The Staple Singers’ Cleotha Staples dies at age 78

(Reuters) – Cleotha Staples, a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame R&B and gospel group The Staple Singers, has died after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the group said on Friday. She was 78.Staples, who died on Thursday at her Chicago home, is best known for singing on the group’s 1970s hits, including “I’ll Take You There,” “Respect Yourself” and “Let’s Do It Again.”“We...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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It’s Indie Vets Vs. Upstarts at a Varied Independent Spirit Awards

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – After finding the Oscars encroaching on their territory for a number of years, have the Film Independent Spirit Awards finally gotten a little space from their bigger, flashier weekend neighbor?You’d think so, given that six of the Oscars’ nine Best Picture nominees have grossed more than $ 100 million, and the roster of represented companies includes Warner Bros., Universal,...

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The Fraser Institute: 42 Elementary Schools Across Alberta Score Improvement in Fraser Institute School Rankings

CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – Feb 23, 2013) – Across Alberta, 42 elementary schools showed significant improvement in their academic performance over the past five years, according to the Fraser Institute”s annual school rankings.Among these improving elementary schools are public, private, separate, francophone, and charter schools.“This is why the Fraser Institute school report card is the go-to...

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Grief besets family of Pistorius' slain girlfriend

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Far from the courtroom drama that has gripped South Africa, the family of Oscar Pistorius' slain girlfriend has struggled with its own private deluge of grief, frustration and bewilderment.The victim's relatives also harbor misgivings about efforts by the Olympian's family to reach out to them with condolences.Pistorius, meanwhile, spent Saturday at his uncle's home in an affluent...

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How troubled Italy fell into a coma

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderAusterity-hit Italy chooses new leaderSTORY HIGHLIGHTSBill Emmott: "Good Italy and Bad Italy" represent spit personalities of troubled countryIn 1950s, Italy was Europe's "emerging economy" and a pioneering center for designOld demons, including corruption and bloated public pensions,...

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Mira Sorvino cast in Jim Gaffigan’s CBS pilot

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Mira Sorvino and Jim Gaffigan are getting hitched. At least on the small screen.“The Replacement Killers” star Sorvino has signed on for Gaffigan‘s CBS comedy pilot. as the comedian’s wife.The as-yet-untitled, single-camera pilot stars comedian Gaffigan as a happily married and harried New York City father of five (as, perhaps not coincidentally, he is in real life). Sorvino...

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NFL exec: HGH testing resolution needed

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NFL senior vice president Adolpho Birch says the league and players association need to reach agreement soon on HGH testing.The NFL and the union agreed in principle to HGH testing when a new 10-year labor agreement was reached in August 2011. But protocols must be approved by both sides and the players have questioned the science in the testing procedures, stalling implementation.Speaking...

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Would the pope vote be hackable?

The Conclave of Cardinals that will elect a new pope will meet in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. STORY HIGHLIGHTSBruce Schneier: Rules for picking a new pope are very detailedHe says elaborate precautions are taken to prevent election fraudEvery step of the election process is observed by people who know each otherSchneier: Vatican's procedures, centuries in the making, are very secureEditor's...

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Actresses walking Oscar’s red carpet to exude sophistication, not sex

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – When actresses sashay down the red carpet before the Oscars ceremony on Sunday, they are expected to be wearing gowns exuding glamour and sophistication, not flesh-exposing jaw-droppers.Performers at this month’s Grammys were issued a “wardrobe advisory” ahead of the big music awards show, telling them to cover up and keep buttocks, nipples and genitals under wraps. The advisory...

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