Ald. Mell: Reports of retiring are 'premature'

Ald. Richard Mell, 33rd, speaks about the 2013 budget before a vote during a Chicago City Council meeting at City Hall in...

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Damascus blames "terrorists" for petrol station blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday said a car bomb at a crowded petrol station in Damascus on Thursday night was set off by "terrorists", a term it uses for rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad. The bomb killed 11 people and wounded 40 at a station packed with Syrians queuing for fuel, which has become scarce in the 21-month insurgency against Assad, in the second petrol...

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Wall Street dips as profits booked after rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks took a breather on Thursday a day after celebrating Washington's deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" with the biggest one-day rally in a year. Investors turned their focus to potentially bigger battles ahead in Congress, including a likely bitter partisan battle over raising the federal debt ceiling. "I would be cautious of big moves going forward....

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NHL negotiations go late. No union disclaimer

NEW YORK (AP) — Hockey players are sticking together as a union for now and are working long and late hours with the NHL to try to reach a new collective bargaining agreement to get the game back on the ice.The sides met in small groups throughout the day Wednesday and then held a full-scale bargaining session with a federal mediator at night that lasted nearly five hours and didn't wrap up until...

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W.Va. gas prices climb 5 cents a gallon

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Gasoline prices in West Virginia continue to climb.Motorists in the state are paying an average of about $ 3.43 for a gallon of regular gas this week, a nickel more than a week ago.AAA East Central says the year ended with an annual national average of $ 3.60 per gallon, topping last year’s record-setting price by nine cents.This week’s average price in West Virginia is well...

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Why U.S. lives under the shadow of 'W'

Julian Zelizer says former President George W. Bush's key tax and homeland security policies survive in the age of ObamaSTORY HIGHLIGHTSJulian Zelizer: For all the criticism Bush got, two key policies have survivedHe says fiscal cliff pact perpetuates nearly all of Bush's tax cutsObama administration has largely followed Bush's homeland security policy, he saysZelizer: By squeezing revenues, Bush...

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Bills expected to interview Smith

Former Bears coach Lovie Smith. (John Gress/Getty Images / January 3, 2013)...

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Myanmar says jets used against Kachin rebels

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military has used jets to attacks rebel fighters in northern Kachin state, the government said on Thursday, its first admission of an intensification of a conflict that has raised doubts about its reformist credentials. Rebel sources have reported aerial bombings, shelling and even the use of chemical weapons since December 28 after the Kachin Independence...

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Wall Street starts 2013 with a rally on "cliff" agreement

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks soared on the first day of trading in 2013, after Washington lawmakers cut a last-minute deal to avoid automatic tax hikes that threatened to pinch economic growth. The rally was broad-based, with 10 stocks rising for every one falling on the New York Stock Exchange. All 10 S&P 500 industry sector indexes rose at least 1 percent, led by the S&P information...

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Stanford holds off Wisconsin 20-14 in Rose Bowl

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Luck, Toby Gerhart and coach Jim Harbaugh started Stanford's improbable football renaissance, yet they never stood in the center of the Rose Bowl with the West Coast's most coveted trophy raised above their heads.In fact, the last Stanford team to do what the Cardinal did Tuesday night had a defense known as the Thunderchickens.Forty years after Stanford's last Rose...

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