Wall Street edges up as data outweighs sequester

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose modestly on Friday as strong economic data outweighed growth concerns in China and Europe and let investors brush off worries about the impact of expected across-the-board government spending cuts. Stocks opened sharply lower as Asian factories slowed and European output fell, but most of the losses dissipated after a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity...

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At Ice Age End, a Smaller Gap in Warming and Carbon Dioxide

A meticulous new analysis of Antarctic ice suggests that the sharp warming that ended the last ice age occurred in lock step with increases of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the latest of many indications that the gas is a powerful influence on the earth’s climate. Previous research had suggested that as the world began to emerge from the depths of the ice age more than 20,000 years ago,...

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Michelle Williams Was 'Not Ready' to Commit to Jason Segel: Source

02/28/2013 at 03:00 PM EST Michelle Williams at her Oz premiere Feb. 13 Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP From the outside, it seemed as though Michelle Williams couldn't get enough of boyfriend Jason Segel. In reality, the actress may not have seen him as forever material."She...

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Huge study: 5 mental disorders share genetic links

WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest genetic study of mental illnesses to date finds five major disorders may not look much alike but they share some gene-based risks. The surprising discovery comes in the quest to unravel what causes psychiatric disorders and how to better diagnose and treat them.The disorders — autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, bipolar disorder, major depressive...

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Wall Street edges higher, Dow and S&P records a hurdle

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose modestly on low volume on Thursday after strong economic data, but the proximity of record highs for the Dow and the S&P 500 gave investors a reason to keep gains in check. The U.S. economy grew slightly in the fourth quarter, reversing an earlier estimate showing contraction, and a drop in new claims for unemployment benefits last week added to a...

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The Lede: Video of Pope Benedict’s Public Farewell

During his final farewell address, Pope Benedict XVI describes the joys and challenges of his papacy via CNN on YouTube. As our colleagues, Rachel Donadio and Alan Cowell report, Pope Benedict XVI held his final general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, a day before he withdraws from the public for a cloistered life of prayer and meditation.Before tens of thousands of people gathered in...

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Matt Damon & Wife Luciana Planning Secret Second Wedding

02/27/2013 at 03:15 PM EST Better late than never!More than seven years after saying, "I do" in a private, low-key ceremony at City Hall in Manhattan in 2005, Matt Damon, 42, and wife Luciana are going all out with a top-secret destination wedding celebration in April, a source confirms to PEOPLE. The pair...

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Vt. lye victim gets new face at Boston hospital

BOSTON (AP) — The 2007 chemical attack left the Vermont nurse unrecognizable to anyone who knew her.But now Carmen Blandin Tarleton's face has changed again following a facial transplant this month.Doctors at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston said Wednesday that the 44-year-old's surgery included transplanting a female donor's facial skin to Tarleton's neck, nose and lips, along with facial...

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Wall Street climbs 1 percent on Bernanke, economic data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose 1 percent on Wednesday, erasing much of the week's losses as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke remained steadfast in his support of the Fed's stimulus policy and data pointed to economic improvement. In his second day before a congressional committee, Bernanke repeated testimony in which he defended the Fed's policy of buying bonds to keep interest...

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Immigrants Released Ahead of Automatic Budget Cuts

In a highly unusual move, federal immigration officials have released hundreds of detainees from immigration detention centers around the country, an effort to save money as automatic budget cuts loom in Washington, officials said Tuesday. The government has not dropped the deportation cases against the immigrants, however. The detainees have been freed on supervised release while their cases...

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