"Cliff" concerns give way to earnings focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors' "fiscal cliff" worries are likely to give way to more fundamental concerns, like earnings, as fourth-quarter reports get under way next week. Financial results, which begin after the market closes on Tuesday with aluminum company Alcoa , are expected to be only slightly better than the third-quarter's lackluster results. As a warning sign, analyst current...

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Afghan Soldier’s Journey From Friend to Killer of Americans

Video Image via Site Monitoring ServiceMahmood is shown being welcomed by the Taliban after he opened fire on American trainers in Kunar Province. KABUL, Afghanistan — It was only after the young Afghan soldier’s hatred of Americans had grown murderous that he reached out to the Taliban. The soldier, named simply Mahmood, 22, said that in May he told the insurgents of his plan to shoot Americans...

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Professional Bull Riders: Who Is the Sexiest Cowboy Alive?

TV Watch By Rennie Dyball 01/04/2013 at 03:45 PM EST The bulls are back in town – and they're bringing a bunch of strapping cowboys with them.The Professional Bull Riders kick off their 2013 season Friday at N.Y.C.'s Madison Square Garden with a whole lot of cowboy hats, chaps and swagger. In the arena, the riders...

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FDA proposes sweeping new food safety rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.The long-overdue regulations are aimed at reducing the estimated 3,000 deaths a year from foodborne illness. Just since last summer, outbreaks of listeria...

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Data helps pace Wall Street higher, but Apple drags

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Friday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its biggest weekly gain in over a year after a jobs report showed employers kept the pace of hiring steady in December. The Labor Department said payrolls outside the farming sector grew by 155,000 jobs last month, slightly below November's level. Gains in employment were distributed broadly throughout...

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Obama Signs Defense Bill, With Conditions

WASHINGTON — President Obama set aside his veto threat and late Wednesday signed a defense bill that imposes restrictions on transferring detainees out of military prisons in Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. But Mr. Obama attached a signing statement claiming that he has the constitutional power to override the limits in the law. His move awakened a dormant issue from Mr. Obama’s first...

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Can the Government Really Ban Twitter Parody Accounts?

Arizona is entertaining a law that will make it a felony to use another person’s real name to make an  Internet profile intended to “harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten,” which to some sounds like a law against parody Twitter accounts. The legislation, if passed, would make Arizona one of a few states, including New York, California, Washington and Texas, to enact anti-online-impersonation...

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Check Out This Year's Victoria's Secret Swim Cover Model

Stylewatch Style News Now 01/03/2013 at 03:00 PM ET Courtesy Victoria’s SecretWhile most of the country is hiding from cold temps, the Victoria’s Secret Angels are heating things up! The ladies star in the 2013 swim catalogue — in mailboxes nationwide today — and South African beauty Candice Swanepoel...

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CDC: 1 in 24 admit nodding off while driving

NEW YORK (AP) — This could give you nightmares: 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving.And health officials behind the study think the number is probably higher. That's because some people don't realize it when they nod off for a second or two behind the wheel."If I'm on the road, I'd be a little worried about the other drivers," said the study's lead author, Anne Wheaton...

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Wall Street edges lower after Fed minutes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Thursday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed growing concern about the risks of its highly stimulative monetary policy. Despite the concerns about the effects of its asset purchases, the Fed look set to continue its open-ended stimulus program for now. The minutes from the December meeting showed a growing...

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