Richard Adams dies at 65; gay marriage pioneer

Thirty-seven years ago, Richard Adams made history when he and his partner of four years, Anthony Sullivan, became one of the...

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2 bombers target mobile phone firms in Nigeria

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities blame a radical Islamist sect for twin suicide car bombings targeting two major mobile phone companies, an official said Saturday, blacking out a top operator’s network in most of Nigeria‘s northern commercial hub.A suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden car into the facilities of the Nigerian subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Ltd. of India at about 8 a.m. in the city of...

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Ashton Kutcher files for divorce from Demi Moore

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ashton Kutcher filed court papers Friday to end his seven-year marriage to actress Demi Moore.The actor's divorce petition cites irreconcilable differences and does not list a date that the couple separated. Moore announced last year that she was ending her marriage to the actor 15 years her junior, but she never filed a petition.Kutcher's filing does not indicate that the couple...

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News Analysis: The Perils of Yoga for Men

MEN are famous for ignoring aches and pains. It’s macho. Men get physical exams less often than women. They tend to remain silent if worried about their health. When hurt, their impulse is to shun doctors and rely on home remedies, like avoiding heavy lifting to ease backaches. Male athletes play through injuries. It’s all about virility and manliness. The stereotype has exceptions, of course....

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Naomi Gleit helps keep Facebook growing

The gig: As senior director of Facebook Inc.'s growth, engagement and mobile team, Naomi Gleit helps grow the social network's...

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Overhaul of state government payroll system at risk of collapse

SACRAMENTO — One of the state's biggest technology endeavors, a $371-million overhaul of the government payroll system, is beset...

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Ashton Kutcher files for divorce from Demi Moore

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ashton Kutcher filed court papers Friday to end his seven-year marriage to actress Demi Moore.The actor's divorce petition cites irreconcilable differences and does not list a date that the couple separated. Moore announced last year that she was ending her marriage to the actor 15 years her junior, but she never filed a petition.Kutcher's filing does not indicate that the couple...

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Medicare’s Chief Actuary, Richard Foster, Retiring

Carol T. Powers for The New York TimesRichard S. Foster testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee in 2004 WASHINGTON — Richard S. Foster, who as chief actuary of the Medicare program for the last 18 years nettled presidents of both parties with his projections of rapid growth in federal health care spending, will retire next month, the Obama administration said Friday. Mr. Foster,...

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E-book restrictions leave 'buyers' with few rights

There's a crass old joke about how you can never buy beer, just rent it. Who would think that the same joke applies to book buying in the digital age?But that's the case. Many people who'll be unwrapping iPads, Amazon Kindles or Barnes & Noble Nooks on Tuesday morning and loading them with bestsellers or classics won't have any idea how limited...

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LAPD investigation of killing hobbled by DEA

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has refused for more than two years to allow its agents to cooperate with a Los Angeles...

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Country singer Tate Stevens wins Fox's 'X Factor'

NEW YORK (AP) — Tate Stevens, who was mentored by music exec L.A. Reid on the second season of "The X Factor," has won the Fox singing competition.The 37-year-old country singer from Belton, Mo., beat runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar, a 13-year-old schoolgirl from Westchester, N.Y., and teenage girl group Fifth Harmony on the finale that aired live Thursday night.Stevens wins a $5 million recording...

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Stigma Fading, Marijuana Common in California

Jim Wilson/The New York TimesAt a San Francisco concert in 2010, marijuana use was general while signatures were collected for a measure to decriminalize it. LOS ANGELES — Let Colorado and Washington be the marijuana trailblazers. Let them struggle with the messy details of what it means to actually legalize the drug. Marijuana is, as a practical matter, already legal in much of California. ...

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U.S. economic growth in third quarter is revised upward

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew faster in the third quarter than previously thought, but the last three months of the year...

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New chief of California's prisons named

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday named a vocal advocate of shorter sentences and community treatment to run the state's...

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Kodak in $525 million patent deal, eyes bankruptcy end

(Reuters) – Eastman Kodak Co agreed to sell its digital imaging patents for about $ 525 million, a key step to bringing the photography pioneer out of bankruptcy in the first half of 2013.The deal for the 1,100 patents allows Kodak to fulfill a condition for securing $ 830 million in financing.The patent deal was reached with a consortium led by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corp, and which includes...

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Miss USA Olivia Culpo is crowned Miss Universe

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 20-year-old beauty queen from Rhode Island was crowned the new Miss Universe on Wednesday, beating out 88 other women during a televised competition at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip.Olivia Culpo took the crown from Leila Lopes of Angola after strutting in a purple and blue bikini and a red velvet gown.In the final stages of the competition, she answered a question...

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U.N. Suspends Polio Campaign in Pakistan After Killings of Workers

B.K. Bangash/Associated PressA Pakistani woman administered polio vaccine to an infant on Wednesday in the slums of Islamabad. Militants have killed eight polio workers over three days. LAHORE, Pakistan — The front-line heroes of Pakistan’s war on polio are its volunteers: young women who tread fearlessly from door to door, in slums and highland villages, administering precious drops of vaccine to...

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UBS to pay $1.5 billion to settle Libor charges

UBS has agreed to pay a fine of $1.5 billion to authorities and plead guilty to a felony count of wire fraud, the most recent...

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California senators propose tighter gun laws after Newtown deaths

SACRAMENTO — A group of California lawmakers responded Tuesday to the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., with a series of proposals...

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Nielsen to buy Arbitron for about $1.26B

NEW YORK (AP) — Nielsen, the dominant source of TV ratings, on Tuesday said it had agreed to buy Arbitron for about $ 1.26 billion to expand into radio measurement.Arbitron pays 70,000 people to carry around gadgets that register what stations they’re listening to. Since Nielsen also collects cash register data, CEO David Calhoun said buying Arbitron will let Nielsen be a one-stop shop for advertisers...

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