AP: Criminal cases made Pa. AG hand over NCAA suit

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's attorney general said she granted Gov. Tom Corbett the authority to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA because the litigation could present a conflict of interest as her office prosecutes three Penn State administrators.Attorney General Linda Kelly told The Associated Press on Thursday that "an actual conflict of interest could, and likely would,...

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Criminal cases made Pa. AG hand over NCAA suit

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's attorney general said she granted Gov. Tom Corbett the authority to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA because the litigation could present a conflict of interest as her office prosecutes three Penn State administrators.Attorney General Linda Kelly told The Associated Press on Thursday that "an actual conflict of interest could, and likely would,...

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Women's hockey team at Dalhousie University suspended over hazing ritual

HALIFAX - Officials at Dalhousie University in Halifax have suspended the women's hockey team for the rest of the season after an investigation revealed that a recent hazing ritual involved excessive drinking, intimidation and humiliation.University spokesman Charles Crosby issued a brief statement Thursday saying many of the team's players were "put in harm's way" both physically and psychologically...

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Ohio rape case: Evidence on social media creates new world for justice system

Can India and Pakistan ease tensions after recent flareup?Gun control: Biden sees early consensus, but NRA cries foulHome truths in new mortgage rulesThe beauty of a carbon tax – and its exemption for the poorYoung people’s use of social media and mobile technologies to document every facet and event in their lives, including violent and criminal behavior, has drawn national attention to the investigation...

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Facebook to hold press event, stock passes $30

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Facebook are pushing above $30 for the first time since July after it sent out invitations to "come and see what we're building" Tuesday at its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.The company will say nothing more about the event. Speculation Wednesday ranged from a Facebook phone, something the company has consistently denied exists, to new search capabilities that would...

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Go Ahead, Keep Being Mean to Celebrities on Twitter

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:  RELATED: The Honey Boo Boo Nature Special; Everyone's Favorite Sleepwalking MomWe usually don't condone...

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House sets Sunday session as "fiscal cliff" deadline nears

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives will return to Washington on Sunday night, just over a day before income tax rates are set to spike higher, in a last-ditch chance to avert the year-end "fiscal cliff."Senior Republican aides confirmed that House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday told members to be back in Washington in time for a 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT) legislative session on Sunday.The...

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New York City faces $811 million budget gap in FY 2014: report

REUTERS/Jim Young(Reuters) - New York City faces an $811 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2014 and lowered revenue projections in part because of Superstorm Sandy, the city's Independent Budget Office said on Thursday.The city's tax revenue collections are likely to grow by just 3.4 percent in fiscal 2014 to $44.8 billion. That figure is $347 million lower than the IBO projected in May, it...

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House Republicans say resigned to tax hike in fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are resigned to seeing some sort of income tax increase in legislation to avoid a "fiscal cliff," but such efforts could be doomed in the absence of spending cuts, some Republican lawmakers say.Congress and President Barack Obama are gearing up for a last-ditch attempt to avoid $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts...

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Notre Dame's defense overmatched in title game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Manti Te'o stood perfectly still as he took a long look at one of the giant video screens in Sun Life Stadium, studying the replay of an Alabama touchdown.It was a pose that Notre Dame repeated way, way too often in the BCS title game.Te'o — the senior linebacker who was widely considered the nation's top defensive player this season — was a non-factor early in Monday's...

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American Football-Alabama crush Notre Dame to win championship

MIAMI (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 one-sided...

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Bama's Lacy romps over Notre Dame defense

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Eddie Lacy romped through Notre Dame's defense with power and his favorite move.No. 2 Alabama's latest star tailback rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown and scored with a spin move on a catch in Monday night's 42-14 rout over No. 1 Notre Dame in the BCS championship.If the game ends up being the junior's finale at Alabama, it was a doozy. He was slowed early in the season...

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Taxes rising for most people despite fiscal deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — While the tax package that Congress passed New Year's Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013.That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring. In 2012, that 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax was worth...

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Global stocks, commodities rise on U.S. fiscal deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stocks jumped 2 percent or more and commodities rallied on Wednesday after U.S. legislators struck a deal to halt a round of automatic fiscal tightening that threatened to push the world's largest economy into recession.The deal reached on Tuesday to avert the "fiscal cliff" put off the immediate pain of income tax hikes for almost all U.S. households but did nothing to...

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Swiss bank to pay $57.8M in US tax evasion plea

NEW YORK (AP) — Switzerland's oldest bank became the first foreign bank to plead guilty in the United States to tax charges when it admitted Thursday that it helped American clients hide more than $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service.Wegelin & Co., founded in 1741, entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan, agreeing to pay $20 million in restitution to the IRS, a $22 million fine...

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3 Philippine police officers among 13 killed in gunbattle

ATIMONAN, Philippines - At least three police personnel were among 13 suspected criminals who were gunned down in a shootout with Philippine security forces at a highway checkpoint, officials said Monday.Gunmen riding in three black SUVs opened fire on more than 50 army and police troopers who flagged down the vehicles late Sunday in the coastal town of Atimonan in Quezon province, about 140 kilometres...

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Officials can't rule out casualties after Australian wildfires destroy 100 homes and buildings

HOBART, Australia - Officials are searching for bodies among the charred ruins of more than 100 homes and other buildings destroyed by wildfires in the island state of Tasmania.Acting Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said Monday no casualties had yet been reported. But it would take time before officials were certain that no one had died in the blazes that have razed 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres)...

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Sunday's Scoreboard

Sunday's GamesNFLAFC Wild Card GameBaltimore 24 Indianapolis 9NFC Wild Card GameSeattle 24 Washington 14--U.S. College footballGoDaddy.com Bowl at Mobile, AlabamaArkansas State 17 Kent State 13--NBAOklahoma City 104 Toronto 92Miami 99 Washington 71Charlotte 108 Detroit 101 (OT)Memphis 92 Phoenix 81Denver 112 L.A. Lakers 105--AHLCharlotte 2 Norfolk 1Connecticut 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 0Springfield...

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Sources: Obama to nominate ex-Sen. Chuck Hagel as defence secretary; bumpy path in Senate?

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defence secretary, a senior administration official said Sunday, choosing a former Senate colleague and a decorated Vietnam veteran and signalling he's ready for a contentious confirmation fight likely dominated by questions about Hagel's stands on Israel and Iran.Obama, who avoided a Capitol Hill battle by deciding not to nominate...

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Golf-Players in paradise for PGA Tour season opener

 If winning breeds winning, then the picturesque Hawaiian island of Maui is a paradise in more ways than one for the select group of players competing at this week's $5.7 million Hyundai Tournament of Champions.The only way to qualify for the elite field of 30 in the PGA Tour's season-opening event was through victory on the U.S. circuit last year and, with no cut and a guaranteed check after...

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McIlroy may turn down chance to play in 2016 Olympics

LONDON (Reuters) - World number one Rory McIlroy may reject the opportunity to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to avoid any controversy over which country to represent.Twice major winner McIlroy, 23, said he was mulling whether to play for Britain or Ireland and he told the BBC that he might opt out of playing altogether."I just think being from where we're from, we're placed in...

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Golf-Clarke, Cabrera to tee off in T20-style Indian league

NEW DELHI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Darren Clarke and Angel Cabrera will be among four major winners teeing off in a city-based golf league in India next month in a format modelled on the country's Twenty20 cricket league.Masterminded by Indian golfer Shiv Kapur, the league would also feature former US Open champion Michael Campbell, 2002 PGA Championships winner Rich Beem, multiple European Tour winner...

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