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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Hufner wins final luge World Cup meet

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Olympic luge champion Tatjana Hufner edged out two other Germans to win the women's singles in the final World Cup meet of the season, a test event for the Sochi Winter Games next year.Natalie Geisenberger, the current world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, finished second in Saturday's meet, but had already won the overall World Cup before the competition started. Anke Wischnewski...

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New Privately Built Rocket Passes Key Engine Test

A new commercial rocket designed to launch unmanned cargo missions to the International Space Station passed a key engine test Friday night (Feb. 22), setting the stage for the booster’s debut flight in the months ahead, NASA officials say.The Virginia-based company Orbital Sciences Corp. test-fired the first stage engines of its new Antares rocket at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops...

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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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Abe vows to revive Japanese economy, sees no escalation with China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Americans on Friday "I am back and so is Japan" and vowed to get the world's third biggest economy growing again and to do more to bolster security and the rule of law in an Asia roiled by territorial disputes. Abe had firm words for China in a policy speech to a top Washington think-tank, but also tempered his remarks by...

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Wall Street to rebound on HP results after two-day drop

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, indicating the S&P 500 would rebound after two days of losses, boosted by better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard and positive economic data from Europe. The S&P 500 <.spx> has dropped 1.9 percent over the past two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the benchmark index on...

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Inventor Spills Wine Secret: Put It in a Blender

BOSTON — Decanting wine is a common tactic among some oenophiles, and involves pouring the drink through an aerator or into a special container to let it “breathe.” But inventor and amateur chef Nathan Myhrvold has an even better and faster way: Put it in the blender.This agitates the wine and makes it react with air more quickly, performing the same role as decanting but faster, Myhrvold said in...

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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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Iran appears to advance in construction of Arak nuclear plant

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran appears to be advancing in its construction of a research reactor Western experts say could offer the Islamic state a second way of producing material for a nuclear bomb, if it decided to embark on such a course, a U.N. report showed. Iran has almost completed installation of cooling and moderator circuit piping in the heavy water plant near the town of Arak, the...

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Stock futures lower following jobless claims 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 world-famous athlete 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...

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Drones Large and Small Coming to US

Most of the drones that have begun to appear in the skies above the U.S. homeland don’t resemble the Predators or Reapers flown by the U.S. military and CIA above Afghanistan and Pakistan. Instead, these smaller versions of flying, unmanned vehicles almost rival the animal kingdom in their diversity.Government agencies such as NASA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection operate aircraft-size military...

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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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Judge poised to rule in Drew Peterson case

Drew Peterson could be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison today if a judge rejects defense team arguments that his former...

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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 set for flat open after data, Fed minutes on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were poised for a flat open on Wednesday as data showed the economy continues to show modest improvement before 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 producer prices rose...

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