Where are Facebook's friends? Stock down after IPO
Facebook was supposed to soar. Instead, it plunged.
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Union president sends letter about labor gains
NFL players union president Domonique Foxworth has sent a letter to his membership outlining the gains they made in the collective bargaining agreement reached last summer with the league.more
NATO sets "irreversible" but risky course to end Afghan war
CHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO set an "irreversible" course out of Afghanistan on Monday but President Barack Obama admitted the Western alliance's plan to end the deeply unpopular war in 2014 was fraught with peril. A landmark NATO summit in Chicago endorsed an exit strategy that calls for handing control of Afghanistan to its own security forces by the middle of next year but left questions unanswered about how to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence after allied troops are gone. ...
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Teixeira, dropped to 7th, back in Yankees' lineup
Dropped as low as seventh in the batting order for the first time in eight years, Mark Teixeira didn't think it would make much a difference on what pitches he'll see.more
France's Hollande sets conditions on Afghan financing
CHICAGO (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Monday France had been asked to contribute a little less than $200 million for long-term funding to Afghanistan, but he signaled there would be no commitments until Paris knew how the money would be managed. The U.S. administration is unwilling to foot the entire annual bill to maintain Afghan forces after 2014, which is estimated at $4.1 billion, and has been seeking pledges from allies of $1.3 billion, despite austerity measures brought on by Europe's financial crisis. "We will study the request for funding," Hollande said. ...more
Man survives 180-foot plunge over Niagara Falls
A man has survived a plunge of at least 180 feet over Niagara Falls in an apparent suicide attempt.
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Berkman out at least 6-8 weeks with knee injury
Lance Berkman of the St. Louis Cardinals will be sidelined at least six to eight weeks with an injured right knee.
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Jets DT Ellis pleads guilty to assault in Virginia
New York Jets defensive lineman Kenrick Ellis pleaded guilty Monday to assault and battery stemming from a 2010 fight while attending college in Virginia.more
U.S. Senate approves new Iran sanctions bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate gave unanimous approval on Monday to a package of new economic sanctions on Iran's oil sector just days ahead of a meeting in Baghdad between major world powers and Tehran. The West suspects Iran is working to build a nuclear bomb and the sanctions are meant to strip Tehran of revenue by shutting down financial deals with Iran's powerful state oil and tanker enterprises. Iran has said its nuclear program is for civilian purposes. ...more
DEA probed in wake of Secret Service investigation
The Justice Department inspector general's office said Monday it is investigating possible misconduct by Drug Enforcement Administration personnel in Colombia unrelated to the Secret Service incident with prostitutes at a Cartagena hotel.more
Saints upbeat despite Brees' absence
With no sign of a contract breakthrough for Drew Brees on the eve of the Saints' first offseason practice, safety Roman Harper tried to look on the bright side.
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Ore. track coach takes student to prom, loses job
The daughter-in-law of Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman has been dismissed as a volunteer track coach at a small Eastern Oregon high school because she escorted a 17-year-old boy to last month's prom.more
Economists more upbeat about job growth, housing
A new survey shows economists are growing slightly more optimistic about recovery in the job and housing markets but expect other pillars of the economy to remain weak.more
Flurry of arguments start Gupta insider-trading trial
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta "threw away his duties" by divulging bank secrets to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, a U.S. prosecutor said at the start of Gupta's insider-trading trial on Monday. The defense punched back that the government had no direct evidence. Gupta, 63, once a boldface name in business and charity circles, is the most prominent corporate executive charged in a U.S. government crackdown on insider trading in recent years. ...
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Obama stands by hits on Romney's Bain Capital days
President Barack Obama sought to undermine Mitt Romney's key rationale for his presidential candidacy Monday, sharply attacking his Republican challenger's background as a venture capitalist and arguing that profit-making alone is not a qualification for the White House.
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NATO traces path out of Afghanistan
NATO leaders mapped a path out of the unpopular war in Afghanistan on Monday, backing plans to hand Afghans the combat lead from mid-2013 while vowing to stick by them as they seize their own destiny.
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Trial of ex-P&G, Goldman board member starts in NY
A federal prosecutor accused former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta on Monday of feeding inside investment tips to a corrupt hedge fund manager, while Gupta's lawyer told a jury the relationship between the Wall Street heavyweights was above board.
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After NATO summit, questions about protest mindset
For activists, the NATO summit in Chicago served as one big stage from which to air a broad range of grievances ? not just the war in Afghanistan or other actions of the 63-year-old military alliance.
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Mich. police: Grandmother shot grandson 8 times
Jonathon Hoffman frantically told a 911 dispatcher he had been shot in the chest by his grandmother and was going to die, a police detective testified Monday.
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Former Rutgers student gets 30 days jail for bias crime
NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A former Rutgers University student was sentenced on Monday to 30 days in jail for a bias crime after he spied on his roommate's gay encounter in a case that drew national attention to bullying. Dharun Ravi, 20, had faced a possible maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars for using a webcam to invade the privacy of his roommate, Tyler Clementi, and an older man in their college dorm room. ...
