Venezuela, Despite Myriad Problems, Seizes On a Hat

Carlos Garcia Rawlins/ReutersVice President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela wore a patriotic cap to a parade Monday in Caracas. CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela seems to lurch from one crisis to another. President Hugo Chávez has virtually disappeared since going to Cuba for cancer surgery more than eight weeks ago. Last month, 58 people were killed in a prison when inmates clashed with soldiers. Inflation...

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Anne Hathaway's Channeling Audrey Hepburn In Your Favorite Dress This Week

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/09/2013 at 12:00 PM ET Kevin Winter/GettyWe’ve always said that StyleWatch readers appreciate the power of the perfect little black dress. The two most loved star looks this week weren’t jaw-dropping...

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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...

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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...

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IHT Rendezvous: French Communists Abandon Hammer and Sickle

LONDON — The Communist Party of France has sparked a revolution among the comrades by removing the hammer and sickle from their membership cards.The iconic symbol of the international proletariat has been replaced with the star of the multi-party European Left alliance, much to the horror of traditionalists at the party’s 36th congress that opened near Paris on Thursday.What was billed by the party...

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Nigella Lawson: Inside Her Kitchen

By Liza Hamm 02/08/2013 at 05:15 PM EST One day British cook Nigella Lawson found herself inspired while watching an episode of MTV Cribs. "I saw Missy Elliott had the world's biggest fridge, and I thought, 'One day I've got to have that fridge!' " says Lawson, as she gestures toward the 7-ft.-tall Sub-Zero...

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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...

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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...

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IHT Rendezvous: Baron Von Fancy Goes to Paris

PARIS—Baron Von Fancy’s name may belong in an 18th-century German royal court, but he is very much a 20th-century child. He’s a multimedia artist who lives in New York and surfs on the vintage-is-cool wave, using social media as his manager, agent and public relations firm.His latest exhibition, “A Thing Called Love,” opened on Monday at the Paris Colette shop, a European mecca of all things fashionable,...

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Phaedra Parks: I Do Not Eat for Two When I'm Pregnant

TV Watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta By Dahvi Shira 02/07/2013 at 05:35 PM EST Unlike many other famous moms-to-be, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks doesn't consider her pregnancy as an excuse to overindulge."Some people subscribe to the myth, 'I'm eating for two people,' " Parks tells PEOPLE....

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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...

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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 is believed to threatened "unconventional...

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India Ink: Your Suggestions on Curbing Violence Against Women in India

The trial of five of the six suspects in the New Delhi gang rape case that has captured worldwide attention began on Tuesday, just as the Indian government moved to strengthen its sexual assault laws in response to public outrage.Last week, we asked you to weigh in on what needs to be done to end the problem of sexual assault and violence against women in India, and you offered a wide range of solutions....

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Jack Osbourne: How Marriage and a Baby Changed My Life

Jack Osbourne says his life has changed so much now that's married with a child that the only rockstar he hangs out with is Grandpa Ozzy Osbourne. "Getting married and having a child definitely has focused me," the senior correspondent for Fuse News tells PEOPLE. "Now I'm not so much worried about going out on a Tuesday night and staying up until 3 in the morning and meeting hot chicks. No." Jack,...

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New whooping cough strain in US raises questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have discovered the first U.S. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be resistant to the vaccine.Health officials are looking into whether cases like the dozen found in Philadelphia might be one reason the nation just had its worst year for whooping cough in six decades. The new bug was previously reported in Japan, France and Finland."It's quite intriguing....

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Woman drugged girl, use her in hard-core porn, police allege

This post has been corrected. Please see below for details.A North Hills woman who authorities allege plied a young girl with crack cocaine and photographed her having sex with an older man was indicted Tuesday on federal charges of producing child pornography and child sex trafficking. Letha Montemayor Tucker was named Tuesday in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand...

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The Lede Blog: Ahmadinejad Attacked With Shoe in Cairo

Last Updated, 5:44 p.m. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Cairo, which started with an affectionate welcome on Tuesday from Egypt’s new Islamist president, turned less pleasant as the day wore on. First, Mr. Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, was lectured by a senior Sunni Muslim cleric and then was nearly struck with a shoe by a man furious at Iran’s support for the Syrian government.A correspondent...

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Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway & More Share Oscar Dress Hints

By Alex Apatoff 02/05/2013 at 04:30 PM EST Clockwise from top left: Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Amy Adams Splash News Online; PR Photos; Getty; WireImage The countdown to the Academy Awards has officially begun, and so has the buzz around what the nominees will be...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Mystery after basketball coach, fiance murdered in parking lot

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.Family and friends had only praise for a Cal State Fullerton coach and her fiance Monday, a day after the recently engaged college sweethearts were found fatally shot in the parking structure of their condominium near UC Irvine.The bodies of Monica Quan, an assistant women's basketball coach, and Keith Lawrence, who worked as a...

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The Lede Blog: Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani Girl Shot by Taliban Militants, Speaks in New Videos

Last Updated, 4:54 p.m. Speaking on camera for the first time since she survived an assassination attempt by the Pakistani Taliban last year, the young activist Malala Yousafzai began with the words, “Today you can see that I’m alive.” The 15-year-old, who was shot in the head as she left school in Pakistan’s Swat Valley four months ago, promised that she would continue to be an outspoken advocate...

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Second-generation iPad mini could pack a display with 324 pixels per inch

Apple (AAPL) may be about to make up for delivering a disappointingly low resolution for its first-generation iPad mini display. BrightWire reports that supply chain sources have told Chinese website My Drivers that the next-generation iPad mini will indeed feature a 7.9-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, or 324 pixels per inch. For comparison, consider...

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Sean Lowe: Three Reasons He Makes The Bachelor Special

TV Watch The Bachelor By Rennie Dyball 02/04/2013 at 06:00 PM EST What is it about this season of The Bachelor?For the past few installations, I've watched with just a passing interest, armed with my iPad so I can enjoy other diversions during the boring or painfully awkward Bachelor and Bachelorette dates. The...

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Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens

CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the...

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Parole Board urges Brown to release former Charles Manson follower

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California's governor has been asked to make the final decision on whether a former Charles Manson follower...

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IHT Rendezvous: The Face of America's Illegal Immigration

WASHINGTON — In my latest Letter From Washington, I write about the “Kumbaya” moment that immigration reform seems to be enjoying — and the certainty that it will not last as the hard work of writing laws gets underway. But who are the illegal immigrants?Page TwoPosts written by the IHT’s Page Two columnists. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that in 2011, the last year for which...

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BlackBerry searching high and low in India, Indonesia

NEW DELHI/JAKARTA (Reuters) – Research in Motion Ltd must chart a tough course in its two key emerging markets of India and Indonesia: quickly launch cheaper handsets to woo lower-end subscribers while restoring its tattered brand among the countries’ status-conscious.The company, which is rebranding itself BlackBerry after its best-known smartphone, has won millions of followers in these two Asian...

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5 Most Paw-Dorable Moments from the Puppy Bowl

People Pets By Alison Schwartz 02/03/2013 at 05:15 PM EST Rooting for the Baltimore Ravens? Hoping the San Francisco 49ers win big?Well, here's something we can all root for: puppies. Puppies chasing balls. Puppies chasing each other. Puppies captured chasing balls and each other in slow-motion. (Okay, enough...

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New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful.Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out...

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