MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

(Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.The advanced testing will start this season, in what will be the sternest doping program in major North American professional sports."This agreement addresses critical drug issues...

Read More..

Baseball-Japan to stick with lucky 'Spiderman' pants

TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Japan will stick with their lucky red Spiderman-style pants in their bid to win a third successive World Baseball Classic (WBC) title, head coach Koji Yamamoto said on Monday."We'll be wearing the red pants," Yamamoto told reporters, looking forward to his side's opening game against surprise qualifiers Brazil on March 2 in Fukuoka."Brazil have good pitching. The first game...

Read More..

Japan to stick with lucky "Spiderman" pants

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will stick with their lucky red Spiderman-style pants in their bid to win a third successive World Baseball Classic (WBC) title, head coach Koji Yamamoto said on Monday."We'll be wearing the red pants," Yamamoto told reporters, looking forward to his side's opening game against surprise qualifiers Brazil on March 2 in Fukuoka."Brazil have good pitching. The first game will...

Read More..

Venezuela holds symbolic inauguration for Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Nothing shows the extent of Hugo Chavez's grip on power quite as clearly as his absence from his own inauguration Thursday.Venezuela gathered foreign allies and tens of thousands of exuberant supporters to celebrate a new term for a leader too ill to return home for a real swearing-in.In many ways, it looked like the sort of rally the president has staged dozens of times...

Read More..

Lawmakers release documents on Wal-Mart bribery

 Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s CEO Mike Duke found out in 2005 that the retailer's Mexico unit was handing out bribes to local officials, according to emails obtained by lawmakers.The lawmakers say the emails contradict earlier claims by Wal-Mart that executives weren't aware of bribes being made by the company.Democratic Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings and Henry A. Waxman, who are investigating bribery...

Read More..

Thousands hold street inauguration for Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Thousands of chanting supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rallied outside his presidential palace Thursday in an exuberant alternative inauguration for a leader too ill to return home for the real thing.Backers wearing T-shirts with the slogan "I am Chavez" waved flags while upbeat music from Chavez's last presidential campaign blared from speakers, proclaiming:...

Read More..

PREVIEW-NFL-49ers' Kaepernick move gets test against Packers

Jan 10 (Reuters) - A bold mid-season quarterback change will get a high-profile test when Colin Kaepernick leads the San Francisco 49ers against Aaron Rodgers and the visiting Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.Kaepernick replaced signal caller Alex Smith, after the former top draft pick came out with a concussion in Week 10 and San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh decided to make the...

Read More..

49ers' Kaepernick move gets test against Packers

(Reuters) - A bold mid-season quarterback change will get a high-profile test when Colin Kaepernick leads the San Francisco 49ers against Aaron Rodgers and the visiting Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.Kaepernick replaced signal caller Alex Smith, after the former top draft pick came out with a concussion in Week 10 and San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh decided to make the switch...

Read More..

AP Sources: Browns meet 2nd time with Whisenhunt

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns are taking a second look at former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, who could rejoin Cleveland following a stint as an assistant 14 years ago.Two people familiar with the meeting said Whisenhunt had a second interview with the Browns on Thursday.Whisenhunt, recently fired after six seasons with the Cardinals, visited the Browns away from their headquarters in Berea, Ohio,...

Read More..

LG kicks off CES with 55-inch 'ultra-HD' TV

LAS VEGAS (AP) — LG unveiled a 55-inch TV that sports "ultrahigh-definition" resolution with four times the sharpness of regular HD television sets, kicking off what is likely to be a mini-obsession with the latest super-clear format at the annual International CES gadget show.The model announced Monday is the smallest in a 2013 lineup that includes 65-inch and 84-inch versions. But the smaller size...

Read More..

Sleek new Sony Xperia Z phablet leaks ahead of CES debut

Sony’s (SNE) CES 2013 press conference is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday evening, but one of the stars of the show is anything but a mystery. Press images and even a full review of Sony’s upcoming Xperia Z phablet already hit the Internet last month, and now a fresh round of leaked images has been published by Chinese gadget site Digi-wo.com. Xperia Z spec highlights include a...

Read More..

Samsung Says It's Making More Money Than Apple, Now

Riding the wave of gadget goodness from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung released a pretty impressive set of fourth quarter earnings estimates, including a record high profit. The South Korean electronics manufacturer says that it will make $8.3 billion in profits on $52.7 billion in revenue. That's a shade better than Apple's own record high profit of $8.2 billion on just $32...

Read More..

Wall Street rises after Alcoa reports earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, rebounding from two days of losses, as investors turned their focus to the first prominent results of the earnings season.Stocks had retreated at the start of the week from the S&P 500's highest point in five years, hit last Friday, on worries about possible earnings weakness.Shares of Alcoa Inc were down 0.5 percent to $9.08 after early gains,...

Read More..

News Summary: Report says SEC probes Herbalife

SEC SEEKERS: The Wall Street Journal reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into Herbalife Ltd. The newspaper cited an unnamed person close to the inquiry.TIP OF THE PYRAMID? Herbalife has been facing investor questions about its business model. Last month, Pershing Square Capital Management's William Ackman said he was shorting the stock for several months after...

Read More..

Asia stocks rise on positive start to US earnings

BANGKOK (AP) — A positive start to U.S. corporate earnings season helped boost Asian stock markets Thursday.Major regional benchmarks rose on the heels of a handful of better-than-expected results that also lifted Wall Street.Consumer products maker Helen of Troy, whose brands include Dr. Scholl's and Vidal Sassoon, reported a 15 percent profit increase. Electronic payments processor Global Payments...

