Many dead at site of Algerian kidnapping

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Many people were killed when Algerian forces opened fire on a vehicle at a remote gas plant where gunmen were holding dozens of Western hostages, a resident of the locality and Arab news reports said on Thursday. The resident, who asked not to be identified, said there were many bodies at the scene. He did not give firm numbers of the dead or say whether they were...

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Wall Street to dip on growth concerns, earnings eyed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were set to retreat from five-year highs at the open Wednesday despite strong bank results on concerns about global economic growth, with shares of Boeing pressured after two Japanese airlines grounded their Dreamliner fleets. Earnings at Goldman Sachs nearly tripled on increased revenue from dealmaking and lower compensation expenses and its shares jumped...

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Lance Armstrong may not be done confessing

Lance Armstrong may not be done confessing.His interview with Oprah Winfrey hasn't aired yet, but already some people want to hear more — under oath — before Armstrong is allowed to compete in elite triathlons, a sport he returned to after retiring from cycling in 2011. In addition to stripping him of all seven of his Tour de France titles last year, anti-doping officials banned Armstrong for life...

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New EPA rule boosts EnerNOC shares

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of energy services company EnerNOC Inc. jumped sharply on Tuesday after federal regulators issued final environmental rules that many shareholders see as helping the company.THE SPARK: The Environmental Protection Agency has been drafting rules that will limit how long diesel generators can run without special environmental safeguards. The EPA had been widely expected to limit...

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Give Lance another chance?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSMike Downey: I haven't a smidgen of sympathy for the dope "pedaler"Randy Cohen: If many cycling fans are right, most of the top riders engaged in doping Jeff Pearlman: Lance racing again is not truly an option anyway -- he's almost 42 John Hoberman: Any lifting of his lifetime ban should be based on his total cooperation (CNN) -- CNN asked for views on whether disgraced cyclist Lance...

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Obama to propose assault weapons ban, better background checks

President Obama is expected to present a three-part plan to target gun violence in America. WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama...

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Syrian army on offensive in Aleppo after university blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian armed forces launched a renewed offensive in the northern city of Aleppo on Wednesday, state media said, a day after 87 people were killed in explosions at the city's university. The state news agency SANA said the military had killed dozens of "terrorists" - a term Damascus uses for rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad - in the new fighting....

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Stock futures fall amid debt limit, profit worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open lower on Tuesday as investors fretted over the debate brewing in Washington over raising the U.S. borrowing limit as well as what is expected to be a lackluster earnings season. Futures trimmed losses shortly after a batch of data that showed retail sales rose more than expected in December, but manufacturing activity in New York state...

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Oprah: Lance Armstrong admitted doping

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong has finally come clean.Armstrong confessed to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey taped Monday, just a couple of hours after a wrenching apology to staff at the Livestrong charity he founded and has now been forced to surrender.The emotional day ended with 2 1/2 hours of questions from Winfrey at a downtown Austin hotel, where she said the world's most...

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Are gun curbs just symbolism?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSGun violence recommendations are expected from Vice President Biden on TuesdayThe proposals are expected to contain substantive and symbolic ideas to curb gun violencePresidents use symbolism to shift public opinion or affect larger political or social changeWashington (CNN) -- The pictures told the story: Vice President Joe Biden looked solemn, patrician and in control as he sat at...

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