Alien Moons May Be Easier to Photograph Than Planets

Scientists looking for habitable worlds to photograph could have better luck searching for moons than for alien planets, scientists say. A moon heated by the pull of its parent planet could be visible even when the planet is hidden from view.Powered by gravitational tugging from a planet, these exomoons would remain bright throughout their lifetimes, not just in their youth. This means stars of various...

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'Stop whining about right-wing media'

Former vice president Al Gore promotes his new book, "The Future" on January 30, 2013 in New York City. STORY HIGHLIGHTSAl Gore says right-wing media help account for resistance to Democrats' policiesPresident Barack Obama said media coverage could determine future of bipartisanshipHoward Kurtz: Fox News, Rush Limbaugh have influence, but White House has bigger voiceHe says conservative media gained...

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Beyonce puts Super Bowl ring on halftime; Hudson, Keys flawless

Beyonce looked like she stepped off from the recent air-brushed perfection of her GQ magazine cover, danced like a junior Tina Turner and generally owned her 12 minutes on a worldwide stage Sunday like few Super Bowl performers ever have.But there were a few nagging questions: Was she live or was she canned? Or perhaps more to the point: Did it matter?Beyonce’s...

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Mali Tuaregs seize two Islamist leaders fleeing French strikes

KIDAL, Mali (Reuters) - Tuareg rebels in northern Mali said on Monday they had captured two senior Islamist insurgents fleeing French air strikes toward the Algerian border, and France pressed ahead with its bombing campaign against al Qaeda's Saharan desert camps. Pro-autonomy Tuareg MNLA rebels said they had seized Mohamed Moussa Ag Mohamed, an Islamist leader who imposed harsh sharia...

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"Great Rotation"- A Wall Street fairy tale?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's current jubilant narrative is that a rush into stocks by small investors has sparked a "great rotation" out of bonds and into equities that will power the bull market to new heights. That sounds good, but there's a snag: The evidence for this is a few weeks of bullish fund flows that are hardly unusual for January. Late-stage bull markets...

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Super Bowl of firsts, lasts, bests

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The journey to this Super Bowl wound through bounties and replacement refs, eventually bringing the big game back to the Big Easy — with a replacement quarterback, a sibling rivalry and a grand exit for one of the NFL's greatest players, clouded by the obscure healing powers of deer-antler spray.It is a Super Bowl of comebacks, of firsts and lasts, and — if San Francisco wins —...

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Exxon’s 2012 profit of $44.9B just misses record

Exxon Mobil Corp. nearly set a record for annual profit. The oil giant reported Friday that 2012 net income was $ 44.88 billion, just $ 340 million — less than 1 percent — short of the company’s record set in 2008, when crude oil prices hit an all-time high. Exxon‘s profit for the last 10 years totals $ 343.4 billion.— $ 44.88 billion in 2012— $ 41.06 billion in 2011— $ 30.46 billion in 2010— $ 19.28...

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Hillary: Secretary of empowerment

Girls hug U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a 2010 tour of a shelter run for sex trafficking victims in Cambodia.STORY HIGHLIGHTSDonna Brazile: Clinton stepping down as Secretary of State. Maybe she'll run for presidentShe says as secretary she expanded foreign policy to include effect on regular people She says she was first secretary of state to focus on empowering women and girlsBrazile:...

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1 person dead, 8 to 10 people displaced in apartment fire

Chicago Tribune illustration (Nancy Stone / March 21, 2012) ...

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Syrian opposition chief under fire for talks with Assad allies

MUNICH (Reuters) - Syria's opposition leader flew back to his Cairo headquarters from Germany on Sunday to explain to skeptical allies his decision to talk with President Bashar al-Assad's main backers Russia and Iran, in hope of a breakthrough in the crisis. The Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, and U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, portrayed Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz Alkhatib's...

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