General news

• Amazon reports a quarterly loss

  23-04-2015 23:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Amazon reports a loss of $57m in the first quarter and also said its web services business generated sales of $1.57bn.
  
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• Rodriguez exceeds expectations, helps Yankees stay relevant

  23-04-2015 23:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — The New York Yankees missed the playoffs the last two years while saying goodbye to a pair of greats. Mediocrity — or, worse yet, irrelevance — was a very real possibility heading into 2015.
  
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• Fairfax optimistic about prospects of a Greek debt deal

  23-04-2015 23:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) - Fairfax Financial Holdings, which bet on the success of a Greek turnaround last year, said on Thursday it is confident that Greece will reach a deal with its counterparts in the euro zone and remain a part of the currency bloc. Fairfax last year became a key player in the bailout of one of the country's largest lenders Eurobank, after it bought a 13.6 percent stake in the bank. The Toronto-based firm recently boosted its position in the bank further, even as Gre
  
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• Why property is heating up in Taiwan's capital

  23-04-2015 23:57 via edition.cnn.com
  
  Where are the most expensive cities to buy a home? According to research, the Taiwanese capital of Taipei is among the least affordable on some measures.
  
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• Bird flu cuts into egg, poultry exports in Iowa, Midwest

  23-04-2015 23:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some international trade partners are declining to buy egg and poultry products from Midwestern states that have been affected by a deadly strain of bird flu, while others are excluding imports only from counties where the virus has surfaced.
  
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• Colorado theater shooting trial tests mental health network

  23-04-2015 23:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  AURORA, Colo. (AP) — With opening statements scheduled Monday in the Colorado theater shooting trial, mental health counselors are bracing to help those coping with anxiety, flashbacks and other responses to reliving the Aurora theater shootings through testimony and news accounts.
  
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• Rudd: U.S., China can commit

  23-04-2015 23:51 via edition.cnn.com
  
  China's economic and military rise under President Xi Jinping can be managed peacefully if Washington and Beijing can commit to a stable relationship for the long run, according to long-time China watcher and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
  
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• Mexican girl mistakenly sent to US woman is back home

  23-04-2015 23:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  GUANAJUATO, Mexico (AP) — Alondra Luna Nunez was a young girl when she had a mishap with a remote-control car, leaving a scar between her eyebrows. Last week, that scar resulted in the teenager being misidentified as a missing girl from Texas, and then spirited north to live with a woman who claimed to be her mother.
  
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• Could U.S. hostage have been saved?

  23-04-2015 23:48 via edition.cnn.com
  
  Warren Weinstein, who appears to have been the only American citizen held hostage by al Qaeda, was accidentally killed in a U.S. drone strike in January. It didn't have to be that way, writes Peter Bergen.
  
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• New DNA codes for mammoths: Step toward bringing them back?

  23-04-2015 23:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists are getting their best look yet at the DNA code for the woolly mammoth, thanks to work that could be a step toward bringing back the extinct beast.
  
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• Comcast plans to drop Time Warner Cable bid: Bloomberg

  23-04-2015 23:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Comcast Corp plans to drop its $45 billion offer to buy Time Warner Cable Inc in the face of opposition from U.S. regulators, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The cable operator could announce its decision on the merger as soon as Friday, Bloomberg said. The news came a day after Comcast and Time Warner Cable officials met with reviewers from the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. Comcast and Time Warner Cable repr
  
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• PM demands plan for migrant crisis

  23-04-2015 23:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  David Cameron says a "comprehensive plan" is needed to tackle migrant traffickers as he pledges military assets to boost search and rescue efforts in the Mediterranean.
  
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• Google's 1Q reassures investors despite earnings miss

  23-04-2015 23:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is still flexing its moneymaking muscle even as a technological upheaval nibbles at its dominance in Internet search and European antitrust regulators question some of the company's practices.
  
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• Latest on Baltimore police-custody death: March blocks roads

  23-04-2015 23:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  5 p.m.
  
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• BALCO & Biogenesis may be over, but steroids cloud remains

  23-04-2015 23:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have moved on, their names cleared. The cloud of steroids remains over baseball and all sports.
  
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• Greek PM Tsipras says very optimistic on deal with creditors

  23-04-2015 23:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday he was optimistic of reaching a deal with the country's creditors after making significant progress in reform-for-cash negotiations. Tsipras, who met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of an EU summit on migration in Brussels, said both sides agreed that "there was significant progress made recently in discussions with the Brussels group, that we have covered a large part of the distance". Asked if Greece and
  
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• Microsoft results show company's shift, but is it enough?

  23-04-2015 23:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft is changing its business. The question has been whether it's changing fast enough.
  
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• Scientists convinced of tie between earthquakes and drilling

  23-04-2015 23:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — With the evidence coming in from one study after another, scientists are now more certain than ever that oil and gas drilling is causing hundreds upon hundreds of earthquakes across the U.S.
  
