Boeing Closer to Answer on 787s, but Not to Getting Them Back in Air

Issei Kato/ReutersSafety inspectors looked over a 787 on Friday in Japan. The plane made an emergency landing after receiving a smoke alarm. With 787 Dreamliners grounded around the world, Boeing is scrambling to devise a technical fix that would allow the planes to fly again soon, even as investigators in the United States and Japan are trying to figure out what caused the plane’s lithium-ion batteries...

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Social media dispute resolution stumps some companies

(Reuters) – If HBO cuts out on you in the middle of the latest “Girls” episode, and you have Charter Communications Inc as your cable provider, don’t try tweeting your dismay to their customer service department. Nobody will hear your lament.Charter, the fourth largest cable provider in the U.S. with 5.2 million customers across 25 states, closed up its social-media based customer service team in...

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Biggest Loser's Cate Laughlan: I Have Trouble Eating Enough

TV Watch By Patrick Gomez 01/19/2013 at 10:15 AM EST Cate Laughlan may have lost the title of The Biggest Loser, but she found something important during her three weeks on the Ranch: herself."[My trainer Dolvett Quince] brought out in me that I was worth it," Laughlan told reporters after the elimination. "I...

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Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate...

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Teacher who starred in porn film fight for job, money

The Oxnard teacher who was fired for appearing in porn movies has until Feb. 13 to decide whether to appeal a decision dismissing her from the classroom, school officials said.The Commission on Professional Competence, in a 47-page report dated Jan. 3, found that Stacie Halas, 32, was unfit to teach eighth-grade science at Haydock Intermediate School and ordered her dismissal.Although...

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Way of the World: Sheriff of Global Banking Rides Into Town

WASHINGTON — Watch out Wall Street and look sharp City of London — one of the sheriffs of global capitalism is riding into town. An elegant Frenchwoman with a shiny silver bob and the smooth manners of a veteran cabinet minister and white-shoe lawyer, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, doesn’t conform to the most common stereotypes of a tough law enforcer....

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Why Won’t the NRA Say Anything About Its (Possibly Fake) New Video Game?

If this app is, in fact, an unlicensed kind of hoax using the NRA acronym without permission, you’d think the NRA might want to squash the brand association quickly. Despite the gun lobby’s slow response to the Newtown massacre, the NRA isn’t afraid of issuing cease and desists or suing President Obama, the District of Columbia, or the Department of Justice.RELATED:...

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Designers Create Dream Inauguration Dresses for Michelle Obama

Stylewatch Style News Now 01/17/2013 at 01:00 PM ET Courtesy L’Wren Scott; Inset: Cliff Owen/APIt’s a big week for Michelle Obama: she turns 49 today, joined Twitter this morning and will stand by as her husband is sworn in to his...

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Food service vulnerable to food allergy lawsuits

WASHINGTON (AP) — People with severe food allergies have a new tool in their attempt to find menus that fit their diet: federal disabilities law. And that could leave schools, restaurants and anyplace else that serves food more vulnerable to legal challenges over food sensitivities.A settlement stemming from a lack of gluten-free foods available to students at a Massachusetts university could serve...

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Man molested girls, gave them tattoos, police allege

Authorities were looking Thursday for more possible victims of a Mission Viejo tattoo artist arrested for allegedly molesting two teenage girls after giving them free tattoos and alcohol in his apartment, deputies said.Edder Giovani Nieves-Vera, 29, met one of the 14-year-olds through Facebook and promised to give her a tattoo, alcohol and drugs, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange...

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Standoff After Militants Seize Americans and Other Hostages in Algeria

BAMAKO, Mali — The Algerian military launched an operation on Thursday against armed Islamist extremists holding dozens of hostages including Americans and other foreigners at a remote gas field on Thursday, and a top Algerian official said at least four hostages were freed. There were unconfirmed reports of multiple casualties. Kjetil Alsvik/Statoil, via Agence France-Presse — Getty...

