NFL's Goodell aims to share blame on player safety

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to share the blame."Safety," he said at his annual Super Bowl news conference, "is all of our responsibilities."Not surprisingly, given that thousands of former players are suing the league about its handling of concussions, the topics of player health and improved safety dominated Goodell's 45-minute session Friday. And he often sounded like...

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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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Former New York mayor Ed Koch moved to hospital intensive care

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch was moved to a hospital intensive care unit on Thursday, his spokesman said, in a sign that his health could be deteriorating.Koch spokesman George Arzt said the 88-year-old politician, who earned a reputation for being as outspoken as he is colorful, was being moved so his cardiologist could better monitor his condition. Koch has been treated...

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RBS must meet Libor fines – Osborne

1 February 2013 Last updated at 23:06 ETAny fines by US authorities on Royal Bank of Scotland over the Libor scandal should be met by bankers not taxpayers, Chancellor George Osborne has insisted.A ruling on the involvement of RBS in the fixing of the key industry interest rate is due imminently.It is expected to be higher than the fine of nearly £300m imposed on Barclays last year.RBS, which is majority...

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What a Tangled Web We Leave

When Alexandra Kaye’s husband died last year of a heart attack at age 57, she thought she was well prepared financially—until she started wading through the day-to-day details.Ms. Kaye and her husband Jeff, British and American journalists living in Washington, had done more end-of-life planning than many couples. Among other things, they had wills in place and had talked extensively about what they...

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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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Carville, Matalin enjoy role as Big Easy boosters

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When Mary Matalin heard a baby cry during a Super Bowl news conference this week, she paused midsentence, peered in the direction of the fussing child and asked: "Is that my husband?"Matalin, the noted Republican political pundit, isn't shy about making jokes at the expense of Democratic strategist James Carville, who went from being her professional counterpart to her partner in...

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Reality check needed on immigration?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSHoward Kurtz: The mainstream media are rooting for immigration policy changesKurtz: Is enthusiasm causing the media to overestimate the prospects for reform? He says the Republican House has been a graveyard for numerous Obama reformsKurtz: Illegal immigration still arouses visceral opposition among some Americans Editor's note: Howard Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources"...

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Appeals judges: Anti-paparazzi law appears legal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appeals panel says California’s anti-paparazzi statute appears to be constitutional based on a brief filed by prosecutors.A preliminary statement by three judges in Los Angeles requires a judge who dismissed charges aimed at a paparazzo who authorities say was driving recklessly to review his order. The judge may stick to his ruling, which would trigger a full appeal, or he could...

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S.Africa’s PMI at 49.1 in January

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa‘s seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers‘ Index (PMI) was at 49.1, below the key 50 mark that distinguishes contraction from expansion for the fifth straight month in January.The employment component of the index fell to its lowest since the middle of 2011, signaling bleak prospects for job creation in manufacturing, a sector that contributes about 15 percent...

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Kraft Foods sues restaurant chain over Cracker Barrel product sales

(Reuters) – Kraft Foods (KRFT.O) has filed a lawsuit against casual dining chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL) over its decision to begin selling certain Cracker Barrel branded products outside of its restaurants and stores, court documents show.The food manufacturer wants a marketing license agreement between Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBOCS) and the John Morrell Food Group to...

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Stock index futures rise, focus on jobs data

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.4 to 0.5 percent. U.S. job growth likely picked up modestly in January and the unemployment rate held steady, supporting views a sluggish economic recovery was on track despite a surprise contraction in the final three months...

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2 NFL seasons since agreement, still no HGH tests

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Count Baltimore Ravens defensive end Arthur Jones among those NFL players who want the league and the union to finally agree on a way to do blood testing for human growth hormone."I hope guys wouldn't be cheating. That's why you do all this extra work and extra training. Unfortunately, there are probably a few guys, a handful maybe, that are on it. It's unfortunate. It takes away...

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BlackBerry must remember strengths

STORY HIGHLIGHTSBlackBerry sales have slumped in the U.S. but is still strong in emerging marketsNew models launched should remember why they are popular in developing worldIn places like Brazil and South Africa, the 10 is the update to their current phonein Sub-Saharan Africa there is expected to be 175 million new customers in the next 3 yearsWatch Jim Clancy on CNN International's "The Brief" at...

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‘How I Met Your Mother’ gets final season – and reveals the mother

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – “How I Met Your Mother” will be back for a ninth and final season that will reveal – finally – who the mother is.CBS and 20th Century Fox Television announced Wednesday that the series would be back for one final go-round with series regulars Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan, as well as series creators Carter Bays and Craig...

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If the Xbox Came to China, Would the Chinese Notice?

Twenty-four-year-old Zhu, a banker in southwestern China, took time Tuesday out of his busy schedule working for one of China’s leading banks and playing five to six hours of video games a week, to share his gaming ambitions. He loves the multiplayer online game World of Tanks—which has 45 million registered users worldwide—plays mostly alongside close friends, primarily uses his own laptop, and usually...

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German jitters hit European shares, euro

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell for a second straight day and the euro halted its recent rally, as weak German retail sales and poor earnings at its biggest bank added to investors' nerves after a shock fourth quarter contraction in the U.S. economy. Data on Wednesday showed U.S. GDP slipped back 0.1 percent, though the country's central bank, the Federal Reserve, indicated the...

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A-Rod implicated in PED use again as MLB probes

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez is in the middle of Major League Baseball's latest doping investigation after an alternative weekly newspaper reported baseball's highest-paid star was among the big leaguers listed in the records of a Florida clinic the paper said sold performance-enhancing drugs.The Miami New Times said Tuesday that the three-time AL MVP bought human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing...

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