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Chinese activist in NYC is 'seriously troubled'
A blind Chinese activist who arrived in New York over the weekend is "seriously troubled" about three people now at the mercy of Chinese authorities for helping him, his mentor said Monday.
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4 arrested after man's beating at Dodger Stadium
A minor fender bender in a Dodger Stadium parking lot over the weekend led to the beating of a driver and the arrest of four people more than a year after a San Francisco Giants fan was left with brain damage after an attack on opening day, police said Monday.
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New Zealand says troops to exit Afghanistan early
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand is to pull its troops out of Afghanistan next year, a year ahead of schedule, because its job is done, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said on Tuesday. McCully said the 140-strong reconstruction team (PRT) operating in Afghanistan's Bamyan province will formally end its mission at the end of the year and be brought home in 2013. "The New Zealand-led PRT has done an excellent job in Bamyan, reflected in the province being selected amongst the first tranche for transition," McCully said in a statement released at the NATO summit on Afghanistan. ...more
Fort Hood bomb plot suspect wears mask in court
A jury has been seated in the federal trial of a soldier accused of planning to bomb Ford Hood troops.
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NY man who dressed as dead mom sentenced for fraud
A man who dressed up as his mother in a bizarre real estate fraud that involved doctoring her death certificate and cashing her Social Security checks for six years after she died was sentenced Monday to more than 13 years behind bars.more
Bucs TE Winslow says he's not in team's plans
Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow says he been told that he no longer fits in Tampa Bay's plans for next season.more
Obama on Afghan: Leave on time, no 'perfect' end
President Barack Obama and leaders around the globe locked in place an Afghanistan exit path Monday that will still keep their troops fighting and dying there for two more years, acknowledging there never will be point at which they can say, "This is all done. This is perfect."
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Who will drones target? Who in the US will decide?
White House counterterror chief John Brennan has seized the lead in guiding the debate on which terror leaders will be targeted for drone attacks or raids, establishing a new procedure to vet both military and CIA targets.
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Obama snubs Pakistan head over supply routes
In an unmistakable snub, President Barack Obama left Pakistan off a list of nations he thanked Monday for help getting war supplies into Afghanistan.
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Yahoo clears a hurdle, sells Alibaba stake for $7.1 billion
SHANGHAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will sell as much as half of its 40 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group for $7.1 billion, ending years of fractious talks over how to extract value from its most prized asset. Yahoo also increased its stock buyback authorization by $5 billion to $5.5 billion as a result of the deal but said it might instead opt to distribute some of the proceeds through a dividend. The sale, announced on Monday, gives Yahoo $6.3 billion in cash and up to $800 million of new Alibaba preferred stock. After taxes, Yahoo will clear $4.2 billion. ...
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Webcasts push solar eclipse to the masses
It was one of the best places in the western United States to watch the annular solar eclipse, and people drove for days just to get to this dusty stretch west of Albuquerque.
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US student in gay webcam spying gets 30 days jail
An Indian immigrant college student convicted of illegally filming his gay roommate on a webcam received a big break Monday when a judge sentenced him to just 30 days behind bars, not the possible 10 years.
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For protesters, diffuse messages raise questions
For activists, the NATO summit in Chicago served as one big stage from which to air a broad range of grievances ? not just the war in Afghanistan or other actions of the 63-year-old military alliance.
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2 key proxy firms urge shareholders oppose CEO
Two leading corporate governance firms are telling Wal-Mart shareholders to vote against certain board members up for re-election next week, saying the directors neglected their responsibility in an alleged bribery scheme in Wal-Mart's Mexican operations.more
In The Pits: Drama _ of course! _ in IndyCar again
This Indianapolis 500 already has plenty of drama: panic over the size of the field, engine shortages, legal wrangling and issues with underperforming Lotus. Toss in $275,000 worth of fines against 13 teams, and IndyCar has a real soap opera bubbling right before its biggest race.
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Market breaks losing streak, with China's help
Forget Facebook. This is still Apple's stock market.
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Former WVU football coach Bill Stewart dead at 59
Former West Virginia football coach Bill Stewart, who was hailed as Rich Rodriguez's successor but wound up leaving the school in a messy split, died Monday of what athletic department officials said was an apparent heart attack. He was 59.
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FIFA prepares to pick anti-corruption officials
Tackling corruption in football will again top FIFA's agenda when the 208 member nations meet this week for a Congress that will also see the first woman appointed to the governing body's executive committee.more
Egypt's election to decide army's political future
This week's landmark presidential election should end six decades of effective military rule in Egypt, but it remains unclear how much authority the generals who took over from Hosni Mubarak will cede to the elected leader.
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Suicide bomber kills 90 in Yemen, al Qaeda vows more attacks
SANAA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in army uniform killed more than 90 soldiers in the heart of the Yemeni capital on Monday and an al Qaeda affiliate threatened more attacks if a U.S.-backed campaign against militants in the front-line state did not stop. The bombing, which wounded more than 200 people, underscored the dangers Yemen faces as it battles Islamist militants entrenched in the south and threatening shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. It left scenes of carnage in Sanaa's Sabaeen Square, where the military had been rehearsing for a parade. ...
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