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...

Read More..

State fires contractor on tech project

SACRAMENTO – The state has fired the contractor on one of its biggest and most troubled technology projects after deep problems...

Read More..

China Denies Directing Radar at Japanese Military

HONG KONG — China on Friday denied Japanese accusations that its ships directed a radar capable of aiding weapon strikes at a Japanese naval vessel and helicopter near disputed islands recently, then lobbed its own accusation: that Japan was trying to fan tensions. The latest exchange underscored the depth of a festering discord between the two countries, and trading partners, over the territorial...

Read More..

Britney Spears Gets Another Dog

People Pets 02/08/2013 at 01:40 PM EST Britney Spears and her new dog Courtesy Britney Spears It's a furbaby one more time for Britney Spears. After bringing home pooch Hannah in November, Spears introduced her newest furry family member on her Facebook page Friday. "Say...

Read More..

Health officials: Worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say the worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread flu dropped again last week. By some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks. Deaths from the flu or pneumonia have been dropping for two weeks.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the latest flu numbers on Friday.This flu...

Read More..

Bar trivia is more than just fun and games

The door to the bar in Palms swung open, and strains of the theme from "Rocky III" burst into the street: "It's the eye of the...

Read More..

The Lede: Video Broadcast on State Television Was Downloaded From U.S. Drone, Iran Says

As The Associated Press reports from Tehran, late Wednesday Iran’s state television broadcast what it described as video recorded by the American surveillance drone that crash-landed about 140 miles from the country’s border with Afghanistan in late 2011.Video broadcast by Iranian state television Wednesday included what was described as footage recorded by an American surveillance drone that crash-landed...

Read More..

Shirley MacLaine's Only Daughter Pens a Shocking New Tell-All

Seeing her mom, Shirley MacLaine, play a saucy septuagenarian on Downton Abbey, Sachi Parker couldn't help but smile."She was true to form," Parker says of MacLaine, 78, whose zinger-slinging turn as Lady Grantham's American mom shook up the big house this season. "It certainly hit home." Hearing about Parker's relationship with MacLaine makes it easy to understand why. Raised mostly by her...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Police on high alert after ex-LAPD cop's alleged serial shootings

Authorities across Southern California were on high alert Thursday morning as a massive manhunt was underway for an ex-Los Angeles police officer sought in connection with a double homicide and the shootings of three police officers, one of whom was killed.Local, state and federal authorities are involved in the search for Christoper Jordan Dorner, 33, who threatened "unconventional and...

Read More..