"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...

Read More..

Harris' TD run gas Packers up 7-3 after 1st period

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — DuJuan Harris had a 9-yard touchdown run late first quarter to give the Green Bay Packers a 7-3 lead over Minnesota on Saturday night in their NFC wild-card playoff game.Christian Ponder was inactive for the game for the Vikings because of a right elbow injury and Joe Webb started at quarterback.Aaron Rodgers went 4 for 4 on the 82-yard scoring march for the Packers, who used...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Englewood shooting victim dies

Chicago police gather at the scene of a fatal shooting near 55th Street and Loomis Boulevard. ...

Read More..

Venezuela lawmakers elect Chavez ally as Assembly chief

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan lawmakers re-elected a staunch ally of Hugo Chavez to head the National Assembly on Saturday, putting him in line to be caretaker president if the socialist leader does not recover from cancer surgery. By choosing the incumbent, Diosdado Cabello, the "Chavista"-dominated legislature cemented the combative ex-soldier's position as the third most powerful...

Read More..

S&P 500 finishes at 5-year high on economic data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index ended at a five-year high on Friday, lifted by reports showing employers kept up a steady pace of hiring workers and the vast services sector expanded at a brisk rate. The gains on the S&P 500 pushed the index to its highest close since December 2007 and its biggest weekly gain since December 2011. Most...

Read More..

AP Source: Browns close to deal with Kelly

CLEVELAND (AP) — Chip Kelly is close to taking his fast-paced offense to the NFL.A person familiar with the negotiations says the Cleveland Browns are nearing a deal with Oregon's offensive mastermind to be their next coach.The Browns interviewed Kelly on Friday and the Ducks coach was supposed to meet with Philadelphia in Arizona. However, a person familiar with the interviews says the Eagles are...

Read More..

Exxon Mobil proceeds with $14 billion Canada oil field

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp said on Friday it is moving ahead with the next major oil project in the North Atlantic, the $ 14 billion Hebron development off the Newfoundland coast, boosting its already-large investments in Canada’s most oil-rich regions.Exxon Mobil, the biggest U.S. oil major, said it will produce 150,000 barrels of oil a day at Hebron using a massive concrete gravity-base...

Read More..

Myanmar: Evolution, not revolution

Tourists walk around the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon in April. The tourism industry is set for expansion.STORY HIGHLIGHTSMyanmar is undergoing incremental change, welcomed by all, says Parag KhannaBut he says people still tread lightly, careful not to overstep or demand too muchMyanmar has survived succession of natural and man-made ravages, Khanna addsWith sanctions lifted, foreign investment is now...

Read More..

Bulls Game Day: Noah back vs. Heat

Tribune video ...

Read More..

Abbas sees Palestinian unity as Fatah rallies in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas predicted the end of a five-year split between the two big Palestinian factions as his Fatah movement staged its first mass rally in Gaza with the blessing of Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave. "Soon we will regain our unity," Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the 2007 civil war between the two factions,...

Read More..

Asian shares drop on Fed minutes, dollar extends gain

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Friday, tracking overnight weakness in global equities, but the dollar gained as U.S. debt yields rose after several Federal Reserve officials expressed concerns about continuing to expand stimulative bond buying. Minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting released on Thursday showed some voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee were...

Read More..

Saban, Kelly lead Bama and ND out of darkness

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — There were some dark days at Notre Dame and Alabama, dark years really, during which two of college football's proudest programs flailed and foundered.Notre Dame won the national championship in 1988, then spent much of the next two decades running through coaches — four if you count the guy who never coached a game — and drifting between mediocre and pretty good.Alabama...

Read More..

Martian rock from Sahara desert unlike others

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scientists are abuzz about a coal-colored rock from Mars that landed in the Sahara desert: A yearlong analysis revealed it’s quite different from other Martian meteorites.Not only is it older than most, it also contains more water, tests showed. The baseball-size meteorite, estimated to be 2 billion years old, is strikingly similar to the volcanic rocks examined on the Martian surface...

Read More..

Gay marriage, assault weapons ban votes delayed in Senate

SPRINGFIELD— ...

Read More..

Eleven dead in Damascus gas station blast

AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, opposition activists said. The station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long insurgency aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. ...

Read More..