Read More..

Play or Sit: the coaches' quandary

FL wild card playoff football game …more RELATED CONTENTEnlarge PhotoWashington Redskins quarterback …NEW YORK (AP) — At some point, an injured player, even a star like Robert Griffin III, is too hampered to help a team. Deciding when enough is enough is the problem.Redskins coach Mike Shanahan became the target of widespread criticism after Griffin reinjured his right knee in Sunday's 24-14 wild-card...

Read More..

Colts' Arians returns to Indy after hospital stay

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians returned to Indianapolis on Monday night after being released from a Baltimore hospital following a 36-hour stay for an undisclosed illness.Team owner Jim Irsay told The Associated Press in a text message that Arians was accompanied by two team doctors, had been medicated and appeared to be on the mend."He was in good spirits (and) is trending...

Read More..

UPDATE 2-American Football-Alabama crush Notre Dame to win championship

MIAMI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Alabama's 'Crimson Tide' swept aside Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game on Monday, dominating the 'Fighting Irish' 42-14 to win their third college football title in four years.Notre Dame, 12-0 in the regular season, had been looking for their first national title since 1988 but were all at sea against irresistible Alabama, who set the tone of the game with an utterly...

Read More..

ING Bank may cut more costs as bad loans weigh

Dutch banking and insurance group ING said it may need to cut more costs to cope with new regulations and high provisions for bad loans, highlighting the pressures on banks to shrink their businesses.Banks globally are facing higher capital requirements to satisfy regulators at a time when a weak economy is reducing demand for investment banking and credit services, forcing them to reduce costs by...

Read More..

Japan to compile 12 trillion yen extra budget: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government will compile a 12 trillion yen ($136.30 billion) extra budget with up to 10 trillion yen set aside for economic stimulus, several sources told Reuters on Monday.The government will sell more than 5 trillion in new bonds to fund the budget, the sources said. The remaining funds will come from unspent money from last fiscal year's budget and money originally allocated...

Read More..

Canada leading indicator edges up 0.1 percent in November

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The composite leading indicator for Canada rose 0.1 percent in November, slowing down from October on a housing market downturn and weak manufacturing as the economy hits a soft patch.The index rose 0.2 percent in October and was up every month in 2012 except July, said a report on Monday by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. The think tank developed the modified indicator last year...

Read More..

Venezuela's official statement on Chavez's health

English translation of statement read by Vice President Nicolas Maduro in Havana on Sunday about the health of President Hugo Chavez:"The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela fulfills its duty by informing the Venezuelan people about the course of President Hugo Chavez's medical treatment after the surgery performed in Havana, Cuba on Dec. 11."As is known, on December 28 we traveled...

Read More..

Venezuelans offer prayers, songs for Hugo Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans gathered on plazas and in churches to pray for President Hugo Chavez amid what seems an increasingly gloomy outlook for the ailing leader in his fight against cancer.Following an announcement that Chavez had suffered "new complications" from a respiratory infection after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba, people were out in the streets of Caracas on Monday talking...

Read More..

Venezuelans take in shifting news on Chavez health

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans began 2013 with a respite from shifting news about the health of President Hugo Chavez, who hasn't been seen in public since his fourth cancer-related surgery three weeks ago.The country was largely peaceful Tuesday after a New Year's Eve that saw a main government-organized celebration canceled due to Chavez's illness.Jorge Rodriguez, a Chavez ally and mayor...

Read More..

Private equity pours money into India primary healthcare

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Private equity funds quadrupled their investment in India's primary healthcare, betting the sick and ailing will stop seeing family doctors in often cramped and dingy quarters and check into modern chains sprouting up across Asia's No.3 economy.Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Warburg Pincus LLC, Sequoia Capital and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp are among investors that pumped...

Read More..

Fed's Plosser sees lasting blow to potential growth rate

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The United States economy likely suffered a lasting decline in its trend potential growth rate as a result of the severe 2007-2009 U.S. recession, a top official of the Federal Reserve said on Friday."Any of you who have looked at the data of the most recent ... recession, it certainly looks like we've had a permanent shock," Charles Plosser, president of the Philadelphia Federal...

Read More..

U.S. public schools cut 11,000 jobs in December

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Local U.S. governments cut jobs for the fourth straight month in December, including 11,000 in public schools, dragging down the nation's fragile economic recovery, jobs data showed on Friday. Local government jobs are now at their lowest level since October 2005, with the bulk of the decline coming from layoffs of teachers and other school employees, according...

Read More..

Colombia firm makes armored clothes for kids

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Colombian firm that makes bulletproof vests is now creating armored clothing for children.Factory owner Miguel Caballero said he never thought about making protective clothes for kids until requests came in following the deadly attack on Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut last month."After the tragedy in Connecticut, we started getting emails from customers asking for protected...

Read More..

Chile: Couple dies defending home against Indians

An elderly couple whose family's vast landholdings have long been targeted by Mapuche Indians in southern Chile were killed in an arson attack early Friday while trying to defend their home. The president quickly flew to the scene and announced new security measures, including the application of Chile's tough anti-terrorism law and the creation of a special police anti-terror unit backed by Chile's...

Read More..

Chile: Couple dies defending home amid protests

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — An elderly couple whose family's vast landholdings have long been targeted by Mapuche Indians in southern Chile were killed in an arson attack early Friday while trying to defend their home. The president quickly flew to the scene and announced new security measures, including the application of Chile's tough anti-terrorism law and the creation of a special police anti-terror...

Read More..