US stocks mixed in choppy trade

NEW YORK: US stocks closed fairly flat on Wednesday after a choppy day of trading, with some positive earnings reports providing support.At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 7.22 points (0.05 percent) at 13,986.52.The S&P 500 rose 0.83 (0.05 percent) to 1,512.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3.10 (0.10 percent) to 3,168.48.- AFP/de !--...

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Congressmen resigned to slow pace of change in party affairs

NEW DELHI: Congress is waking up to the reality that Rahul Gandhi would prefer gradual change to a massive overhaul, leading to mixed emotions after his Jaipur speech raised hopes of a sharp makeover in party management. The three-day interaction with central office-bearers has left little doubt about Rahul's plans - he would rather focus on states and lower levels of AICC. It has put paid to hopes...

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Confirmed: Couch Potatoes Have Lower Sperm Counts

Men, here's another reason to work up a sweat: It boosts your sperm count. According to new research, couch potatoes who watch lots of TV have fewer sperm than men who exercise moderately or vigorously each week.Sperm count is a measure of semen quality, which has mysteriously declined in U.S. men in recent decades. Low sperm count is linked to infertility as well as testicular cancer,...

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Strengthening security at the nation’s airports

Most people think of airport security as their walk through the metal detector and the eyeballing by transportation security officers (TSOs). Dan Liddell, whose job it is to protect the flying public at seven airports in central New York, instead sees 17 zones of worker responsibility and hundreds of different tasks. In pursuit of safeguarding the public, Liddell, a federal security director...

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Cycling: US attorney says no plan to prosecute Armstrong

WASHINGTON: US prosecutors said Tuesday they have no plans to press criminal charges against cycling cheat Lance Armstrong, despite his confession that he owes his Tour de France victories to illegal doping.US Attorney Andre Birotte, who led a federal investigation into the disgraced rider, did not definitively rule out action, but said Armstrong's public admission had not yet changed...

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Hate speech plaint against Togadia

HYDERABAD/BHOPAL: While the Hyderabad police received a complaint against VHP's international working president Praveen Togadia in connection with an alleged "hate speech" he made in Indore last month, a chief judicial magistrate's court in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, took notice of a private complaint filed by a local Youth Congress leader against Togadia for "creating hatred between two communities...

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Jodi Arias Tried Wicca, Buddhism With Boyfriends

Accused murderer Jodi Arias testified over the last two days about a flurry of boyfriends and how she followed them into exploring a string of religions including witchcraft, Buddhism, Hinduism and eventually Mormonism.Arias, 32, has yet to tell the jury about meeting Travis Alexander, the ex-boyfriend who baptized her into the Mormon religion and who she is charged with killling...

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Meow! Claws out on Facebook Over Killer Cat Stats

"Good for them, go cats!""Sorry cats but you've gotta go.""Do you get paid to write this?"Well, nobody ever said cat lovers were mellow. But I was taken by surprise to see the number (and intensity) of comments on National Geographic's Facebook page and Daily News website after I wrote a story about a new study on the hunting habits of the domestic cat.To recap: Cats stand accused of killing...

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Fidel Castro makes surprise appearance in Cuba

HAVANA: Stooped and using a cane, Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has taken the country by surprise by turning out to vote in legislative elections, after a three-month absence from public view.The 86-year-old Castro cast his ballot at a school in Havana's El Vedado neighborhood on Sunday, engaging in an animated give-and-take with reporters at the polling station and voters for...

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‘Vishwaroopam’ to hit theatres on February 7 in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's date with Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam' has been set for February 7. Ending the 10-day-long drama over the film and paving the way for its release, the Madras high court on Monday closed all petitions filed by the actor against the prohibitory orders invoked by the state administration to prevent its screening. The actor later issued a statement saying the movie will be released...

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