US retail sales up 0.3 percent in November

WASHINGTON — Americans spent more online in November to start the holiday season and began to replace cars and rebuild in the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy.US retail sales rose 0.3 percent in November from October, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That offset a 0.3 percent decline in October from September.The figures were much stronger after factoring...

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Lennar to borrow $1.7 billion from Chinese bank

Miami-based Lennar Corp. has gotten approval on $1.7 billion in loans from China Development Bank to fund the development and construction of two major projects in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the transaction.The contract, set to close by Dec. 31 subject to various conditions, would mark the first U.S. loan by the big state-owned Chinese bank. One condition...

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Fla. board to select education chief

One finalist for Florida education commissioner conceded Tuesday that he can be caustic at times, while another said he resigned as Illinois’ top school official because of the political climate under a governor who later went to prison.The remaining finalist acknowledged the federal No Child Left Behind Act that he helped draft and promote as a congressional staffer and...

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Top 2012 searches include Whitney, PSY, Sandy

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The world’s attention wavered between the tragic and the silly in 2012, and along the way, Web surfers searched in huge numbers to find out about a royal princess, the latest iPad, and a record-breaking skydiver.Whitney Houston was the “top trending” search of the year, according to Google Inc.’s year-end “zeitgeist” report. Google‘s 12th annual roundup is “an in-depth look at the...

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Drew Barrymore's Baby Daughter Olive Lands First Cover

Drew Barrymore introduces her baby daughter, Olive, to the world on the latest People magazine cover.The nine-week old is seen in the arms of her actress mom who told the magazine that after giving birth, "I couldn't eat or sleep for two weeks, I was just so nervous!" She added, "You have the highest highs and yet you're facing the biggest fear of, 'How do I keep someone alive?' "Barrymore, 37, was...

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Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar dies at 92

NEW DELHI — With an instrument perplexing to most Westerners, Ravi Shankar helped connect the world through music. The sitar virtuoso hobnobbed with the Beatles, became a hippie musical icon and spearheaded the first rock benefit concert as he introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over nearly a century.From George Harrison to John Coltrane,...

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The first wave of Windows 8 PCs

We’ve been benchmarking and field-testing new Windows 8 systems, including all-in-one desktops, traditional clamshell laptops and convertible laptops with displays that flip or twist around to form tabletlike devices. Dell XPS One 27 Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent) The good: Boasts the highest-display resolution among Windows 8 all-in-ones, and...

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South Florida pols sticking to party lines on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON -- Don’t expect South Florida’s congressional delegation to stray too far from party lines when it comes to dancing on the edge of the fiscal cliff, the end-of-the-year spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect if Congress and the president don’t address them.Democrats are firmly with President Barack Obama, whose proposal seeks to raise $600 billion over...

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WebMD to cut 14 percent of workforce to reduce expenses

(Reuters) – Health information website WebMD Health Corp said it will cut around 250 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, to reduce costs.The company, which had about 1700 employees according to Thomson Reuters data, said it would take a charge of about $ 6 million to $ 8 million in the fourth quarter, primarily on severance and other restructuring-related costs.WebMD, which is a popular and long-trusted...

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Dallas Plans JR Ewing Funeral Larry Hagman

The world lost an icon on November 24 when Larry Hagman passed away while working on the second season of TNT's Dallas, and now TV Line has learned how the show plans to deal with his passing. VIDEO - Linda Grey Remembers Her Dallas Co-Star Reportedly the season's eighth episode, scheduled to air March 11, will revolve around J.R. Ewing's funeral. In real life, Hagman was laid to rest at the end of...

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