Analysis: Italian election explained

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderSTORY HIGHLIGHTSSilvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth timeThe eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11%Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly...

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“NCIS: LA” cameraman injured shooting spinoff episode

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – A cameraman for “NCIS: LA” was hospitalized with serious injuries after he was pinned while shooting an episode.Production was shut down immediately after the accident Thursday night but was to resume Friday. The cameraman’s name was not released.The accident comes two years after the death of a guard who was struck and killed by an out-of-control van during filming of an...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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Italy's Innerhofer wins World Cup downhill

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Christof Innerhofer of Italy won his third World Cup downhill of the season Saturday, on a course where he has a history of good results.Innerhofer bested three Austrians to earn his sixth career victory, covering the 2.58-kilometer (1.6-mile) Kandahar course in 1 minute, 37.83 seconds to beat Georg Streitberger by 0.12 seconds. Streitberger was the 30th runner...

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How troubled Italy fell into a coma

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderSTORY HIGHLIGHTSBill Emmott: "Good Italy and Bad Italy" represent spit personalities of troubled countryIn 1950s, Italy was Europe's "emerging economy" and a pioneering center for designOld demons, including corruption and bloated public pensions,...

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Oscar animators ready to be taken seriously

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — In the animated feature film category at this year’s Oscars, there’s a film set in medieval Scotland, another that features old-school video game characters, one that relies heavily on dry British humor, while the other two take inspiration from the supernatural.It’s not exactly kid stuff — and that’s how the directors like it.“I think this year with these films — and...

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Stock futures rise after HP earnings, German data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Friday, indicating the S&P 500 may halt a two-day losing skid, boosted by positive economic data from Europe and better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard. The S&P 500 <.spx> has dropped 1.9 percent over the past two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly...

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Would the pope vote be hackable?

The Conclave of Cardinals that will elect a new pope will meet in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. STORY HIGHLIGHTSBruce Schneier: Rules for picking a new pope are very detailedHe says elaborate precautions are taken to prevent election fraudEvery step of the election process is observed by people who know each otherSchneier: Vatican's procedures, centuries in the making, are very secureEditor's...

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Rapper Ja Rule set to leave NY prison in gun case

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Platinum-selling rapper Ja Rule was set to leave an upstate prison on Thursday after serving most of his two-year sentence for illegal gun possession but head straight into federal custody in a tax case.The rapper, who had been in protective custody at the Mid-State Correctional Facility because of his celebrity, has some time remaining on a 28-month sentence for tax evasion, correction...

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Wal-Mart holiday profit rises despite lackluster sales

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a larger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, as a lower-than-anticipated tax rate helped to overcome some weakness in sales at its major Walmart U.S. unit that persisted into the beginning of February. The world's largest retailer also raised its dividend payout. Its shares fell 1 percent in premarket trading. Wal-Mart...

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Prosecutors: Detective should be dropped from case

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority acknowledged Thursday that the timing of attempted murder charges against a policeman leading the investigation into Oscar Pistorius was "totally weird" and that the policeman should be dropped from the case against the world-famous athlete.Bulewa Makeke, spokeswoman for the NPA, said it was a decision for police and not prosecutors...

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Obama can't kick his legacy down road

By Gloria Borger, CNN Chief Political AnalystFebruary 19, 2013 -- Updated 2122 GMT (0522 HKT)President Obama has a small window of opportunity to get Congress to act on his priorities, Gloria Borger says.STORY HIGHLIGHTSGloria Borger: Prospect of deep budget cuts was designed to compel compromiseShe says the "unthinkable" cuts now have many supportersThe likelihood that cuts may happen shows new level...

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A Minute With: Billy Crystal, former host of the Academy Awards

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Few people have more experience hosting the Academy Awards than actor Billy Crystal, who was the master of ceremonies for the movie industry’s highest honors for the ninth time last year.As “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane prepares to host the Oscars for the first time on Sunday, Crystal, 64, spoke to Reuters about his own experiences and offered some tips.Q: What is the...

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Stock futures flat with data, Fed minutes on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, ahead of data on the housing market and inflation, as well as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting. Housing starts and permits for January along with the January producer price index are due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast the housing starts...

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Police: No inconsistencies in Pistorius account

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — A police detective, testifying at Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing Wednesday, said that police have not found anything inconsistent with how the star athlete described his shooting of his girlfriend — a killing that Pistorius says was accidental but which prosecutors call murder.The second day of the bail hearing in a case that has riveted South Africa and much of the world...

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Time to respect Chavez's merits?

By Samuel Moncada, Special to CNNFebruary 18, 2013 -- Updated 1218 GMT (2018 HKT)One Venezuelan official says the reforms enacted in Hugo Chavez's 14-year tenure deserve respect.STORY HIGHLIGHTSDespite perceptions, Hugo Chavez has brought social progress to VenezuelaMoncada: Venezuela's critics have engineered a false narrative of impending disasterVenezuela has used its vast oil reserves to transform...

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