Wall Street flat ahead of Fed after GDP shock

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as data showing the economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter was offset by upbeat parts of the report and strong results from Boeing and Amazon. Economists stressed that the 0.1 percent contraction in U.S. gross domestic product, caused partly by a plunge in government spending and lower business inventories, is...

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Lewis tells Harbaugh 'nothing to' report

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ravens coach John Harbaugh says star linebacker Ray Lewis assured him "there's nothing to" a magazine report linking him to a company that makes deer-antler spray containing a banned performance enhancer.Harbaugh said Wednesday morning he spoke with Lewis. The coach said Lewis "knows there is nothing to it. He understands it's something he's never been involved in."On Tuesday, Sports...

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NASA Launching New Communications Satellite Today

NASA plans to launch a new satellite today (Jan. 30) to upgrade the network used to send messages back and forth between spacecraft and the ground.The space agency is set to launch the new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite K (TDRS-K for short) at 8:48 p.m. EST (0148 Jan. 31 GMT) today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft will blast off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas...

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BlackBerry must remember strengths

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins displays one of the new Blackberry 10 smartphones at the product launch January 30.STORY HIGHLIGHTSBlackBerry sales have slumped in the U.S. but is still strong in emerging marketsNew models launched should remember why they are popular in developing worldIn places like Brazil and South Africa, the 10 is the update to their current phonein Sub-Saharan Africa there is...

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Girl fatally shot a week after appearing at inauguration

A 15-year-old girl who had recently taken part in inauguration events in Washington was shot to death after leaving her South Side school Tuesday. ...

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Egypt curfew scaled back as Mursi seeks end to bloodshed

CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Authorities in an Egyptian city scaled back a curfew imposed by President Mohamed Mursi, and the Islamist leader cut short a visit to Europe on Wednesday to deal with the deadliest violence in the seven months since he took power. Two more protesters were shot dead before dawn near Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Wednesday, a day after the army chief warned that...

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Defensive stocks extend rally as caution sets in

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday, led by defensive sectors, in a sign the cash piles recently moving into the market are being put to use by cautious investors to pick up more gains. The S&P 500 is on track to post its best monthly performance since October 2011 and its best January since 1997 as investors poured $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded...

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Report links A-Rod with PED use; MLB investigates

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball said it is "extremely disappointed" about new allegations of performance-enhancing drug use against Alex Rodriguez and other players contained in a newspaper report.The Miami New Times, a popular alternative weekly, said in a story Tuesday that it had obtained files through an employee at a recently closed clinic in south Florida that show Rodriguez purchased...

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Scientists find genetic clue to severe flu among Chinese

LONDON (Reuters) – British and Chinese scientists have found a genetic variant which explains why Chinese populations may be more vulnerable to the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.The discovery of the variant could help doctors find those people at high risk of severe flu and prioritize them for treatment, researchers said.It may also help explain why new strains of flu virus often emerge...

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Is the U.S. getting Egypt wrong again?

Egyptian riot police stand guard as people protest against Egypt's President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo on December 29, 2012.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNational protests against Morsy set for second anniversary of Egypt's revolution Cynthia Schneider: U.S. out of step, underestimates the anti-Morsy sentiment She says proponents of secular democracy think the U.S. backs Muslim BrotherhoodShe says massive protests...

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