Champion Djokovic charms Australian Open crowd

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic had a big, adoring crowd at Rod Laver Arena, and he knew exactly how to work it.Writing "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" on a live TV camera lens with a felt-tip pen was the perfect way to sign off after his 15th consecutive win at the Australian Open.Having the confidence to charm a crowd of thousands comes with experience — he has won the last two Australian titles...

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Autopsy: Chiefs LB drunk at time of murder-suicide

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit when he shot his girlfriend nine times and then killed himself in front of his coach and general manager, an autopsy released Monday showed.The Jackson County Medical Examiner report on Belcher, 25, raised new questions about whether police should have done more before the...

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A's reward manager Melvin with two-year extension

(Reuters) - The Oakland Athletics rewarded manager Bob Melvin with a two-year contract extension after he led the team to a division title and was voted American League Manager of the Year, the team said on Monday.The extension will keep Melvin, who led Oakland to a 94-68 record in 2012 that was a 20-win improvement over the previous campaign, with the A's through the 2016 Major League Baseball season,...

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Bomb hits convoy of Iraq's Sunni finance minister

BAGHDAD (AP) — Attackers detonated a bomb Sunday next to a convoy carrying the Iraqi finance minister, a central figure in more than two weeks of protests by minority Sunnis against the Shiite-dominated Baghdad government, police said.The minister, Rafia al-Issawi, was not hurt in the bombing. The device exploded as the last car in his convoy was passing by.Al-Issawi is one of the senior Sunni officials...

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Potential impact of Mubarak retrial

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's highest appeals court on Sunday overturned Hosni Mubarak's conviction and ordered a retrial of the former president for failing to prevent the killing of nearly 900 protesters during the 2011 uprising that toppled his 29-year regime. A look at the potential impact of the decision:— A retrial can produce a not-guilty verdict, uphold Mubarak's life sentence or reduce it. It cannot...

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Egypt's Mubarak to get new trial over killings

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian appeals court on Sunday overturnedHosni Mubarak's life sentence and ordered a retrial of the ousted leader in the killing of hundreds of protesters, a ruling likely to further unsettle a nation still reeling from political turmoil and complicate the struggle of his Islamist successor to assert his authority. The court's decision put the spotlight back on the highly...

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UPDATE 1-Golf-U.S. PGA Tour Sony Open scores

Jan 11 (Infostrada Sports) - Scores from the U.S. PGA Tour Sony Open at the par-70 course on Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii62 Scott Langley (U.S.) 6263 Russell Henley (U.S.) 6364 Scott Piercy (U.S.) 64Tim Clark (South Africa) 6465 Stephen Ames (Canada) 65Jeff Overton (U.S.) 6566 Webb Simpson (U.S.) 66Matt Jones (Australia) 66Charles Howell III (U.S.) 66Matt Kuchar (U.S.) 66Tim Herron (U.S.) 66Brian Stuard...

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NFLPA: no formal investigation into RG3 injury

WASHINGTON (AP) — The NFL players' union does not plan a formal investigation into how the Washington Redskins medical staff handled Robert Griffin III's knee injury.The NFL Players Association said Friday that they were satisfied with a report received from the Redskins detailing the procedures used by team physician James Andrews and other staff on the sidelines.Griffin had reconstructive ACL surgery...

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Alabama's Lacy, Milliner, Fluker enter NFL draft

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama tailback Eddie Lacy, cornerback Dee Milliner and right tackle D.J. Fluker are entering the NFL draft after helping lead the Crimson Tide to a second straight national title.Lacy and Milliner announced their plans to skip their senior seasons Friday at a news conference. Fluker couldn't be there for the announcement because he was traveling.It's another exodus of talented...

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Amazon offers free digital versions of purchased CDs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc, taking aim at Apple's dominant iTunes store, on Thursday unveiled a service that it hopes will boost digital music sales and encourage more people to use its Cloud music service.Amazon launched Amazon AutoRip, which gives customers free digital versions of music CDs they purchase from the world's largest Internet retailer.The digital music files are automatically...

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Academy Launches Oscar App on Android, Amazon

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Academy launched its official Oscars app on Android and Amazon on Thursday, expanding its initiative to direct fans' attention from the television to the second screen.The app, already available on the iPad and iPhone, was made available for free on the Google Play store and the Amazon app store, the Academy said. According to iTunes, the iPad app was updated earlier...

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Three witnesses won't be charged in Ohio football rape case: documents

(Reuters) - At least three members of a high school football team in Steubenville, Ohio, received word they would not be prosecuted just days before testifying against teammates accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, according to documents obtained by Reuters.In letters from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office addressed to each student's lawyer, the state committed to not prosecuting Evan Westlake,...

