Sorry, but there’s no defense for the Chromebook Pixel

I had originally decided not to write about how ridiculous Google’s (GOOG) Chromebook Pixel pricing was on Thursday because I figured it was so self-evident that I’d just be repeating what everyone else was already saying. But today I’ve found two contrarian pieces, one from Quartz and one from ZDNet, that make the case that the Chromebook Pixel actually is a brilliant move on Google’s part even if...

Read More..

From Homeless in the Congo to the Oscars Red Carpet: The Story You Must Read Before Tomorrow

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/23/2013 at 05:40 PM ET Courtesy Rachel MwanzaOne of the best stories from this year’s Oscars ceremony isn’t taking place on screen, but rather on the red carpet.Rachel Mwanza, the 16-year-old star of the Best Foreign Language Film nominee War Witch, will be joining her fellow...

Read More..

FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent...

Read More..

Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

Read More..

Papal Conclave Accompanied by Reports of Scandals and Intrigue

Osservatore Romano/ReutersPope Benedict XVI, right, spoke to cardinals at the Vatican on Saturday. VATICAN CITY — As cardinals from around the world begin arriving in Rome for a conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, new shadows have fallen over the delicate transition, which the Vatican fears might influence the vote and with it the direction of the Roman Catholic Church. In...

Read More..

The end of unlimited BBM could erode BlackBerry’s standing in emerging markets

South Africa has been one of BlackBerry’s (BBRY) key markets globally and the Canadian vendor has held more than 50% of the smartphone market there for years. As the BlackBerry Z10 now rolls out in South Africa, the country will be a key testing ground for a potentially controversial development. Local mobile operators will no longer offer unlimited BlackBerry Messenger service after May 31st, just...

Read More..

The Hunger Games: Katniss & Peeta's Victory Tour Look Revealed

02/22/2013 at 06:00 PM EST They survived the Hunger Games – but will they survive the Victory Tour?Sporting bridal-like attire, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) pose for a promotional poster for the Victory Tour – which – in the Hunger Games universe – is when the victor of the annual...

Read More..

FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent...

Read More..

Wall Street rebounds on HP results, Fed officials' views

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday as Dow component Hewlett-Packard surged on strong results and comments from Fed officials allayed fears that the central bank would curtail its stimulus measures. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke downplayed worries that the Fed has fueled asset bubbles that could hurt the economy in a private meeting with bond dealers and investors...

Read More..

In Niger, U.S. Troops Set Up Drone Base

WASHINGTON — Opening a new front in the drone wars against Al Qaeda and its affiliates, President Obama announced on Friday that about 100 American troops had been sent to Niger in West Africa to help set up a new base from which unarmed Predator aircraft would conduct surveillance in the region. The new drone base, located for now in the capital, Niamey, is an indication of the priority...

Read More..

NZ’s Telecom lowers profit guidance, sees job cuts

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Telecom Corp Ltd lowered its earnings guidance for the year and warned of hundreds of job cuts as the country’s biggest telecommunications company struggles to compete on broadband pricing and in its business operations.The top-10 firm warned that ongoing restructuring would result in more job losses down the line and could see full-year adjusted earnings come...

Read More..

Survivor's Whitney Duncan: From Secret Marriage to Divorce to Engagement!

TV Watch By Patrick Gomez 02/21/2013 at 06:45 PM EST Whitney Duncan and Keith Tollefson Monty Brinton/CBS; Inset: Courtesy Whitney Duncan Country singer and former Survivor contestant Whitney Duncan is engaged – and this time it's not a secret."I'm going to marry...

Read More..

Flu shot doing poor job of protecting older people

ATLANTA (AP) — It turns out this year's flu shot is doing a startlingly dismal job of protecting older people, the most vulnerable age group.The vaccine is proving only 9 percent effective in those 65 and older against the harsh strain of the flu that is predominant this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.Health officials are baffled as to why this is so. But the...

Read More..