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PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 could cost just $350, expected to launch this fall

Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) are both expected to announce their next-generation gaming consoles at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in June, or even a little before then. While we have seen rumored specs for both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720, one thing that has escaped us is a possible price tag. In a research note to investors on Monday, Colin Sebastian of Baird Equity Research suggested...

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Betty White's 91st Birthday Gift: A Boa Constrictor

People Pets By Alison Schwartz 01/17/2013 at 10:45 AM EST Betty White received a very special – albeit very slimy – gift for her 91st birthday.To mark her Thursday milestone, the Lifeline Program – a company dedicated to life-settlement specialists for which she is a spokesperson – adopted a red-tailed boa from...

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Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy

NEW YORK (AP) — A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It's safe to get a flu shot.The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a fetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their fetus. U.S. health...

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Woman repeatedly raped inside Nordstrom, police allege

Prosecutors said one of the five people charged in connection with the take-over robbery at a Nordstrom Rack department store in Westchester raped one of the female hostages. Prosecutors offered no details. But a district attorney's office spokeswoman said the victim was sexually assaulted "multiple times." Raymond Sherman Jr., 34, who authorities said was the most violent in the group,...

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Berlusconi Stirs Up Elections in Italy

ROME — The dark, double-breasted suits have long been a mainstay, but now former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has taken to wearing the occasional fedora. It lends him a rakish, retro air as he embarks on what many Italians, foreign investors and no doubt Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany hoped would never happen: another election campaign. In recent weeks, Mr. Berlusconi, a center-right...

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Leaked BlackBerry 10 sales manual reveals new images and details

The buzz continues to mount leading up to the January 30th unveiling of Research In Motions’s (RIMM) next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform, but we’re not sure how much is left to learn. Many BlackBerry 10 features have already been announced, we’ve seen RIM’s first two next-generation handsets — the BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry X10 — a number times, and now Rogers’ internal sales manual for...

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Joey Fatone Runs a Half Marathon - and a Full Marathon - in One Weekend

01/16/2013 at 10:25 AM EST For two years, Joey Fatone cheered on his wife, Kelly, as she ran the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World: a half marathon followed by a full marathon the following day. But when Kelly fractured her foot two months ago, Fatone decided to run in her place. "I just said, 'I'll do it...

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ER visits tied to energy drinks double since 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving...

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Teacher who starred in porn film could lose pay

The Oxnard School District Board of Trustees is expected to make a decision Wednesday on whether to revoke a middle school teacher’s pay after discovering that she had previously appeared in pornographic films. Earlier this month, Stacie Halas, 32, was found unfit to teach eighth-grade science at Haydock Intermediate School by the Commission on Professional Competence, which ordered her...

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Blasts at Aleppo University Cause Casualties

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Two explosions struck the main university in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday, causing an unknown number of casualties, state media and anti-government activists said. There were conflicting reports as to what caused the blast at Aleppo University, which was in session Tuesday. State TV said two rockets hit the university, killing students and people...

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Tata Consultancy says demand in U.S. strong across segments

MUMBAI/BANGALORE (Reuters) – India’s top software services provider Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) said demand in the key U.S. market is strong across its business segments, with regional banks stepping up spending on technology.The Mumbai-based company said on Monday that profit jumped 23 percent in the quarter ended December, beating analysts‘ expectations. TCS also gave an upbeat growth outlook,...

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Sofia Vergara Wants Her Wedding to 'Be a Big Event'

By Dahvi Shira 01/15/2013 at 10:50 AM EST Sofia Vergara doesn't know much about her eventual wedding day, but she's sure of one thing in particular: it's going to be over-the-top."If I'm going to do something, it's going to have to be a big event," the Modern Family star, who is engaged to Nick Loeb, told PEOPLE...

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Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots

CHICAGO (AP) — Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal."Where does it say that I am no longer a patient if I'm a nurse," wondered Carrie Calhoun, a longtime critical care nurse in suburban...

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