Bears fire Lovie Smith after 9 seasons; search for new head coach begins

Chicago Tribune sports columnist Steve Rosenbloom on the Bears firing Lovie Smith. (Posted: Dec 31, 2012) The epitaph for Lovie...

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Angry Birds, YouTube among top apps of 2012

TORONTO (Reuters) - Angry Birds, Instagram and Facebook continued to be among the most downloaded apps of the year but rising stars also earned coveted spots on smartphones and tablets. This year consumers spent on average two hours each day using mobile applications, an increase of 35 percent over last year, according to analytics firm Flurry. The number is expected to continue growing in 2013....

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Reid among 5 NFL coaches sacked in firing frenzy

By lunchtime Monday, five NFL coaches were looking for work.With the regular season ending the day before, the firings came at a furious clip and within a span of 90 minutes the following were sacked: Andy Reid in Philadelphia, Lovie Smith in Chicago, Pat Shurmur in Cleveland, Romeo Crennel in Kansas City and Chan Gailey in Buffalo,Though he also had a losing record, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan held...

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Lake Superior State’s 38th list of banished words

DETROIT (AP) — Lake Superior State University‘s 38th annual list of banished words:— fiscal cliff— kick the can down the road— double down— job creators/creation— passion/passionate— YOLO— spoiler alert— bucket list— trending— superfood— boneless wings— guruEntertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! NewsTitle Post: Lake Superior State’s 38th list of banished wordsRating: 100%based on 99998 ratings.5 user...

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FDA approves 1st new tuberculosis drug in 40 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a Johnson & Johnson tuberculosis drug that is the first new medicine to fight the deadly infection in more than four decades.The agency approved J&J's pill, Sirturo, for use with older drugs to fight a hard-to-treat strain of tuberculosis that has not responded to other medications. However, the agency cautioned that the...

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Kanye West, Kim Kardashian expecting 1st child

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A kid for Kimye: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are expecting their first child.The rapper announced at a concert Sunday night that his girlfriend is pregnant. Kardashian was in the crowd at Revel Resort's Ovation Hall with her mother, Kris Jenner, and West's mentor and best friend, Jay-Z. West told the crowd of more than 5,000 in song form: "Now you having my baby."The crowd...

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Tribune Co. emerges from bankruptcy

The last day of 2012 is the first of a new era for Tribune Co.After spending more than four years embroiled in a contentious...

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Bears Game Day: Win and wait

Coach Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears were in need of a win and a prayer Sunday to make the NFC playoffs. The Bears must beat the Lions and have the Packers beat...

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Apple loses another copyright lawsuit in China: Xinhua

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese court has fined Apple Inc 1 million yuan ($160,400) for hosting third-party applications on its App Store that were selling pirated electronic books, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Apple is to pay compensation to eight Chinese writers and two companies for violating their copyrights, the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court ruled on Thursday,...

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Michigan State edges TCU 17-16 in BWW Bowl

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Michigan State labored on offense throughout the first half, unable to get anything going on the ground, in the air, anywhere.For a team that had lost five games by a combined 13 points during the regular season, it was starting to feel familiar.The Spartans changed their luck by turning to brutally effective running back Le'Veon Bell in the second half, setting up Dan Conroy for...

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Hot spots draw believers, but not doomsday

As the sun rose from time zone to time zone across the world on Friday, there was still no sign of the world’s end — but that didn’t stop those convinced that a 5,125-year Mayan calendar predicts the apocalypse from gathering at some of the world’s purported survival hot spots.Many of the esoterically inclined expected a new age of consciousness — others wanted a party. But, in some places said to...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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'The Hobbit' stays atop box office for third week

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" continues to rule them all at the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week with nearly $33 million.The Warner Bros. fantasy epic from director Peter Jackson, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel, has made $222.7 million domestically alone.Two big holiday movies — and potential awards contenders — also had strong openings. Quentin Tarantino's...

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Airlines' plans for 2013 up in the air

Airfares will be on the rise in 2013, and those niggling airline fees will metamorphose into optional bundles of services.Meanwhile, onboard...

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Expectations low for White House 'fiscal cliff' meeting

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and congressional leaders were to meet on Friday for the first time since November...

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Apple loses another copyright lawsuit in China: Xinhua

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese court has fined Apple Inc 1 million yuan ($160,400) for hosting third-party applications on its App Store that were selling pirated electronic books, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Apple is to pay compensation to eight Chinese writers and two companies for violating their copyrights, the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court ruled on Thursday,...

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NHL makes new offer to players

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL says it has made a new contract offer to the players in an attempt to end the lockout and save the season.Deputy commissioner Bill Daly says in a statement Friday that a "comprehensive" proposal was made a day earlier, although he would not discuss details.He adds that the league is "hopeful" that once the union and its negotiating committee review the proposal "they will share...

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Singer Travis pleads not guilty to assault

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – Country singer Randy Travis pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault in a municipal courtroom in the Dallas suburb of Plano on Friday, his lawyer said.Lawyer Peter A. Schulte told Reuters his client is “absolutely not guilty of this crime.”Police say Travis assaulted a man in a church parking lot in Plano in August while attempting to intervene in a disagreement between a...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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FBI removes many redactions in Marilyn Monroe file

LOS ANGELES (AP) — FBI files on Marilyn Monroe that could not be located earlier this year have been found and re-issued, revealing the names of some of the movie star's communist-leaning acquaintances who drew concern from government officials and her own entourage.But the files, which previously had been heavily redacted, do not contain any new information about Monroe's death 50 years ago. Letters...

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Wall Street heads for longest losing streak in three months

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Friday, putting the S&P 500 on track for a fifth straight decline, as President Barack...

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Snow in Chicago nothing like storm out East

A bicyclist fights the snow heading north on Halsted Street, north of Roosevelt Avenue in Chicago. ...

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Amazon most satisfying website to shop: survey

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc remained the best website for shopping online while JC Penney Co Inc suffered the largest drop in customer satisfaction of any major online retailer this holiday season, according to a survey released on Thursday. Flash sale sites Gilt.com and RueLaLa.com were among the worst performers in online shopping satisfaction this season, according to ForeSee's Holiday E-Retail...

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McElroy has concussion, Sanchez to start for Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets' wacky quarterback situation took yet another twist.Greg McElroy has a concussion — which he didn't reveal until Thursday — and will be replaced by Mark Sanchez as the New York Jets' starting quarterback in the season finale at Buffalo on Sunday.Coach Rex Ryan walked into his news conference before practice, took the podium and opened with: "You're not going...

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Christmas box-office haul paces Hollywood for record year

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A strong Christmas-day box office performance by musical “Les Miserables” and western “Django Unchained” put Hollywood on pace to set an all-time box office record with $ 10.8 billion in annual revenue, box-office tracker Hollywood.com said on Wednesday.Universal Pictures‘ star-studded “Les Miserables” took in a weekday Christmas record of $ 18.2 million in the United States...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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