Wall Street ends lower on growth worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell for a second straight day on Thursday and the S&P 500 posted its worst two-day loss since November after reports cast doubt over the health of the U.S. and euro-zone economies. But a late-day rally helped stocks erase some of their losses with most of the pullback concentrated in the technology- heavy Nasdaq. The move suggested investors were...

Read More..

15 G.O.P. Senators Ask Obama to Withdraw Hagel Nomination

WASHINGTON — A group of 15 Republican senators insisted on Thursday that President Obama withdraw the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary, the latest move in a contentious battle to block the confirmation of their former colleague. But even as Republican senators tried to throw up another obstacle, Senate Democrats said they were pushing ahead with plans to hold a final...

Read More..

Cuban dissident blogger inflames splits in Brazil’s Congress

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Cold War politics appeared to take over Brazil‘s Congress on Wednesday during a visit by Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, with leftists heckling her as a pawn of U.S. imperialism and others praising her for standing up to Cuba‘s communist government.Sanchez, Cuba’s best-known dissident, has been followed by boisterous sympathizers of the Cuban government since she arrived in Brazil...

Read More..

Oscar Preview: Les Mis, Chicago Casts to Sing & Dance

By Stephen M. Silverman 02/20/2013 at 07:00 PM EST From left: Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, in Les Misérables, and Catherine Zeta Jones, in Chicago Universal (2); Miramax Strike up the band, for Sunday night's Oscars promise to be very musical.In the most detailed preview yet of what is...

Read More..

Scientists use 3-D printing to help grow an ear

WASHINGTON (AP) — Printing out body parts? Cornell University researchers showed it's possible by creating a replacement ear using a 3-D printer and injections of living cells.The work reported Wednesday is a first step toward one day growing customized new ears for children born with malformed ones, or people who lose one to accident or disease.It's part of the hot field of tissue regeneration, trying...

Read More..

Wall Street ends down sharply after Fed minutes

(Reuters) - And the Oscar for best pickup line in a movie goes to - Audrey Hepburn in the romantic thriller, "Charade." That's according to the results from women polled by the U.K.-based dating site Badoo.com and released on Wednesday before the Academy Awards on Sunday. "I don't bite you know ... unless it's called for," Hepburn told Cary Grant in the 1963 release, and, 50 years later, women still...

Read More..

The Lede: Palestinian Filmmaker Describes Detention at Los Angeles Airport

The trailer for “5 Broken Cameras,” Emad Burnat’s autobiographical film on life in the West Bank.The Palestinian filmmaker Emad Burnat, who had a hard time convincing immigration officers at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday that his invitation to this weekend’s Academy Awards was real, described his brief detention in a statement on Wednesday. Last night, on my way from Turkey to Los Angeles,...

Read More..

Nexus 7 sales soared in 2012, but still fell short of iPad mini and Kindle Fire

...

Read More..

What's Next for Mindy McCready's Two Young Boys?

By Steve Helling 02/19/2013 at 07:00 PM EST Mindy McCready's apparent suicide on Sunday has left her two young sons in custodial limbo.The boys – Zander, 6, and Zayne, 10 months – had been in state custody since Feb. 7, when McCready called police to ask for help in making her father and stepmother leave her...

Read More..

Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year

CHICAGO (AP) — Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines."The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed...

Read More..

M&A deals lift Wall Street shares nearer a record high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as this year's ongoing surge in merger activity suggested investors were still finding value in the market even as indexes closed in on all-time highs. Office Depot Inc surged 9.4 percent to $5.02 after a person familiar with the matter said the No. 2 U.S. office supply retailer was in advanced talks to merge with smaller rival OfficeMax...

Read More..

Brazen Jewel Robbery at Brussels Airport Nets $50 Million in Diamonds

BRUSSELS — They arrived at Brussels Airport armed with automatic weapons and dressed in police uniforms aboard two vehicles equipped with blue police lights. But their most important weapon was information: the eight hooded gangsters who on Monday evening seized diamonds worth tens of millions of dollars from a passenger plane preparing to depart for Switzerland knew exactly when to strike — just...

Read More..