Jan
05

Alleged maternity hotel now appears to be vacant

An alleged maternity hotel operating out of a hilltop mansion in Chino Hills has apparently shut down after city officials obtained...
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Monti, in Twitter Q&A, says new voting law priority for Italy

ROME (Reuters) – Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Saturday if he wins February’s parliamentary election one of his first acts would be to overhaul the voting law to improve democracy and government stability.Monti, 69, who last week confirmed he would lead a centrist coalition in the February 24-25 vote, called himself a “bit of a pioneer” in politics during nearly 2 hours of #MontiLive...
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Poet-performer Jayne Cortez dies in NY at age 78

NEW YORK (AP) — Jayne Cortez, a forceful poet, activist and performance artist who blended oral and written traditions into numerous books and musical recordings, has died. She was 78.The Organization of Women Writers of Africa says Cortez died of heart failure in New York on Dec. 28. She had helped found the group and, while dividing her time between homes in New York and Senegal, was planning a...
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Skin Deep: Questions Surround Iris Implant Procedure – Skin Deep

ANITA ADAMS was born with one green eye and one brown eye. While differently colored irises, a condition otherwise known as heterochromia, may look exotic on David Bowie and Kate Bosworth, Ms. Adams did not like them on herself. “I wanted my irises to match,” said Ms. Adams, 41, who works as a caretaker for at-risk adolescents in Grand Junction, Colo. In mid-2008, she began looking...
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Reviving brands that aren't quite forgotten

Twenty-five years ago, a new kind of sparkling water called Clearly Canadian hit store shelves.In flavors such as Orchard Peach...
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Jan
04

State parks officials deliberately hid millions, report says

SACRAMENTO — Fear of embarrassment and budget cuts led high officials at the California parks department to conceal millions...
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'McDreamy' says he beat Starbucks for coffee chain

SEATTLE (AP) — "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey may be the real "McSteamy."The actor, who was dubbed "McDreamy" as a star of the hospital drama while his co-star was called "McSteamy," may soon be serving hot, steaming cups of Joe.Dempsey won a bankruptcy auction to buy Tully's Coffee, a small coffee chain based in Seattle. Among those he beat out is Tully's much bigger Seattle neighbor, Starbucks...
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F.D.A. Offers Rules to Stop Food Contamination

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed two sweeping rules aimed at preventing the contamination of produce and processed foods, which has sickened tens of thousands of Americans annually in recent years. Nicole Bengiveno/The New York TimesChecking the temperature of lettuce at an Arizona farm. Safety measures would start at farms. The proposed...
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Corporations and execs need penalties that hurt

If you're concerned about corporate crime, 2012 looked like a pretty successful year for the good guys.The Thousand Oaks biotech giant Amgen paid $762 million in fines and penalties and pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to illegal marketing of its anemia drug Aranesp. Britain's GlaxoSmithKline and Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories paid...
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Jan
03

Audit of L.A. County assessor's office urges key changes

An audit of the embattled Los Angeles County assessor's office released late Thursday recommends key changes, including the...
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