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Wall Street gains as earnings flow in; Boeing up

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Wednesday after U.S. corporate earnings reports got off to a good start.The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 61.66 points to 13,390.51, its first gain of the week. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 3.87 points to 1,461.02, and the Nasdaq composite rose 14 to 3,105.81.Having rallied after a last-minute resolution stopped the U.S. from going over...

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Wall Street rises after Alcoa reports earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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, following...

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As public fumes, AIG says will not sue U.S. over bailout

(Reuters) - Facing anger from Congress and the American people, AIG Inc said on Wednesday it would not sue the U.S. government over terms of the company's multi-billion dollar bailout.Insurer American International Group had been weighing whether to join a lawsuit filed by its former Chief Executive Hank Greenberg and his company Starr International, which owned 12 percent of AIG before its $182...

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U.S. launches review of Shell Arctic drilling program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Interior Department will review Royal Dutch Shell's 2012 Arctic oil drilling program to assess the challenges the oil company faced and to help guide future permitting in the region.The announcement on Tuesday follows the grounding of one of Shell's rigs off the coast of Alaska last week, the latest mishap the company has encountered as it undertakes an ambitious Arctic...

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Defense rests in trial of boy who killed neo-Nazi father

RIVERSIDE, California (Reuters) - Attorneys representing a 12-year-old California boy charged with murdering his neo-Nazi father rested their case Tuesday without calling him to testify in a case that drew attention due to the rarity of a parent being slain by a child so young.Lawyers for Joseph Hall concede that the boy, then just 10 years old, shot his father in May 2011 at point blank range, but...

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U.S. does not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration does not rule out a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan after 2014, the White House said on Tuesday, just days before President Barack Obama is due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai.The comments by U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes were the clearest signal yet that, despite initial recommendations by the top military...

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US banks try to clean up remaining mortgage mess

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks have taken another step to clear away the wreckage of the 2008 financial crisis by agreeing to pay $8.5 billion to settle charges that they wrongfully foreclosed on millions of homeowners.The deal announced Monday could compensate hundreds of thousands of Americans whose homes were seized because of abuses such as "robo-signing," when banks automatically signed off on...

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Exclusive: Disney looks for cost savings, ponders layoffs - sources

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co started an internal cost-cutting review several weeks ago that may include layoffs at its studio and other units, three people with knowledge of the effort told Reuters, in an early sign that big companies may not be finished tightening their belts.Disney, whose empire spans TV, film, merchandise and theme parks, is exploring cutbacks in jobs it no longer needs...

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Exclusive: SEC probes Ernst & Young over audit client lobbying

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether auditing company Ernst & Young violated auditor rules by letting its lobbying unit perform work for several major audit clients, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.The SEC inquiry began shortly after Reuters reported in March 2012 that Washington Council Ernst & Young, the E&Y unit,...

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US drone strike in Pakistan kills influential Taliban commander

Key Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir – considered a "good" Taliban by some among the Pakistani military – died in a US drone strike that left at least six dead on Thursday, according to local reports.According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, Taliban and local government officials confirm that Mr. Nazir and at least two of his deputies were killed when a US drone hit their vehicle in South Waziristan,...

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Russia plans biggest war games since Soviet era

The Russian navy has announced that it will hold its biggest war games since Soviet times in the Mediterranean and Black seas later this month.The ambitious exercises, which will involve ships from all four major Russian fleets, are a sign of growing confidence on the part of Russia's military as it begins to enjoy the benefits of President Vladimir Putin's huge budget allocations for renewing and...

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Taiwan undersea oil plans raise neighbors' eyebrows

Taiwan, a normally quiet claimant to portions of the disputed South China Sea, plans to explore for undersea oil there, a move likely to test fragile relations with China and upset major Southeast Asian nations.Ringed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and others, the waters are believed to hold as many as 213 billion barrels of oil but competing claims from the six bordering nations have...

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Target ad campaign puts food in the spotlight

NEW YORK (AP) — Is Target's grocery aisle ready for its close up?Target is pushing its food, laundry detergent and other groceries in a national ad campaign that pokes fun at high-fashion advertising by featuring models interacting with everyday products.In one ad, a model in a white dress and high heels struts by blueberry muffin and cake mix boxes that explode in different colors. Then she crushes...

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Stocks gain, pushing the S&P 500 to 5-year high

The Standard & Poor's 500 closed at its highest level in five years Friday after a report showed that hiring held up in December, giving stocks an early lift.The S&P 500 finished up 7.10 points at 1,466.47, its highest close since December 2007.The index began its descent from a record close of 1,565.15 in October 2007, as the early signs of the financial crisis began to emerge. The index...

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US job market shrugs off fears of 'fiscal cliff'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. job market proved resilient in December despite fears that a budget impasse in Washington would send the economy over the fiscal cliff and trigger growth-killing tax hikes and spending cuts.Employers added 155,000 jobs last month, roughly matching the solid but unspectacular monthly pace of the past two years.The gains announced Friday weren't enough to reduce unemployment,...

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