"Cliff" concerns give way to earnings focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors' "fiscal cliff" worries are likely to give way to more fundamental concerns, like earnings, as fourth-quarter reports get under way next week. Financial results, which begin after the market closes on Tuesday with aluminum company Alcoa , are expected to be only slightly better than the third-quarter's lackluster results. As a warning sign, analyst current...

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Manziel leads A&M to Cotton Bowl rout of Sooners

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — At one point early in the Cotton Bowl, with "Johnny B. Goode" blaring through the stadium speakers, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel peeked up at the accompanying highlights on the huge video board hanging over the field.Texas A&M's exciting dual-threat quarterback known as Johnny Football sure puts on a show worth watching."Best player I've ever played. He does so...

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Secret to Fish’s Waterfall-Climbing Ability Found

A waterfall-climbing fish in Hawaii uses the same muscles to both rise and feed, researchers have discovered.Scientists looked at the Nopoli rock-climbing goby (Sicyopterus stimpsoni), also known in Hawaiian as o’opu nopili. This plant-eating fish is found throughout Hawaii, and was once greatly relished as food, apparently being a favorite snack among priests.Many gobies can inch their way up waterfalls...

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Storm over Depardieu's 'pathetic' move

STORY HIGHLIGHTSRussian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed Russian citizenship on actor Gérard DepardieuFor Depardieu, a public war of words erupted, with many in France disgusted by his moveDepardieu more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit, says Agnes PoirierMajority of French people disapprove of his action but can't help loving him, she addsAgnes Poirier is a French journalist and political...

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Escaped convict was using cane and beret as disguise

Chicago Tribune reporter Jason Meisner on the recent arrest of Kenneth Conley, a convicted bank robber who escaped from federal jail in December. (Posted on: Jan. 4, 2013.) ...

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Chavez swearing-in can be delayed: Venezuelan VP

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's formal swearing-in for a new six-year term scheduled for January 10 can be postponed if he is unable to attend due to his battle to recover from cancer surgery, Venezuela's vice president said on Friday. Nicolas Maduro's comments were the clearest indication yet that the Venezuelan government is preparing to delay the swearing-in while avoiding...

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Wall Street opens a tad higher after jobs data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened slightly higher after a key U.S. jobs report showed the pace of hiring by employers had eased slightly in December but gave signals of some momentum in the labor market's recovery since the 2007-09 recession. Though the data showed lackluster economic growth was unable to make a dent in the still-high U.S. unemployment rate, it calmed fears about the...

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Oregon runs past K-State 35-17 at Fiesta Bowl

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — As Oregon coach Chip Kelly was about to receive the massive Fiesta Bowl trophy, Ducks fans inside University of Phoenix Stadium started a chant of "We want Chip!"Whether he returns or not is up in the air.If Kelly does head to the NFL, this was a great send off.Sparked by De'Anthony Thomas' 94-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff, No. 5 Oregon turned the Fiesta Bowl...

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Firm bringing HQ to Chicago

St. Louis-based construction firm Clayco Inc. is moving its headquarters to Chicago, attracted by ease of air travel, proximity...

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Damacus blames "terrorists" for petrol station blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday said a car bomb at a crowded petrol station in Damascus on Thursday night was set off by "terrorists", a term it uses for rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad. The bomb killed 11 people and wounded 40 at a station packed with Syrians queuing for fuel, which has become scarce in the 21-month insurgency against Assad, in the second petrol...

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Wall Street dips as profits booked after rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged lower on Thursday as investors locked in gains after a rally Wednesday, which was spurred by a deal by U.S. lawmakers to avert a "fiscal cliff" of austerity measures that had been due to kick in this year. Losses were limited, however, by better-than-expected data that showed U.S. private-sector employers added 215,000 jobs in December. That was well...

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Louisville upsets Florida 33-23 in Sugar Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Terell Floyd and the Louisville Cardinals gave the embattled Big East Conference at least one more triumphant night in a major bowl — and at the expense of a top team from the mighty SEC.Floyd returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown on the first play, dual-threat quarterback Teddy Bridgewater directed a handful of scoring drives and No. 22 Louisville stunned the fourth-ranked...

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AAA Mich.: Gas prices up 7 cents from last week

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — AAA Michigan says gasoline prices have risen roughly 7 cents during the past week to a statewide average of about $ 3.30 per gallon.The auto club said Wednesday the average is about 12 cents per gallon less than last year at this time.Of the Michigan cities it surveys, AAA Michigan said the cheapest price for self-serve unleaded fuel is in the Saginaw and Bay City areas, where...

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Why U.S. lives under the shadow of 'W'

Julian Zelizer says former President George W. Bush's key tax and homeland security policies survive in the age of ObamaSTORY HIGHLIGHTSJulian Zelizer: For all the criticism Bush got, two key policies have survivedHe says fiscal cliff pact perpetuates nearly all of Bush's tax cutsObama administration has largely followed Bush's homeland security policy, he saysZelizer: By squeezing revenues, Bush...

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Sandy Hook kids return to class in neighboring town

MONROE, Conn. — The Newtown schools superintendent says preparations have been made for a "normal" day, yet it will likely be...

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Myanmar says jets used against Kachin rebels

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military has used jets to attacks rebel fighters in northern Kachin state, the government said on Thursday, its first admission of an intensification of a conflict that has raised doubts about its reformist credentials. Rebel sources have reported aerial bombings, shelling and even the use of chemical weapons since December 28 after the Kachin Independence...

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Wall Street jumps at open on fiscal deal

During an oddly jokey statement at the White House as the fiscal deadline bore down Monday afternoon, President Obama said, "I'm going to be president for the next four years. I hope." He was warning Republicans that, yes, they'd have to deal with him for a while. But it was, to be sure, a strange moment. Could he actually have been joking about assassination? About impeachment? The apocalypse?...

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Stanford holds off Wisconsin 20-14 in Rose Bowl

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Luck, Toby Gerhart and coach Jim Harbaugh started Stanford's improbable football renaissance, yet they never stood in the center of the Rose Bowl with the West Coast's most coveted trophy raised above their heads.In fact, the last Stanford team to do what the Cardinal did Tuesday night had a defense known as the Thunderchickens.Forty years after Stanford's last Rose...

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Moon May Outshine Quadrantid Meteor Shower Tonight

One of the best displays of “shooting stars” will peak overnight tonight and early Thursday morning (Jan. 3), but unfortunately will run into some stiff competition this year from a bright moon. The celestial fireworks display is the Quadrantid meteor shower (pronounced KWA-dran-tid), which kicks off the annual meteor shower schedule every January.To paraphrase Forrest Gump: The Quadrantids are...

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Time to rebrand in Lincoln's image?

Wade Henderson thinks the modern Republican Party should look to Abraham Lincoln for some inspiration.STORY HIGHLIGHTSWade Henderson: January 1 is 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation He says GOP should look to Lincoln, a canny politician who led moral fight on civil rightsHe says GOP has history of civil rights support that it has largely abandoned in recent yearsHenderson: In 2012,...

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