Berlusconi Remains the Wild Card in Italy Race

ROME — One candidate promised to drop an unpopular new property tax and refund all prior payments in cash. Another called that proposal a “poisoned meatball,” disconnected from reality. A third suggested that Al Qaeda blow up the Italian Parliament — then backtracked — and the man generally considered the front-runner is campaigning on vague promises of stability, so has often been ignored. ...

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Kelly Clarkson Already Has a Wedding Dress

Cover Story By Michelle Tauber 02/09/2013 at 09:00 AM EST Kelly Clarkson was about to experience a dream moment for any bride: trying on wedding dresses at Vera Wang's chiffon-and champagne-filled boutique in West Hollywood on Feb. 1."I was in the changing room, and I looked at my armpits, and I was like, 'Are...

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After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four...

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Stocks end higher for sixth straight week, tech leads

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite stock index closed at a 12-year high and the S&P 500 index at a five-year high, boosted by gains in technology shares and stronger overseas trade figures. The S&P 500 also posted a sixth straight week of gains for the first time since August. The technology sector led the day's gains, with the S&P 500 technology index...

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Currents: Freedom Has Its Own Constraints

NEW YORK — On the surface, all they have in common is their Sunday airtime, at least in the United States. One television show is about English aristocrats, crisp, proper, well-dressed even in bed. The other is about four young women, often lost and very often unclothed, in a setting quite different from Yorkshire: Brooklyn, New York. But “Downton Abbey” and “Girls,” both hugely popular,...

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Honey Boo Boo's Mama June Shows Off Weight Loss over Holidays

You won't believe what Honey Boo Boo and family used to top their Christmas tree. Or, if you're a regular viewer, maybe you would. Either way, Mama June – showing the results of her 100-lb. weight loss over the holidays – oversees the annual assembly of the artificial white tree in this clip from the upcoming Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Christmas special.Subtitled double entendres fly, Honey Boo...

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.Blacks were five times more likely than whites...

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Stock futures flat after China, German data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed Friday following economic data out of China and Germany, though the benchmark S&P index, near five-year highs, was on track for its first weekly drop of the year. Data showed Chinese exports grew more than expected in January, while imports climbed 28.8 percent, highlighting robust domestic demand, while German data showed...

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I.H.T. Special: Social Media Firms Move to Capitalize on Popularity in Middle East

Suhaib Salem/ReutersEgyptian protesters look at Facebook during a demonstration in Cairo on January 14. DUBAI — For its most recent advertising push, the Saudi Arabian telecommunications giant Mobily did not turn to the street or television to engage with customers. Mobily paid to promote itself on Twitter. The use of social media exploded during the Arab Spring as people turned to cyberspace...

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Channing Tatum, Charlize Theron Join Oscars Telecast

By Tim Nudd 02/07/2013 at 08:20 AM EST Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron Dave Kotinsky/Getty; Dave M. Benett/Getty PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive, Channing Tatum, will make his debut on the Academy Awards stage this month as one of four newly announced special guests who are joining the Feb....

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