CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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P&G earnings lift stocks; S&P set for 8-day win streak

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Friday as Procter & Gamble's earnings offset softer-than-expected housing numbers and kept the Standard & Poor's 500 Index on track for its longest winning streak in more than eight years. Procter & Gamble shares rose 3.7 percent to $73.04 and gave the biggest boost to both the Dow and S&P 500 after the world's top household products...

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IHT Rendezvous: Gallery Stroll: Istanbul

ISTANBUL—Unpredictable weather means winter isn’t the most popular season for visiting Istanbul, but it is a great time for gallery-hopping: Many of the best museums and art spaces in the Beyoglu district have just opened compelling new exhibitions.At Arter, the curator Emre Baykal has gathered mostly new works by Turkish artists to create the second installment of “Envy, Enmity, Embarrassment.” Here,...

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Al Shabaab says enemies closed its Twitter account

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Al Shabaab on Friday said its Christian enemies had closed its Twitter account, which the Somali militant group used to parade hostages, mock rivals and claim responsibility for bombings and assassinations.The group’s official Twitter account, which has thousands of followers, was offline on Friday with a message saying “Sorry, that user is suspended”.It was not immediately clear...

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Katy Perry Causes a Total Audience Freak Out at Ellen

TV Watch By Andrea Billups 01/25/2013 at 11:55 AM EST Katy Perry and Ellen DeGeneres Michael Rozman It's hard to tell who's more enthusiastic – a mustachioed Katy Perry (and more on that facial hair in a minute) or two breathless audiences members at The Ellen...

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Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies...

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Wall Street advances despite Apple decline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 advanced on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P index moving through the 1,500 level as solid economic data enabled investors to shrug off a steep decline in Apple shares. Apple Inc dropped 10.1 percent to $462.17 after the technology giant missed Wall Street's revenue forecast for a third straight quarter as iPhone sales were poorer than...

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India Ink: Image of the Day: Jan. 24

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Samsung’s iPad mini rival, the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet, revealed in leaked images

While Samsung (005930) has had tremendous success over the past year with its Galaxy brand of smartphones, the company hasn’t been able to generated the same amount of buzz for its Galaxy tablet line just yet. But now SamMobile points us to the first leaked pictures of Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 8.0 that the company hopes will become its flagship tablet in 2013. The pictures, posted on Italian website...

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Bethenny Frankel's Ex Wants Primary Custody of Their Daughter: Report

Buzz By Tim Nudd 01/24/2013 at 11:45 AM EST Bethenny Frankel and husband Jason Hoppy with daughter Bryn Jae Donnelly/INF Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy are not seeing eye to eye as they begin divorce proceedings – most notably because both sides reportedly want...

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