Number of homes entering foreclosure drops 22.1% to six-year low

California's foreclosure crisis eased considerably during the final quarter of last year, with the number of homes entering...

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Google Tells Cops to Get Warrants for User E-Mail, Cloud Data

Google demands probable-cause, court-issued warrants to divulge the contents of Gmail and other cloud-stored documents to authorities in the United States — a startling revelation Wednesday that runs counter to federal law that does not always demand warrants.The development surfaced as Google publicly announced that more than two-thirds of the user data Google forwards to government agencies...

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Adele to perform Bond theme song “Skyfall” live at Oscars

LONDON (Reuters) – British singer Adele will return to the stage next month after a year absence to perform her Oscar-nominated song “Skyfall” at the 85th Academy Awards, the show’s producers said on Wednesday.The theme tune to the latest James Bond movie was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. It is the first Bond theme to be nominated for the original song award at the Oscars since “For Your Eyes...

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Well: Long Term Effects on Life Expectancy From Smoking

It is often said that smoking takes years off your life, and now a new study shows just how many: Longtime smokers can expect to lose about 10 years of life expectancy.But amid those grim findings was some good news for former smokers. Those who quit before they turn 35 can gain most if not all of that decade back, and even those who wait until middle age to kick the habit can add about five years...

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Novartis Profit Rises; Its Chairman Will Step Down

Daniel Vasella, the longtime chairman and former chief executive of Novartis, the Swiss drug maker, plans to step down next month, the company said on Wednesday, when it also reported a jump in fourth-quarter profit. The board is proposing that Jörg Reinhardt, the chairman of the German rival Bayer HealthCare, succeed Mr. Vasella. Joseph Jimenez will remain as chief executive. Novartis...

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Hans Massaquoi dies at 87; wrote of growing up black in Nazi Germany

Hans Massaquoi, a former managing editor of Ebony magazine who wrote a distinctive memoir about his unusual childhood growing...

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LG's Next Flagship, the Optimus G Pro, Outed by Japanese Carrier

LG is already prepping its next handset, the Optimus G Pro, for launch, even though the Optimus G — the basis for the Google’s Nexus 4 — appeared just five months ago and is still rolling out in 50 new markets.The Optimus G Pro is slated for an April release date, according to Japanese carrier NT DoCoMo. The company detailed its smartphone lineup, which includes the...

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Justin Bieber tops Lady Gaga to rule Twitter

(Reuters) – Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber with his hordes of fans known of Beliebers became the King of Twitter on Tuesday, topping fellow pop star Lady Gaga as the user with the most followers.Data from TwitterCounter.com showed that the 18-year-old Canadian singer jumped into the lead with 33.33 million followers, topping Lady Gaga’s 33.32 million and ending her two-and-a-half year rule of the microblogging...

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The Well Column: Facing Cancer, a Stark Choice

In the 1970s, women’s health advocates were highly suspicious of mastectomies. They argued that surgeons — in those days, pretty much an all-male club — were far too quick to remove a breast after a diagnosis of cancer, with disfiguring results.But today, the pendulum has swung the other way. A new generation of women want doctors to take a more aggressive approach, and more and more are asking that...

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DealBook: Can Britain Forge Looser Ties to Europe Without Losing Influence?

LONDON — Last year, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain used his appearance at the World Economic Forum to vent frustration with the European Union, listing some of the policies he would ditch if he could throw off Europe’s regulatory shackles.“In the name of social protection, the E.U. has promoted unnecessary measures that impose burdens on businesses and governments, and can destroy jobs,”...

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