Christmas comes slowly to austerity-hit Europe

PARIS (AP) — Across Europe, holiday "shoppers" this season are doing more browsing than buying. Retailers remain hopeful for a last-minute burst of Christmas consumerism, and some governments are encouraging it by allowing stores to open on Sunday. But with economies across the region slowing and unemployment soaring, analysts say holiday spending in Europe is bound to disappoint for the fourth year...

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Feds, shuttered NM peanut butter plant reach deal

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A peanut butter plant shuttered by a widespread salmonella outbreak has been given the go ahead to start harvesting a bumper crop of prized eastern New Mexico Valencia peanuts next week under an agreement that ends a tense, monthslong standoff with federal regulators. A consent decree filed in federal court Friday says Sunland Inc. can reopen its plant in Portales if it hires...

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Hurting Spaniards celebrate Christmas lottery wins

MADRID (AP) — Winners of Spain's cherished Christmas lottery — the world's richest — celebrated Saturday in more than a dozen locations where the top lucky tickets were sold, a moment of uplift for a country enduring another brutal year of economic hardship. The lottery sprinkled a treasure chest of €2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in prize money around the country. Champagne corks popped and festive cheer...

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Belgium may hand Arnault tax file to Paris: press

PARIS (Reuters) - Belgian tax authorities may hand French tycoon Bernard Arnault's file to their Paris counterparts for closer scrutiny of Brussels-based companies linked to his LVMH luxury empire, according to media reports. John Crombez, Belgium's minister for fraud prevention, said any information on local "mailbox companies" held by France's richest man should be shared with Paris, newspaper De...

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Obama seeks scaled-down 'fiscal cliff' agreement

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has scaled back his ambitions for a sweeping budget bargain with Republicans. Instead, he's calling for a limited measure sufficient to prevent the government from careening off the "fiscal cliff" in January by extending tax cuts for most taxpayers and forestalling a painful set of agency budget cuts. In a White House appearance Friday, Obama also called on...

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Questioning Albert Pujols' Age; Injury Bug Strikes NBA Players Abroad

Today in sports: Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is the American League's most value player, an arrest in the stabbing death of Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman, and a tough weekend for NBA players overseas.RELATED: The St. Louis Cardinals Are Cashing In on Their 'Rally Squirrel'Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death early Monday in his home country of the Netherlands....

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Manny Ramirez Can Even Make Errors While Retiring

The former Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez is seeking to leave Major League Baseball's retirement list, and will try to make a comeback. There is one slight hitch, as NBC Sports reports. Ramirez retired after he tested positive, for the second time, for a banned substance, meaning he would have faced a 100-game suspension. He left baseball rather than...

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Meet Yu Darvish, the Next Possibly Great Japanese Pitcher

Today in sports: The bidding process for star Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish ends tonight, Browns president Mike Holmgren thinks his training staff is doing a heckuva job, and Chinese soccer struggles to go legit.RELATED: The Republican National Convention, Ryanomics, and K-popHamilton County, Ohio, prosecutor Joseph Deters has decided not to file criminal charges against the players involved in the...

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Science at the (Baseball) Plate

A critical element in the dissemination of scientific discovery is the preparation of a paper for publication. Strong rules and traditions govern the writing of science for a journal. The tone should be sober and restrained as if emotions and literary flourish do not exist. With "I" or "we" resisted if not banned, passive voice abounds and the text becomes littered by words and phrases "thus," "furthermore,"...

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UPDATE 1-NBA-Warriors beat Hornets at home to stay hot

Top pick Davis gets 15 points, 16 rebounds* Warriors off to best start since 1991-92Dec 18 (Reuters) - The Golden State Warriors staved off a late fourth-quarter challenge to beat New Orleans Hornets 103-96 for a successful home return on Tuesday.David Lee had 26 points and nine rebounds while Klay Thompson added 19 points as the Warriors triumphed in their first game at Oracle Arena since a recent...

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Obama Wins 2012 Election: Why Your Taxes Are Going Up

When President Obama and the new Congress begin to tackle important legislation and federal policy in January, one of the key issues will be how to reform America's byzantine tax code. Obama campaigned on a platform to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, declaring that millionaires and billionaires need to "pay their fair share." The president proposed the highly controversial "Buffett Rule,"...

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Has Obama Been Good for Millionaires?

The question of whether Americans are better off than they were four years ago depends, of course, on the American. For the 12 million unemployed, the answer is most certainly no. But for many of America's millionaires, the answer may be more affirmative. A new study from WealthInsight, the London-based wealth-research and data firm (and yes, they are non-partisan), showed that the United States...

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Disney buying Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disney is paying $4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm Ltd., the production company behind "Star Wars," from its chairman and founder, George Lucas. It's also making a seventh movie in the "Star Wars" series called "Episode 7," set for release in 2015, with plans to follow it with Episodes 8 and 9 and then one new movie every two or three years. The Walt Disney Co. announced the blockbuster...

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US economic growth improves to 2 pct. rate in Q3

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster 2 percent annual rate from July through September, buoyed by an uptick in consumer spending and a burst of government spending. Growth improved from the 1.3 percent rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. The pickup in growth may help President Barack Obama's message that the economy is improving. Still,...

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Apple’s New iPad Mini Is Pricey but That Won’t Deter Fans: TechCrunch’s John Biggs

It's officially here: The iPad mini, the subject of endless speculation and rumors over the past year, made its debut Tuesday at the California Theater in San Jose, Calif. The iPad mini starts at $329 and hits store shelves Nov. 2. Pre-sales begin Oct. 26. It boasts a 7.9-inch display, weighs 0.68 pounds and is 7.2mm thick. The design closely resembles the iPod Touch and comes in both black and white. Related:...

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