Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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Grief besets family of Pistorius' slain girlfriend

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Far from the courtroom drama that has gripped South Africa, the family of Oscar Pistorius' slain girlfriend has struggled with its own private deluge of grief, frustration and bewilderment.The victim's relatives also harbor misgivings about efforts by the Olympian's family to reach out to them with condolences.Pistorius, meanwhile, spent Saturday at his uncle's home in an affluent...

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Analysis: Italian election explained

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderSTORY HIGHLIGHTSSilvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth timeThe eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11%Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly...

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Charges filed in slaying of Clemente High School student

Authorities filed charges against a 34-year-old man in connection with the shooting death of an 18-year-old Clemente High School...

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Wall Street rebounds as technology stocks gain

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Friday, rebounding after two days of losses, led by gains in technology stocks after better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard. The benchmark S&P 500 <.spx> has shed 1.9 percent over the past two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly decline of the year. The retreat...

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NFL exec: HGH testing resolution needed

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NFL senior vice president Adolpho Birch says the league and players association need to reach agreement soon on HGH testing.The NFL and the union agreed in principle to HGH testing when a new 10-year labor agreement was reached in August 2011. But protocols must be approved by both sides and the players have questioned the science in the testing procedures, stalling implementation.Speaking...

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Vestas cuts Colorado manufacturing work force

DENVER (AP) — Wind manufacturer Vestas announced another round of layoffs on Thursday, saying that Congress‘ last-minute extension of a tax credit for wind energy generation came too late to save jobs.The $ 12 billion Production Tax Credit was extended by one year after expiring Jan. 1. The extension passed as part of the so-called “fiscal cliff” deal signed by President Obama in the first week of...

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How troubled Italy fell into a coma

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderSTORY HIGHLIGHTSBill Emmott: "Good Italy and Bad Italy" represent spit personalities of troubled countryIn 1950s, Italy was Europe's "emerging economy" and a pioneering center for designOld demons, including corruption and bloated public pensions,...

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Storm loses punch, but still socks morning commute

A winter storm that buried the Great Plains in more than a foot of snow lost some of its punch as it blew through Chicago overnight,...

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South African court grants Pistorius bail in murder case

PRETORIA (Reuters) - A South African court granted bail on Friday to Oscar Pistorius, charged with the murder of his girlfriend, after his lawyers argued the "Blade Runner" was too famous to pose a flight risk. The decision by Magistrate Desmond Nair drew cheers from the athlete's family and supporters, although he appeared unmoved. Pistorius had broken down in tears earlier in the week-long...

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Wall Street opens lower after jobless data

TORONTO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Canada's Rebecca Marino, a rising star in women's tennis, stepped away from the sport in search of a normal life on Wednesday, weary of battling depression and cyber-bullies. Ranked number 38 in the world two years ago, the 22-year-old admitted she had long suffered from depression and was no longer willing to make the sacrifices necessary to reach the top. "After thinking...

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Prosecutors: Pistorius top cop should be dropped

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against a policeman leading the murder investigation into Oscar Pistorius, in the latest twist in a case that has captivated South Africa and threatens to bring down a national idol.The announcement that detective Hilton Botha faces reinstated charges in connection with a 2011 shooting incident came a day after he testified...

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Would the pope vote be hackable?

The Conclave of Cardinals that will elect a new pope will meet in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. STORY HIGHLIGHTSBruce Schneier: Rules for picking a new pope are very detailedHe says elaborate precautions are taken to prevent election fraudEvery step of the election process is observed by people who know each otherSchneier: Vatican's procedures, centuries in the making, are very secureEditor's...

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Man charged with 9 robberies after chase, shooting in Bucktown

A man shot by police in the Bucktown neighborhood during a chase has been charged with a string of armed robberies he was wanted...

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Cameroon, Nigeria officials deny French hostages freed

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - The fate of seven French tourists seized in Cameroon by suspected Nigerian Islamist militants was unclear on Thursday after government officials denied French media reports that they had been freed. The hostages, four children and three adults, were captured this week while on an excursion to the Waza national park near Cameroon's border with Nigeria. ...

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Wall Street little changed after data, Fed minutes on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday after housing and inflation data pointed to a continuation of modest economic improvement and ahead of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting later in the session. Groundbreaking to build new U.S. homes fell 8.5 percent in January but new permits for construction rose to a 4 1/2-year high while...

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Armstrong facing Wednesday deadline with USADA

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong is facing a Wednesday deadline to decide whether he will meet with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials and talk with them under oath about what he knows about performance-enhancing drug use in cycling.The agency has said Armstrong's cooperation in its cleanup effort is the only path open to Armstrong if his lifetime ban from sports is to be reduced.Armstrong has...

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Ultrafast Stars Discovered Racing Through Milky Way

Six speedy stars rocketing through space at up to 2 million miles per hour were likely ejected from the giant black hole at the Milky Way‘s heart, astronomers say. They represent the first known “hypervelocity stars” with masses similar to that of our sun.The discovery, unveiled last month, could shed light on how stars form in the dust-shrouded core of our home galaxy.Black hole sunsThe galactic...

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Obama can't kick his legacy down road

By Gloria Borger, CNN Chief Political AnalystFebruary 19, 2013 -- Updated 2122 GMT (0522 HKT)President Obama has a small window of opportunity to get Congress to act on his priorities, Gloria Borger says.STORY HIGHLIGHTSGloria Borger: Prospect of deep budget cuts was designed to compel compromiseShe says the "unthinkable" cuts now have many supportersThe likelihood that cuts may happen shows new level...

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