Wall Street edges off five-year high, awaits earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks lost ground on Monday, as investors drew back from recent gains that lifted the S&P 500 to a five-year high, in anticipation of sluggish growth in corporate profits. Shares of financial companies dipped after a group of major U.S. banks agreed to pay a total of $8.5 billion to end a government inquiry into faulty mortgage foreclosures. The KBW bank index...

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Bama bashes Notre Dame 42-14 in BCS title game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The coach no longer wears houndstooth. The result is the same. Another Alabama dynasty.Quieting the Irish by the first play of the second quarter, Eddie Lacy, AJ McCarron and the No. 2 Crimson Tide rolled top-ranked Notre Dame 42-14 for the BCS championship Monday night, locking up a second straight national title and third in four years with another laugher of a title game.The...

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Monster Black Hole Burp Surprises Scientists

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Astronomers have discovered what appears to be colossal belch from a massive black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy. The outburst was 10 times as bright as the biggest star explosion, scientists say.The potential super-sized black hole burp find came as astronomers studied the galaxy NGC 660, which is located 44 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces.“The discovery...

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In India, questions over decision to treat rape victim overseas

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The decision to fly the victim of a gang rape that outraged India for treatment in Singapore made little medical sense as the woman was so severely injured that her death was all but inevitable, doctors say. The government, on the back foot after furious street protests and stinging criticism of authorities over the December 16 rape in the capital, New Delhi, has...

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Asian shares slip, Basel ruling supports banks

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks drifted down on Monday as investors booked profits from a New Year rally that had pushed markets to multi-month highs, although financial stocks gained after global regulators decided to relax draft plans for tough new bank liquidity rules. Commodity prices mostly held steady, supported by data showing the U.S. economy continuing on a path of slow but...

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RG3 hurt, Seattle tops Redskins 24-14 in playoffs

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Russell Wilson raced ahead to throw the final block on Marshawn Lynch's fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown run, doing just enough to get in the way of the Washington Redskins safety near the goal line.Less than a minute later, Robert Griffin III's knee buckled as he tried to field a bad shotgun snap, the pain so bad that he didn't even try to recover the ball.The last rookie quarterback...

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Biofuels cause pollution, not as green as thought – study

OSLO (Reuters) – Green schemes to fight climate change by producing more bio-fuels could actually worsen a little-known type of air pollution and cause almost 1,400 premature deaths a year in Europe by 2020, a study showed on Sunday.The report said trees grown to produce wood fuel – seen as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal – released a chemical into the air that, when mixed with other pollutants,...

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U.S. isn't ready for superstorms

Long, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm SandyLong, slow recovery from Superstorm...

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Police: Good Samaritans foil North Side robbery

Jose Rodriguez, 30. (Chicago Police Department / January 6, 2013) ...

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Activists wary as India rushes to justice after gang rape

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - It's no surprise the Indian street wants faster, harsher justice for sexual crimes after a horrific gang rape that rocked the nation, but some activists worry the government will trample fundamental rights in its rush to be in tune with popular rage. Last month's rape of a physiotherapy student on a moving bus and her death on December 28 in hospital triggered a...

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