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• Dr. Oz mounts spirited defense against critical letter

  23-04-2015 23:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Mehmet Oz says last week's attack by 10 doctors who accused him of promoting "quack treatments" on his TV show was spurred by his vocal support for labeling genetically modified foods — a stance he says some if not all of those accusers oppose.
  
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• Google shares rise after profit, revenue gains

  23-04-2015 23:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Google Inc reported higher quarterly revenue and profit as rising ad volume offset the impact of the strong dollar, sending its stock higher in after-hours trading. While revenue and profit missed the forecasts of Wall Street analysts, many investors had been bracing for a weaker report, said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis. The company has faced challenges in mobile advertising and is running up more expenses as it invests in new businesses. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $17.5
  
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• VIDEO: Petraeus: 'I will continue to serve'

  23-04-2015 23:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  David Petraeus, a retired US four-star general and former CIA director, makes a statement after being put on probation for leaking material.
  
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• Voters left in the dark, says IFS

  23-04-2015 23:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Institute for Fiscal Studies says four of the main parties have not provided "anything like full details" on plans to cut the deficit.
  
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• Pentagon dismisses Moscow claim of U.S. troops in Ukraine combat zone

  23-04-2015 23:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Gabriela Baczynska and David Alexander MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that U.S. troops were training Ukrainian forces in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, but the Pentagon flatly denied it, accusing Moscow of a "ridiculous attempt" to obscure its own activity in the region. Interfax quoted Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov as saying U.S. troops were training Ukrainian forces not only in western Ukraine "as Ukrain
  
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• Second poll gives Cameron's Conservatives 4 point lead over Labour

  23-04-2015 23:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Conservative Party took a 4 percentage point lead over the opposition Labour Party in a Comres poll published on Thursday ahead of a May 7 election, hours after another poll gave David Cameron's party the same lead. The poll for ITV and the Daily Mail put the Conservatives on 36 percent, up 2 percentage points, and Labour on 32 percent, down 1 point.
  
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• Minnesota declares state of emergency over bird flu outbreak in poultry: report

  23-04-2015 23:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has declared a state of emergency because of the fast-spreading avian flu that has led to the death of killed more than 7.3 million birds this year, and called for National Guard personnel to be called up for duty if needed, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. As of Wednesday, the highly pathogenic virus H5N2 has been identified on 44 Minnesota farms in 15 counties, and affected nearly 2.6 million birds in the state, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal He
  
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• US admits hostages killed in raid

  23-04-2015 23:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The White House says a US counterterrorism operation in January killed two hostages held by al-Qaeda in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.
  
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• Renner, Evans apologize for 'juvenile' Black Widow joking

  23-04-2015 23:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans have apologized for what they called their "tasteless" joking about the sole female Avenger, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.
  
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• Who was American al Qaeda spokesman?

  23-04-2015 23:18 via edition.cnn.com
  
  He was known as the American mouthpiece of al Qaeda, speaking against his native country on behalf of a terrorist organization that's devoted blood and resources to attacking it.
  
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• Microsoft profit, revenue beats Wall Street view; shares up

  23-04-2015 23:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Microsoft Corp on Thursday reported revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations, as sales of its hardware and cloud-computing services helped to offset a decline in the company's core Windows business. "The Street will cheer these results as it appears Microsoft is back on the right track after a head-scratching performance last quarter." Sales of Windows to computer manufacturers to install on new PCs fell 19 percent in the quarter, reflecting a sharp dip from a year ago wh
  
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• Saudi-led airstrikes bomb Yemen's Shiite rebels in 6 cities

  23-04-2015 23:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Attempts to ease fighting in Yemen appeared to falter Thursday, as Shiite rebels pressed an offensive in the south and a Saudi Arabia-led coalition intensified its airstrikes less than two days after it said it was scaling back the campaign.
  
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• Ahmed Farouq, al Qaeda's India deputy dead

  23-04-2015 23:16 via edition.cnn.com
  
  Ahmed Farouq didn't have the prestige of fellow al Qaeda figures Osama bin Laden, the influence of Anwar al-Awlaki, or the notoriety of Adam Gadahn.
  
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• Springsteen to honor The Who on 50th anniversary

  23-04-2015 23:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Rock legend Bruce Springsteen will honor The Who as the British band marks a half-century at a star-studded charity concert next month. Springsteen will present an award and fellow 1980s-era rockers Joan Jett and Billy Idol will perform at the May 28 event in New York, the Recording Academy said. The Recording Academy, best known for the music industry's annual Grammy Awards, announced the concert as its latest benefit for MusiCares, its program to support musicians in need.
  
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• Amazon's Web Services boosts 1Q revenue

  23-04-2015 23:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Strong demand for cloud computing services helped Amazon's revenue jump 15 percent in the first quarter.
  
