Report: Lance Armstrong weighing doping confession

Lance Armstrong reportedly is weighing confessing to using performance-enhancing drugs. ...

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Wired Science Space Photo of the Day: Colorful Lunar Mare

Galileo false-color image of the Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Serenitatis areas of the Moon. The picture was made from four exposures taken during Galileo's second Earth/Moon flyby. The colors are enhanced to highlight compositional differences.Mare Tranquillitatis at left appears blue due to titanium enrichment. Orange soil in Mare Sarenitatis at lower right indicates lower titanium. Dark purple...

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Ex-film star Bardot may seek Russian nationality

PARIS (Reuters) – Former French screen goddess Brigitte Bardot on Friday threatened to follow Gerard Depardieu in asking for a Russian passport, in protest not at tax hikes, but at the treatment of two circus elephants.The animals, named Baby and Nepal and owned by a touring circus, are thought to be carrying tuberculosis and were ordered to be put down by a court in Lyon, southern France, on Friday...

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The New Old Age: Murray Span, 1922-2012

One consequence of our elders’ extended lifespans is that we half expect them to keep chugging along forever. My father, a busy yoga practitioner and blackjack player, celebrated his 90th birthday in September in reasonably good health.So when I had the sad task of letting people know that Murray Span died on Dec. 8, after just a few days’ illness, the primary response was disbelief. “No! I just talked...

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Preoccupations: Teaching Meditation Techniques to Organizations

IN 1972, I was a 30-year-old American traveling in India, with the smell of incense in my hair and mantras repeating in my ears. Back then, if you had told me that I would someday be training employees of corporate America to apply contemplative practices to help them become more successful, I would have said you’d been standing too long in India’s hot noonday sun. Nancy Palmieri for...

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House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy disaster aid

WASHINGTON — Responding to the political storm over delays in disaster aid to the Northeast, the House on Friday approved a...

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How to Recycle 2012's Tech for Cash and Good Karma

You just got a new tablet, smartphone or smart TV for the holidays. Heck, maybe you even got all three. So now you’ve got a bunch of “obsolete” gadgets destined for the closet or the attic, where it will gather dust — or get you labeled a compulsive hoarder.With just a little effort, you can get rid of last year’s gear (or even gadgets from a bygone decade) in an eco-friendly way. You might...

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‘Lincoln,’ ‘Argo’ earn Writers Guild nominations

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty” are adding to their front-runner status for Hollywood’s awards season.The two dramas earned nominations from the Writers Guild on Friday for outstanding screen writing.“Lincoln” is up for adapted screenplay, along with “Argo,” ”Silver Linings Playbook,” ”Life of Pi” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”“Zero Dark Thirty” was nominated for original...

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Scant Proof Is Found to Back Up Claims by Energy Drinks

Energy drinks are the fastest-growing part of the beverage industry, with sales in the United States reaching more than $10 billion in 2012 — more than Americans spent on iced tea or sports beverages like Gatorade. Their rising popularity represents a generational shift in what people drink, and reflects a successful campaign to convince consumers, particularly teenagers, that the drinks...

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Your Money: An Invitation to High School Seniors to Write About Money

At the University of Michigan, the application essay talked about how local education cutbacks forced high school students to pay money to play team sports. As a result, the writer could no longer afford to play. At Pitzer College, a student used the example of the Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff to take a philosophical look at how much money people truly need to be happy. As the economy...

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Bieber urges crackdown on paparazzi after photographer's death

Justin Bieber and his collection of exotic cars have been tantalizing targets for celebrity photographers ever since the young...

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FTC Slaps Google's Wrist in Search, Patent Probe

Federal regulators concluded Thursday a 19-month probe into Google’s search and patent-licensing practices, and in the end took no action against Google’s search rankings that favor its own products over competitors.Still, in an accord with the Federal Trade Commission, Google made some concessions. Among other things, the search giant loosened its restrictions on its AdWords advertising platform...

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Depardieu, in tax fight, gets Russian citizenship

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin has cast Gerard Depardieu in one of the most surprising roles of his life — as a new Russian citizen.The announcement Thursday that President Vladimir Putin has approved Depardieu‘s application for citizenship is almost a real-life analogue to the French actor’s 1990 comedy “Green Card,” in which his character enters into a sham marriage in order to work in the United States.But...

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Skin Deep: Questions Surround Iris Implant Procedure – Skin Deep

ANITA ADAMS was born with one green eye and one brown eye. While differently colored irises, a condition otherwise known as heterochromia, may look exotic on David Bowie and Kate Bosworth, Ms. Adams did not like them on herself. “I wanted my irises to match,” said Ms. Adams, 41, who works as a caretaker for at-risk adolescents in Grand Junction, Colo. In mid-2008, she began looking...

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Bank Lending in Euro Zone Slumped in November, Data Show

FRANKFURT — Bank lending to companies in the euro zone continued to slump in November, according to official data published Thursday that could encourage expectations of an interest rate cut as early as next week by the European Central Bank. In its monthly report on lending, the E.C.B. said Thursday that loans to companies, not including banks, in the 17-nation currency zone fell at an annual...

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White House eases path to residency for some illegal immigrants

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration eased the way Wednesday for illegal immigrants who are immediate relatives of American...

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6 States Bar Employers From Demanding Facebook Passwords

California and Illinois on Tuesday joined four others in becoming the union’s only states barring employers from demanding that employees fork over their social-media passwords.Congress unsurprisingly couldn’t muster the wherewithal to approve the Password Protection Act of 2012, so a handful of states have taken it upon themselves.The new laws come amid reports nationwide...

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A Minute With: Singer Trey Songz on new movie “Texas Chainsaw 3D”

LOS ANGELES, January2 (Reuters) – R&B and hip-hop artists have appeared in horror films before, but 28-year old singer Trey Songz tackles a brand new incarnation of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise with “Texas Chainsaw 3D.”The film, which opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, follows a young woman who inherits a lavish, isolated mansion. When she visits it for the first time with her three...

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Safed Journal: New Insights on Marijuana in Israel, Where It’s Illegal

Baz Ratner/ReutersTikkun Olam, a medical marijuana farm in Israel, blends the high-tech and the spiritual. SAFED, Israel — Among the rows of plants growing at a government-approved medical marijuana farm in the Galilee hills in northern Israel, one strain is said to have the strongest psychoactive effect of any cannabis in the world. Another, rich in anti-inflammatory properties, will not get you...

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It's the Economy: What Will the Economy’s New ‘Normal’ Look Like in 2013?

Illustration by Jasper RietmanBack in the mid-2000s, the U.S. consumer economy was undergoing a serious change. After decades of favoring low prices (even when they promised low quality), consumers began paying more for all sorts of premium features like single-serve packaging and pretty much anything “green” or “organic.” Then came the financial crisis and the drop in consumer demand. ...

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