Euro surges to 14-month high, Fed decision awaited

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro hit its highest level in over a year on Wednesday and shares, oil and metals were also on the rise, as confidence in the global economic outlook strengthened ahead of European data and the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy decision. The Fed is expected to maintain asset buying at $85 billion a month when it concludes its meeting later and retain its commitment...

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A-Rod implicated in PED use again as MLB probes

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez is in the middle of Major League Baseball's latest doping investigation after an alternative weekly newspaper reported baseball's highest-paid star was among the big leaguers listed in the records of a Florida clinic the paper said sold performance-enhancing drugs.The Miami New Times said Tuesday that the three-time AL MVP bought human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing...

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With or without Exxon, Iraq Kurds strive for energy autonomy

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Behind the closed doors of their offices in the United States, top executives and lawyers for Exxon Mobil are poring over two sets of contracts, weighing a decision that could shift the balance of power in Iraq.Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last week hastily convened a meeting with Exxon’s chief executive Rex Tillerson in a bid to woo back the U.S. major, which had seemed...

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Can India learn respect for women?

Suniti Neogy, the writer, at a community meeting in the village of Musepur in India, where she discussed the importance of men taking an active role in parenting.STORY HIGHLIGHTSSuniti Neogy: Gang-rape, murder in New Delhi has forced many Indians to confront truthShe says she was asked to lead workshop promoting gender sensitivity in an Indian districtShe said adult male teachers said they had not...

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Girl who performed at Obama inaugural slain on South Side

After taking their exams Tuesday, Hadiya Pendleton and a group of others decided to hang out at a park on Tuesday just blocks...

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Sixty-five people executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists

DUBAI (Reuters) - Denouncing "unrelenting horrors" in Syria's war, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Wednesday for an end to the violence and urged more aid to address a situation he said was catastrophic and worsening by the day. "How many more people will be killed if the current situation continues?," Ban said, speaking at a conference of donors in Kuwait called to drum...

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Shares, oil steady before U.S. data, Fed meeting

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares consolidated near two-year highs on Tuesday and oil prices steadied as investors awaited data on the strength of U.S. economy and a Federal Reserve policy decision later in the week. Most markets for riskier assets have risen solidly this year - despite only modest global growth - due to robust corporate earnings reports, signs of an end to the euro...

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Woods makes short work at Torrey Pines

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tiger Woods never looked so irritated winning a golf tournament so comfortably.His record eighth victory at Torrey Pines was all but over when Woods ripped a 5-iron from 244 yards over the corner of a bunker and onto the green at the par-5 13th hole, setting up a two-putt birdie that gave him an eight shot lead in the Farmers Insurance Open.At least he had plenty of time to savor...

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Deep Space Industries: A New Asteroid-Mining Company Is Born

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Tuesday mornings are usually pretty quiet at the tiny Santa Monica Municipal Airport, and doubly so at the Museum of Flying located there. But last Tuesday (Jan. 22), the main hall was abuzz with something unusual.On a dais in front of a WWII fighter, Geoffrey Notkin, co-host of Science Channel’s “Meteorite Men,” opened up a press conference by introducing the principals of...

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Why haven't we learned from fires?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSPyrotechnics, overcrowding, poor exits have contributed to tragic fires in recent yearsYou would think the world would have learned from past incidents, John Barylick saysConcertgoers have to be their own fire marshals, he saysEditor's note: John Barylick, author of "Killer Show," a book on the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, is an attorney who represented victims in wrongful...

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