S&P 500 finishes at 5-year high on economic data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index ended at a five-year high on Friday, lifted by reports showing employers kept up a steady pace of hiring workers and the vast services sector expanded at a brisk rate. The gains on the S&P 500 pushed the index to its highest close since December 2007 and its biggest weekly gain since December 2011. Most...

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AP Source: Browns close to deal with Kelly

CLEVELAND (AP) — Chip Kelly is closer to taking his fast-paced offense to the NFL.A person familiar with the negotiations said the Cleveland Browns are nearing a deal with Oregon's offensive mastermind to be their next coach.The Browns interviewed Kelly on Friday and the Ducks' coach also met with the Buffalo Bills in Arizona. Kelly has a scheduled interview with Philadelphia on Saturday. However,...

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Sun’s 2013 Solar Storm Peak Expected to Hit Century Low

The sun’s peak of solar activity this year will likely be the quietest seen in at least 100 years, say NASA scientists who watch Earth‘s closest star daily.Sunspot numbers are low, researchers said, even as the sun reaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. Also, radio waves that are known to indicate high solar activity have been very subdued.“It’s likely to be the lowest solar maximum, as measured...

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Polar ends of fight for female equality

Hillary Clinton in Kolkata, India, last May. Clinton said that women still suffered from a 'glass ceiling' in politics.STORY HIGHLIGHTSFrida Ghitis: Hillary Clinton illness and New Delhi rape tell different stories about state of womenShe says women's equality faces sharp divide; some ascend, most kept powerlessShe says Egypt's new constitution presents time-bomb for new oppression of women Ghitis:...

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Second escaped inmate caught in former neighborhood

Chicago Tribune reporter Jason Meisner on the recent arrest of Kenneth Conley, a convicted bank robber who escaped from federal jail in December. (Posted on: Jan. 4, 2013.) ...

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Chavez swearing-in can be delayed: Venezuelan VP

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's formal swearing-in for a new six-year term scheduled for January 10 can be postponed if he is unable to attend due to his battle to recover from cancer surgery, Venezuela's vice president said on Friday. Nicolas Maduro's comments were the clearest indication yet that the Venezuelan government is preparing to delay the swearing-in while avoiding...

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Global shares, oil slip on Fed stimulus nerves

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares, oil and copper edged lower on Friday and the dollar rose after U.S. Federal Reserve officials raised concerns about possible side effects of its stimulus program. Minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting unsettled financial markets as some policymakers raised the longer-term impact of its efforts to simulate the U.S. economy. The Fed's...

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Oregon runs past K-State 35-17 at Fiesta Bowl

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — De'Anthony Thomas caught the opening kickoff, raced past Oregon's sideline and leaned his head into the end zone like a sprinter crossing the finish line.The track meet had started and the fifth-ranked Ducks barely looked back after that.Triggered by Thomas' 94-yard return, Oregon bolted by No. 7 Kansas State 35-17 Thursday night at the Fiesta Bowl in what may have been coach...

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Senator Claims Angels Visited Him in Hospital

Illinois Senator Mark Kirk has wrestled with lots of devilish political issues during his 28-year political career, but after suffering a stroke one year ago, he claims he had a very different experience: an encounter with angels.The Republican senator was recovering from a massive stroke in the right side of his brain at Northwestern Memorial Hospital‘s Intensive Care Unit in Chicago when Kirk said...

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Why U.S. lives under the shadow of 'W'

Julian Zelizer says former President George W. Bush's key tax and homeland security policies survive in the age of ObamaSTORY HIGHLIGHTSJulian Zelizer: For all the criticism Bush got, two key policies have survivedHe says fiscal cliff pact perpetuates nearly all of Bush's tax cutsObama administration has largely followed Bush's homeland security policy, he saysZelizer: By squeezing revenues, Bush...

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Firm bringing HQ to Chicago

St. Louis-based construction firm Clayco Inc. is moving its headquarters to Chicago, attracted by ease of air travel, proximity...

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Eleven dead in Damascus gas station blast

AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, opposition activists said. The station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long insurgency aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. ...

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Asia stocks eke out gains on China hopes, oil eases

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Most Asian stock markets edged higher on Thursday on hopes of a steady economic revival in China, although oil gave back part of the previous session's strong gains as investors took some money off the table and braced for more U.S. budget battles. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index of stocks <.miapj0000pus> rose 0.2 percent following Wednesday's 2 percent...

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Louisville upsets Florida 33-23 in Sugar Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Terell Floyd and the Louisville Cardinals gave the embattled Big East Conference at least one more triumphant night in a major bowl — and at the expense of a top team from the mighty SEC.Floyd returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown on the first play, dual-threat quarterback Teddy Bridgewater directed a handful of scoring drives and No. 22 Louisville stunned the fourth-ranked...

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Never-Before-Seen Stage of Planet Birth Revealed

Astronomers studying a newborn star have caught a detailed glimpse of planets forming around it, revealing a never-before seen stage of planetary evolution.Large gas giant planets appear to be clearing a gap in the disk of material surrounding the star, and using gravity to channel material across the gap to the interior, helping the star to grow. Theoretical simulations have predicted such bridges...

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Look beyond the fiscal cliff

STORY HIGHLIGHTSDean Baker: Budget deficit is not the only top issue in our national economic policyBaker: Fiscal cliff debate has been a distraction of the bigger problem of a downturn He says fears of big deficits are preventing us from boosting the economy moreBaker: Given the economy's weakness, the government has to run big deficits Editor's note: Dean Baker, an economist, is co-director of the...

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Chicago man charged in estranged wife's slaying in Munster

A Chicago man with a history of domestic violence arrests has been charged with the murder of his estranged wife in Munster,...

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