&P index hitting a five-year high after a batch of positive economic reports, but gains were capped as investors grew cautious about a further advance. Data showing stronger international trade from China and Germany and a report showing a smaller U.S. trade deficit in December were seen as encouraging signs of...

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India Ink: Online Abuse of Teen Girls in Kashmir Leads to Arrests

SRINAGAR —Online abuse and a fatwa aimed at a rock band of Muslim teenage girls in Kashmir have led to arrests and a threat of a lawsuit.Three men were arrested this week for posting threatening messages on the Facebook page of Praagaash, an amateur rock band in Indian-occupied Kashmir made of up Muslim girls. “The investigation is ongoing,” said Manoj Pandita, spokesman for the Jammu and Kashmir...

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What If the Wii U Were Just Its Tablet Controller? Meet the 7-Inch Wikipad

The Wii U made a splash with its personal tablet controllers. Sandwiching a 6.2-inch touchscreen in between a regular analog stick and buttons, the Wii U’s GamePad is like a Nintendo DS’ lower touchscreen for a home console, and even lets you play games right on its screen. It streams those games from the Wii U itself, though, meaning it’s basically useless when it’s out of range of the console.Imagine...

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Rihanna & Chris Brown Go from the Courthouse to the Studio Together

By Maggie Coughlan 02/07/2013 at 12:15 PM EST Chris Brown (far left) and Rihanna (right) at Brown's court hearing Splash News Online That's one way to stand by your man.Rihanna attended boyfriend Chris Brown's court hearing in Los Angeles on Wednesday – and later...

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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 concerns

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

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IHT Rendezvous: Stark Numbers Reveal the Scale of Elephant Killings

HONG KONG — The past couple of years has seen a stream of news about elephant killings and increasingly massive ivory seizures, a stream so relentless that it has become numbing.A study released on Wednesday, however, still has the power to shock. Over the past eight years or so, according to the study, 11,000 elephants have been killed by poachers in the western African state of Gabon, where the...

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Nova Scotia gives BlackBerry $10 million over five years to keep jobs

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government is giving tech giant BlackBerry (TSX:BB) $ 10 million over five years to help the company keep at least 400 jobs in the province.Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter says in return, BlackBerry has committed to spend $ 4 million a year on a facility that would purchase new equipment and conduct research and development.Last summer, the company laid off about 95 people...

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Bethenny Frankel Anxious Over Dog Cookie's Limp

People Pets 02/06/2013 at 01:00 PM EST Bethenny Frankel and Cookie Adam Nemser/Startraks All's not well at home for Bethenny Frankel, who, after splitting with husband Jason Hoppy, is now dealing with her beloved dog Cookie's ailing health."My first baby [Cookie]...

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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 stymied as investors lack catalysts to trade

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday as investors, without any major economic reports to guide them, awaited fresh incentives to trade after rallies took the S&P 500 to five-year highs. Transportation stocks were among the worst performers, weighed down by a 10 percent drop in CH Robinson Worldwide to $60.40 after the freight transport company posted...

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Clashes Erupt in Damascus, Shattering Lull, as Prospects for Talks Dim

Goran Tomasevic/ReutersA building in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka was hit by a mortar shell fired by the Syrian Army on Wednesday. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian insurgents attacked military checkpoints and other targets in parts of central Damascus on Wednesday, antigovernment activist groups reported. The fighting shattered a lull there as prospects for any talks between the antagonists appeared to...

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French court throws out EDF guilty verdict in hacking case

VERSAILLES, France (Reuters) – A French appeals court on Wednesday threw out a 1.5 million euro ($ 2 million) fine against energy giant EDF, overturning a lower court’s ruling that the company had been complicit in hacking the computers of Greenpeace in 2006.EDF had appealed against the November 2011 decision by the Nanterre criminal court that a company it hired had hacked into confidential information...

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Bridget Jones Is Back: Helen Fielding to Release New Novel in November

02/05/2013 at 12:30 PM EST Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones's Diary Everett Bridget's back – and better than ever?It's been 14 years since readers last heard from frumpy, lovelorn, calorie-counting Bridget Jones, memorably played on film by Renée Zellweger. Now...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of the city's plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks have asked a judge to delay enforcement of it, saying beverage makers and sellers 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 want to put it on hold at...

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Wall Street bounces back, Dow briefly passes 14,000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow rising above 14,000, as earnings came in stronger than expected and investors sought bargains a day after the market's biggest drop since November. 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....

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The Lede Blog: North Korean Propaganda Video Uses "Call of Duty" and "We Are the World" to Imagine a Brighter World, Without Manhattan

When aliens strike, the climate goes berserk, the Russians invade, an asteroid threatens the Earth, New York City is often the first place to be destroyed. Hollywood has long used the city’s iconic skyline to demonstrate what destruction looks like in action movies and video games. It seems that North Korea, in seeking to show how an assault on America would play out, also has Manhattan squarely...

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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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Molly Sims Flaunts Fab Post-Baby Body in Bikini

By Shanelle Rein-Olowokere 02/04/2013 at 12:50 PM EST Well, that was fast! Just seven months after welcoming son Brooks, Molly Sims posted a photo of her svelte body in a black-two piece bathing suit while on vacation in Mexico Saturday with her girlfriends."Finally bikini ready & pulling out those Sports...

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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 retreats, Nasdaq and S&P 500 off 1 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks declined on Monday after a disappointing report on factory orders, retreating from gains in the prior session that left the S&P 500 at a five-year high and the Dow above 14,000. Investors also grew wary on political uncertainty in the euro zone, leading to a sharp rise in Spanish government bond yields. Chevron and Wal-Mart were among the biggest...

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