Wall Street opens flat, Obama to speak on "cliff"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street opened flat on Friday, amid caution ahead of a statement from President Obama on the progress of budget talks in Washington that have fueled volatility and nervousness in the financial markets. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 5.45 points, or 0.04 percent, to 13,027.27. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped 0.51 points,...

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U.N. set to implicitly recognize Palestinian state, despite U.S., Israel threats

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly is set to implicitly recognize a sovereign state of Palestine on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding much-needed funds for the West Bank government. A resolution that would change the Palestinian Authority's U.N. observer status from "entity" to "non-member state,"...

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Jude Law: I'm Okay Not Being 'That Young Pretty Thing' Anymore

Stylewatch Style News Now 11/29/2012 at 09:15 AM ET Courtesy T, The New York Times Style MagazineWhile most people dread getting older, Jude Law is actually thrilled about it. And not for any reason you’d expect.“In a weird way, it’s kind of a relief to think, ‘Oh, I know I’m not that young sort of pretty...

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing surgery-linked infections is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million, the Joint Commission hospital regulating group and the American College of Surgeons...

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Wall Street climbs at open on "cliff" deal hope

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in early trading on Thursday on optimism that Congress was progressing toward a fiscal agreement in Washington that would avert a possible recession. Market participants are focused on discussions in Congress over avoiding big spending cuts and tax hikes, known as the "fiscal cliff," beginning in January. Still, equities may retreat, as they did Tuesday,...

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Egypt protests continue in crisis over Mursi powers

CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of demonstrators were in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a sixth day on Wednesday, demanding that President Mohamed Mursi rescind a decree they say gives him dictatorial powers, while two of Egypt's top courts stopped work in protest. Five months into the Islamist leader's term, and in scenes reminiscent of the popular uprising that unseated predecessor Hosni Mubarak...

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U.S. for-profit colleges spend big on marketing while slashing other costs

(Reuters) – Google‘s biggest advertiser is neither a bank nor a retailer.It’s the for-profit University of Phoenix, which has recently been spending nearly $ 400,000 a day on ads, more than any financial firm or retailer, the traditional big spenders on online advertising, according to search analytics firm SpyFu.That kind of spending may seem surprising coming from a college, but marketing has become...

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Angus T. Jones's Video Surprises Two and a Half Men Set

By Mike Fleeman 11/28/2012 at 08:35 AM EST After the Charlie Sheen tiger blood debacle, it would seem that nothing could shock the cast and crew of Two and a Half Men anymore.Then came the Angus T. Jones video."This came as a surprise to most people. This isn't who he grew up as," a source on the show tells...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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Wall Street opens lower on "cliff" worry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened lower on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for a third consecutive decline, as investors remained on edge given the lack of details on U.S. budget, or so-called fiscal cliff, talks. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 53.22 points, or 0.41 percent, to 12,824.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped 7.44...

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