3 dead, 2 wounded in pair of early morning shootings

Photo: Three men were shot outside of a diner in the Bridgeport neighborhood ...

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Samsung puts lid on capex for the first time since financial crisis

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co turned cautious on spending for the first time since the global financial crisis, keeping its annual investment plan unchanged at 2012 levels, as demand for computer chips wanes and the smartphone market slows. Samsung, one of the industry's most aggressive spenders, has ramped up capital expenditure every year since 2004 except 2009 to meet soaring...

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Azarenka secures back-to-back Australian titles

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka won her second consecutive Australian Open title, beating Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a dramatic final that contained a break for fireworks, two medical timeouts and a nasty fall to the court by Li.The Chinese star first tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle in the fifth game of the second set and had it taped.On the first point after a 10-minute...

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Fox News, Palin cutting ties

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel is parting ways with former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, ending her three-year tenure as a contributor on the network.While Palin’s time at Fox was occasionally rocky, the network’s news executive, Bill Shine, said Friday that “we have thoroughly enjoyed our association” with her.“We wish her the best in her future endeavors,” said Shine, Fox’s...

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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Disney says JJ Abrams to direct next 'Star Wars'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's official. The force is with J.J. Abrams.The Walt Disney Co. issued a statement Friday night confirming reports that had been circulating for two days that Abrams, Emmy-award-winning creator of TV's "Lost" and director of 2009's "Star Trek" movie, has been pegged to direct the seventh installment of the "Star Wars" franchise."J.J. is the perfect director to helm this," said...

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2012 stock report: Pains and gains

If you invested heavily in Illinois companies that provide consulting services, you had little reason to celebrate in 2012.While...

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Light snow makes for slick morning commute

Chicago's morning weather forecast ...

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Microsoft profit dips ahead of Office revamp

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's quarterly profit edged lower as Office software sales slowed ahead of a new launch, offsetting a solid but unspectacular start for its Windows 8 operating system and sending the company's shares down 1.4 percent. The results mark a stark change from the 1990s, when Microsoft was the unchallenged king of computing and the release of a new Windows operating...

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Murray advances to Australian Open men's final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Andy Murray has finally beaten Roger Federer at a Grand Slam.The U.S. Open champion stayed in the hunt for a second consecutive major title with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 win over the 17-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open on Friday.Murray will play defending champion and top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who was rarely troubled while beating David Ferrer...

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Burnt circuit boards snag Japan's 787 probe

A device seen as key to explaining why a Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner jet made an emergency landing in Japan last week is burnt...

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Sentencing today for Chicago man in Mumbai terror attack

David Coleman Headley, an admitted terrorist with links to al-Qaida who helped plot the 2008 massacre in Mumbai, is scheduled...

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Apple results spur price target cuts, shares fall 9 percent

(Reuters) - Weaker-than-expected holiday sales of Apple Inc's iPhone reinforced fears that it is losing its dominance in smartphones, driving its shares down 9 percent in premarket trading and drawing another round of stock price target cuts. Fourteen brokerages including Barclays Capital, Mizuho Securities USA, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Raymond James, Robert W. Baird & Co and...

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NCAA announces problems with Miami investigation

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The NCAA's probe of Miami's athletic compliance practices is ramping up yet again.Only this time, the Hurricanes aren't exactly the subject of the inquiry.In a bizarre twist, it's college sports' governing body itself that is being investigated after NCAA President Mark Emmert acknowledged on Wednesday "a very severe issue of improper conduct" by former investigators working...

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Country singer Gary Allan’s new album gets label’s early push

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – The release of country music singer Gary Allan’s new album “Set You Free,” this week, his first since undergoing vocal surgery in 2010, was not meant to happen so soon.But when his record label, MCA Nashville, saw his new song “Every Storm (Runs out of Rain),” race up the charts in September, the label pushed the album’s release up two months from March.“I’ve been...

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AP Interview: UN wants better family planning

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The U.N.'s top population official wants governments to do more to ensure that women have access to family planning.The U.N. says the world will add a billion people to its current population of some 7 billion within a decade, further straining the planet's resources.Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, says more than 220 million women in...

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Paris Opera Ballet names Millepied of 'Black Swan'

PARIS (AP) — Benjamin Millepied, the "Black Swan" choreographer who helped transform Natalie Portman into an obsessed, paranoid ballerina for the film and later married the actress, was named director of the Paris Opera Ballet on Thursday.Millepied, 35, is a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet who left in 2011 to create his own dance company in Los Angeles, L.A. Dance Project. He'll...

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U. of I. to launch tech research center in Chicago

Plans to launch a University of Illinois-affiliated technology research center in Chicago will be unveiled Thursday — the latest...

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200 firefighters battle massive Bridgeport warehouse blaze

Firefighters were still on the scene of a smoldering warehouse in Bridgeport this morning, pouring water on hot spots after...

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Motorola Solutions profit beats estimates on government spending

(Reuters) - Communications gear maker Motorola Solutions Inc reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, boosted by higher government spending on public safety, but forecast current quarter revenue below analysts' estimates. The company expects first-quarter revenue to increase 4 percent to 5 percent from a year earlier. This means a revenue of between $2.03 billion and $2.05...

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Te'o tells Couric he briefly lied about girlfriend

NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o has told Katie Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax.Pressed by Couric to admit that he was in on the deception, Te'o said he believed that his girlfriend Lennay Kekua had died of cancer and didn't lie about it until December."Katie, put...

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Foes of NYC soda size limit doubt racial fairness

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of the city's limit on the size of sugary drinks are raising questions of racial fairness alongside other complaints as the novel restriction faces a court test.The NAACP's New York state branch and the Hispanic Federation have joined beverage makers and sellers in trying to stop the rule from taking effect March 12. With a hearing set Wednesday, critics are attacking what...

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Josh Duhamel named host of Kids' Choice Awards

NEW YORK (AP) — There's plenty of green slime in Josh Duhamel's future.The star of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" on Wednesday was named host of Nickelodeon's 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, which will be broadcast from the Galen Center in Los Angeles on March 23.Duhamel, who starred on the NBC drama "Las Vegas," has already been inducted into Nickelodeon's Arm Fart Hall of Fame and showered in...

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Prosecutors: Peregrine Financial fraud loss exceeds $215M

Peregrine Financial Group's former chief executive stole more than $215 million from customers of his now-defunct futures brokerage...

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Single-digit freeze continues; wind chills at dangerous levels

Chicago's morning weather forecast. ( WGN - Chicago) Brace yourself and bundle up.After a night when temperatures dipped to...

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