At least 16 hurt in blast and fire at Kansas City restaurant

At least 16 people were hurt and a popular wine bar was destroyed by an apparent natural gas explosion and ensuing fire at an...

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Turkish Soccer Fans Roar Loudly Enough to Damage Your Ears

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The Turks, who love football as much as anyone, have the loudest fans on earth.The 51,998 people packed into Turk Telekon Arena, home to the Galatasaray football club, let out a 131.76-decibel roar during a match against Fenerbahçe two years ago, enough to secure a spot in the Guinness book of records. That’s louder than The Who during their 126-decibel gig in London in...

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Oscars in Hollywood cliffhanger over Best Picture, Director

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sunday’s Oscar ceremony is set for a cliffhanger ending after a topsy-turvy awards season that has left the two top prizes – Best Picture and Best Director – too close to call.With just days to go before the movie industry’s highest honors are handed out on February 24, awards watchers are keyed up for one of the most exciting nights in recent Academy Awards history.Despite...

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The New Old Age Blog: The Reluctant Caregiver

Now and then, I refer to the people that caregivers tend to as “loved ones.” And whenever I do, a woman in Southern California tells me, I set her teeth on edge.She visits her mother-in-law, runs errands, helps with the paperwork — all tasks she has shouldered with a grim sense of duty.  She doesn’t have much affection for this increasingly frail 90something or enjoy her company; her efforts...

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DealBook: Office Depot and OfficeMax Announce Plans to Merge, After Erroneous Release

9:40 a.m. | Updated Office Depot and OfficeMax announced their plans to merge on Wednesday, just hours after an erroneous release about the deal briefly surfaced.Under the terms of the deal, Office Depot said it would issue 2.69 new shares of common stock for each share of OfficeMax. At that level, the transaction would value OfficeMax at $13.50, or roughly $1.19 billion, a premium of more than 25...

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Oscar Pistorius denies charge of premeditated murder

PRETORIA, South Africa -- As his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, cowered behind a locked door in a tiny bathroom, Oscar Pistorius...

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Same-Day Delivery Darling Shutl Takes on Amazon's Ground Game

Imagine ordering something online, but instead of the store telling you when your package will arrive, you tell them. A few million U.S. residents will soon have that option as same-day delivery darling Shutl prepares for its stateside launch within about a month.The U.K.-based company has already received a lot of love from startup watchers and investors, including UPS, which has put $2 million...

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Daniel Day-Lewis as Abe Lincoln makes unstoppable Oscar force

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – If there is one sure bet in this roller coaster movie awards season, it is that Daniel Day-Lewis will take home the Best Actor statuette at the Oscars on Sunday.Day-Lewis, known for his meticulous preparation, would become the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars, and awards pundits say it’s not hard to see why.The tall, intellectual actor has swept every prize in the long...

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National Briefing | South: Abortion Curbs Clear Senate in Arkansas

The State Senate voted 25 to 7 on Monday to ban most abortions 20 weeks into a pregnancy. The measure goes back to the House to consider an amendment that added exceptions for rape and incest. The legislation is based on the belief that fetuses can feel pain 20 weeks into a pregnancy, and is similar to bans in several other states. Opponents say it would require mothers to deliver babies with fatal...

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Wall St. Shares Inch Ahead

Shares on Wall Street inched higher in early trading on Tuesday, putting the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index on track to extend its seven-week winning streak. Shortly after the opening bell, the S.&P. 500 was up 0.3 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.1 percent. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 percent. The strong start to the year has been helped by...

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