Analysis: Italian election explained

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderSTORY HIGHLIGHTSSilvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth timeThe eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11%Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly...

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Pop singer Jermaine Jackson changes last name to Jacksun

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop singer Jermaine Jackson officially has changed his name to Jermaine Jacksun for “artistic reasons,” Los Angeles court officials said on Friday.The Jackson 5 member and older brother of pop stars Michael and Janet Jackson filed a petition to change his name in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2012. The change became official on Wednesday after a hearing, a court spokeswoman...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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4 Handy Apps for Maintaining a Budget

In the age of smartphones, users have come to learn there is nothing you can’t do with the right app. For those looking to budget and track expenses, mobile apps are a good idea because phones are ubiquitous and makes logging easy and quick. If the apps are already connected to your bank accounts, even better.Expense-tracking apps are aplenty, so here are four highly-recommended ones that will help...

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Grief besets family of Pistorius' slain girlfriend

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Far from the courtroom drama that has gripped South Africa, the family of Oscar Pistorius' slain girlfriend has struggled with its own private deluge of grief, frustration and bewilderment.The victim's relatives also harbor misgivings about efforts by the Olympian's family to reach out to them with condolences.Pistorius, meanwhile, spent Saturday at his uncle's home in an affluent...

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Can Bersani-Monti work for Italy?

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderSTORY HIGHLIGHTSBersani wins he may be forced to form a coalition with incumbent PM Mario MontiCenter-left leader Bersani says he plans to make the property tax "more progressive"Berlusconi is using his showman charm to mount a comeback for his PDL...

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Tyler, Perry lead Songwriters Hall of Fame class

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Songwriters Hall of Fame is saluting 1970s and ’80s rock ‘n’ roll with its 2013 induction class.Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner will join the hall of fame this year along with the writers of iconic rock hits “Love Is a Battlefield” and “Heartache Tonight.” The ceremony will be held June 13 in New York.Aerosmith and Foreigner...

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Wall Street rises on HP but S&P on track to end week lower

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rebounded on Friday as Hewlett-Packard, the largest personal computer maker, surged on strong results, but the S&P 500 index was on the way to end a streak of gains that has lasted seven straight weeks. The S&P shed 1.9 percent over the previous two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly...

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Three Years Later, BP Is Finally Headed to Court

By now, BP (BP) and the U.S. government should have hashed out a final, all-in price tag for the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This sort of big-dollar case, the conventional wisdom dictates, settles out of court. Going to trial raises risks for the combatants that cautious lawyers try to avoid.On Monday, unless the Justice Department and the London-based energy giant reach a last-minute truce,...

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Neighborhood Joint | West Village: At the End of History, Obsessions in Color and Glass

Elizabeth D. Herman for The New York TimesRick Rodney browsed the vast collection of midcentury wares at the End of History. More Photos »“I call this an obsession turned into a business,” Stephen Saunders said on a recent Saturday evening. He was standing in the middle of the End of History, the West Village store he has owned since 1997, surrounded by the approximately 10,000 pieces of midcentury...

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Pistorius granted bail pending murder trial

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — In an agonizingly slow announcement, a magistrate allowed Oscar Pistorius to go free on bail Friday, nine days after the Paralympian was arrested in the Valentine's Day killing of his girlfriend.Pistorius' family members and supporters shouted "Yes!" when Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair made his decision after a more than 1 hour and 45 minute explanation of his ruling to...

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Wall Street falls after raft of weak data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks declined on Thursday as a ream of weak economic data did little to assuage some investors' concerns that the Federal Reserve may rein in its economic stimulus measures and amid uncertainty over ongoing budget talks in Washington. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week and consumer prices were flat in January,...

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Wall Street opens lower after jobless data

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks opened lower on Thursday, extending the previous session’s steep decline following a bigger-than-expected rise in weekly jobless claims.The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 28.40 points, or 0.20 percent, at 13,899.14. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.spx> was down 5.87 points, or 0.39 percent, at 1,506.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic>...

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Plump Engineering Turns Safe Transport of Massive High-Profile Objects Into Science

ANAHEIM, CA–(Marketwire – Feb 21, 2013) – Recent high-profile transportation projects have increased awareness around the science of moving massive objects and more specifically Plump Engineering, a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm specializing in transporting heavy objects through urban environments. Currently, Plump Engineering is working with the Chevron El Segundo Refinery to...

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Top detective appointed new Pistorius investigator

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa's top detective was appointed lead investigator in the Oscar Pistorius case Thursday, replacing a veteran policeman who was charged with attempted murder in the latest shock development to hit a case being watched closely by the nation.National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega promised that a team of "highly skilled and experienced" officers would investigate...

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Lawrence, Chastain, Riva in Oscar battle of youth versus experience

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A young widow, a bayou girl, an elderly woman, a mother and a CIA agent battle it out on Sunday for the Best Actress Oscar, a race that includes the youngest and oldest nominees in the category’s history.Jennifer Lawrence of “Silver Linings Playbook,” 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis from “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” 85-year-old star of “Amour” Emmanuelle Riva, “The Impossible”...

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Wall Street dips on weakness in energy

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Doug" (24), and I (22) have been in a long-distance relationship for a year, but we were friends for a couple of years before that. I had never had a serious relationship before and lacked experience. Doug has not only been in two other long-term relationships, but has had sex with more than 15 women. One of them is an amateur porn actress.I knew about this, but it didn't...

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The Latest Abortion Battle: Pro-Lifers vs. Telemedicine

Five years ago, doctors at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic in Austin, Tex., began prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to patients in McAllen, a town about 300 miles away on the Mexican border. The women consulted with the clinic’s physicians by telephone and videoconference, eliminating travel time and lowering costs for doctor and patient. Before this service was available, the clinic would pay doctors...

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New digs: Federal research chimps savor retirement

KEITHVILLE, La. (AP) — For the first time in their lives, four aging chimpanzees once used in federal research can go outside whenever they like. They can lie on the grass, clamber onto a platform 20 feet up on a chimp-style jungle gym and gaze freely at the open sky, the vista unbroken by steel bars.Fifty-two-year-olds Julius and Sandy, 46-year-old Phyllis and 44-year-old Jessica have arrived. These...

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