Pope shows lifetime jobs aren't always for life

The world seems surprised that an 85-year-old globe-trotting pope who just started tweeting wants to resign, but should it be? Maybe what should be surprising is that more leaders his age do not, considering the toll aging takes on bodies and minds amid a culture of constant communication and change.There may be more behind the story of why Pope Benedict XVI decided to leave a job normally held for...

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Wall Street ends slightly higher, Dow near a record

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed modestly higher on Tuesday, putting the Dow within striking distance of an all-time high, as investors looked ahead to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. Investors will be listening to Obama's speech for any clues on a deal with Republicans to avert automatic spending cuts due to take effect March 1. The tone of the speech will also...

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Ruling Adds Another Chapter to Unsolved Italian Jet Crash

ROME — Itavia Flight 870 was entering the final leg of a routine domestic trip from Bologna to Palermo, Sicily, one clear summer evening when it suddenly plunged into the Tyrrhenian Sea near the small island of Ustica, killing all 81 people aboard. Mechanical failure was ruled out early on, and almost 33 years later, the causes that led to the crash on June 27, 1980, are still a topic of...

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Are You Loving LeAnn Rimes's New Bangs?

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/11/2013 at 04:48 PM ET Courtesy of Leann RimesFirst, Duchess Catherine cut hers. Then, Michelle Obama made the cut. And now we think we can officially declare bangs to be the hairstyle to have, because...

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Need surgery? Good luck getting hospital cost info

CHICAGO (AP) — Want to know how much a hip replacement will cost? Many hospitals won't be able to tell you, at least not right away — if at all. And if you shop around and find centers that can quote a price, the amounts could vary astronomically, a study found.Routine hip replacement surgery on a healthy patient without insurance may cost as little as $11,000 — or up to nearly $126,000.That's what...

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Wall Street ends flat as investors seek new catalysts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks ended a quiet session with slight moves on Monday as investors found few reasons to keep pushing shares higher following a six-week advance, though the longer-term trend was still viewed as positive. The benchmark index is up more 6.4 percent in 2013, putting both the S&P 500 and Dow industrials near multi-year highs. The S&P is less than 4 percent...

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3 North Korean Doctors Are Killed in Nigeria

POTISKUM, Nigeria (AP) — Assailants in northeastern Nigeria have killed three North Korean doctors, beheading one of them, officials said Sunday. The attack on Saturday night in Potiskum, a town in Yobe State, comes after gunmen killed at least nine women who were administering polio vaccines in Kano, the major city in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north. The assailants apparently...

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Pink Reveals Her Secret to a Happy Marriage: Listening ... in Moderation

By Marisa Laudadio 02/10/2013 at 05:00 PM EST Three-time Grammy winner Pink, 33, who is up for best pop vocal album at this month's Grammy Awards – and kicks off her U.S. tour on Feb. 13 – shares the secrets behind her music.You're nominated for The Truth About Love. So how does the magic happen? When I start a record, I'm like, 'God, I...

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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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US Air, AMR near $11 billion merger, deal seen within week : sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) - US Airways Group Inc and AMR Corp are nearing an $11 billion merger that would create the world's largest airline and could announce a deal within a week, after resolving key differences on valuation and management structure, people familiar with the matter said. Under terms of a deal that are still being finalized, US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker would become...

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