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• Obama teases Patriots over 'deflategate'

  23-04-2015 23:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NFL champions the New England Patriots got a barbed welcome to the White House on Thursday, with President Barack Obama teasing the team about the "deflategate" scandal. The Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in a thrilling Super Bowl 49 in February to capture their fourth National Football League crown. "I usually tell a bunch of jokes at these events, but with the Patriots in town, I was worried that 11 out of 12 of them would fall flat," Obama joked. The jibe prompte
  
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• Switzerland, Scandinavia top global 'happy' index

  23-04-2015 23:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Switzerland is the happiest country in the world, closely followed by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada, according to a global ranking of happiness unveiled in New York on Thursday. The United Nations published the first study in 2012. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and one of the editors, said the top 13 countries were the same a second year running although their order had shifted. Afghanistan and war-torn Syria joined eight sub-Saharan countries in Afr
  
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• Nasdaq CEO says exchanges need to be vigilant against bad actors

  23-04-2015 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exchanges need to constantly be on the lookout for abusive trading behavior in order to protect the resiliency of the marketplace, Robert Greifeld, chief executive officer of Nasdaq OMX Group said on Thursday. "We have to have the assumption that bad actors will try to do bad things within the market," Greifeld said in an interview.
  
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• Illness on flight diverted to Buffalo remains unexplained

  23-04-2015 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A U.S. official says the cause of illnesses among passengers on a SkyWest flight to Connecticut remains a mystery to investigators.
  
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• Rough ride? Lawyer says fatally injured arrestee lacked belt

  23-04-2015 23:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BALTIMORE (AP) — No video captured what happened to Freddie Gray inside the police van where officers heaved him into a metal compartment after pinning him to a sidewalk. The cause of his fatal spine injury has not been revealed.
  
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• Ex-CIA chief Petraeus fined, gets probation for info leak

  23-04-2015 22:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Former CIA chief David Petraeus was given two years' probation and fined $100,000 on Thursday for providing classified secrets to his mistress, capping a dramatic fall from grace for the man feted for changing the course of the Iraq war. The Justice Department had previously said that Petraeus, 62, had acknowledged giving eight "black books" -- logs he kept as the US commander in Afghanistan -- to his lover and biographer, Paula Broadwell. In a statement following sentencing, acti
  
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• Murder and abuse before deadly migrant crossing

  23-04-2015 22:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By James Mackenzie CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) - Italian investigators are piecing together a picture of beatings and abuse that hundreds of Africans and Bangladeshis suffered before setting sail from Libya to Italy, only to drown late on Saturday in one of the worst migrant shipwrecks ever in the Mediterranean. One man was killed when he stood up on a rubber dinghy without permission, the prosecutors said. More than 700 people, most locked into the hold and lower deck of a 20-metre-long fishing bo
  
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• Hatton Garden heist reward offered

  23-04-2015 22:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A £20,000 reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gang responsible for the Hatton Garden heist.
  
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• Inside the Apple Watch App Store

  23-04-2015 22:58 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Apple opened its Apple Watch app store for business today, showing off the thousands of apps that have been developed for the company's first-ever wearable device.
  
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• VIDEO: EU leaders pledge migrants cash

  23-04-2015 22:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Council of Europe president Donald Tusk says EU leaders have agreed to triple the funding for their search and rescue operation for migrants.
  
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• White House: Drone strike targeted al Qaeda

  23-04-2015 22:54 via edition.cnn.com
  
  The White House announces that a U.S. counterterrorism operation targeting an al Qaeda compound in January accidentally killed two innocent hostages.
  
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• Mets win 11th straight to tie team record, 6-3 over Braves

  23-04-2015 22:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Murphy drove in four runs and the New York Mets matched a franchise record with their 11th straight victory Thursday, walking their way to a 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves behind Bartolo Colon.
  
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• Merkel: must prevent Greece running out of cash before deal

  23-04-2015 22:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Paul Taylor BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday everything must be done to prevent Greece running out of money before it reaches a cash-for-reform deal with its international creditors amid heightened concern that Athens is nearing the brink. Merkel, Europe's pre-eminent leader, was speaking after a meeting she called "constructive" with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels. Asked how great
  
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• Flash crash trader used series of brokers, companies: documents

  23-04-2015 22:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Navinder Singh Sarao, 36, was arrested in the United Kingdom this week on U.S. criminal charges, and authorities are linking his trades to the flash crash, when about $1 trillion was temporarily wiped out from U.S. stock markets in a matter of minutes. Sarao, a self-described insomniac, also urged authorities to ban manipulative practices by high-speed traders, the documents showed. "I don't like the HFT arena and have complained to the exchange numerous times about their manipulative
  
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• Nasdaq Record: Then and Now

  23-04-2015 22:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Fifteen years after peaking during the dot-com boom, the Nasdaq composite has reached a new all-time high.
  
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• A look at recent U.S. covert operations

  23-04-2015 22:42 via edition.cnn.com
  
  A U.S. counterterrorism operation targeting an al Qaeda compound three months ago ended tragically when two hostages, including an American held captive since 2011, were accidentally killed.
  
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• Oil jumps on Middle East worry; U.S. stocks advance

  23-04-2015 22:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed to their highest levels of the year on Thursday as tensions in the Middle East sparked supply concerns, while the boost from energy-related stocks helped U.S. equities shrug off a batch of soft economic data.
  
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