Wall Street edges up at open after Alcoa results

MADRID, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi has sent a signed shirt to Gerd Mueller after the Argentina forward broke the former Germany striker's record for the number of goals scored in a calendar year in 2012. "For Gerd Mueller, my respect and admiration, a hug," Messi wrote on the shirt, which had his name and number 10 on the back. Messi finished last year with 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina,...

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Judgment day for Bonds, Clemens, Sosa at Hall

NEW YORK (AP) — Judgment day has arrived for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa to find out their Hall of Fame fates.With the cloud of steroids shrouding many candidacies, baseball writers may fail for the only the second time in more than four decades to elect anyone to the Hall.About 600 people are eligible to vote in the BBWAA election, all members of the organization for 10 consecutive...

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China’s Extreme Cold Snaps Records

An unusually cold winter across China has some regions hitting their lowest average temperatures in more than 40 years, according to state media reports. The Chinese national meteorological agency said polar fronts caused by global warming are to blame for the frigid air.The freeze is the coldest winter in 28 years, the English-language newspaper China Daily reported. The national average temperature...

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Karzai's U.S. visit a time for tough talk

The last time Presidents Obama and Karzai met was in May in Kabul, when they signed a pact regarding U.S. troop withdrawal.STORY HIGHLIGHTSAfghan President Karzai meeting with President Obama in Washington this weekFelbab-Brown: Afghan politics are corrupt; army not ready for 2014 troop pulloutShe says Taliban, insurgents, splintered army, corrupt officials are all jockeying for powerU.S. needs to...

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Poisoned lottery winner's wife has 'nothing to hide,' attorney says

The widow of a West Rogers Park man who died of cyanide poisoning weeks after winning a $1 million lottery jackpot was questioned...

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Historic old Jeddah awaits life-saving restoration

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - In the heart of Saudi Arabia's sprawling Red Sea port city of Jeddah, centuries-old buildings tilt and buckle above the historic district's narrow alleys, withering away in the absence of decisive action to protect them. The seventh-century historic district, with its mud and coral town houses adorned with ornate wooden balconies, holds the only remnants...

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Wall Street dips as earnings season begins

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed at the open on Tuesday as an earnings season expected to show sluggish corporate growth gets under way. Profits in the fourth quarter are seen above the previous quarter's lackluster results, but analysts' current estimates are down sharply from where they were in October. Quarterly earnings are expected to grow by 2.8 percent, according...

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'Bama bashes Notre Dame 42-14 in BCS title game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Barely taking time to celebrate their latest national championship, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide are ready to get back to work.That's how they make it look so easy.In what must be an increasingly frustrating scene for the rest of college football, another season ended with Saban and his players frolicking in the middle of a confetti-strewn field. Eddie Lacy ran...

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NASA Eyes Wild Plan to Drag Asteroid Near the Moon

Capturing a near-Earth asteroid and dragging it into orbit around the moon could help humanity put boots on Mars someday, proponents of the idea say.NASA is considering a $ 2.6 billion asteroid-retrieval mission that could deliver a space rock to high lunar orbit by 2025 or so, New Scientist reported last week. The plan could help jump-start manned exploration of deep space, carving out a path...

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Australian firefighters battle bush blazes, intense heat

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Federal government steps in with fuel, personnel to help NSW fire effortMore than 130 fires are burning across NSW during one of the hottest days on record 90% of the Australian state is under "severe" or higher fire warningsHigh temperatures and dry conditions have combined to create "dangerous day"Editor's note: Are you there? Send your stories, images to iReport(CNN) -- Soaring...

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