Judge Halts California Internet Sex-Offender Law

A federal judge late Friday blocked enforcement of a California voter-approved measure that would have dramatically curtailed the online, First Amendment rights of registered sex offenders.Proposition 35, which passed with 81 percent of the vote in November, would have required anyone who is a registered sex offender — including people with misdemeanor offenses such...

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Simon Rattle to quit Berlin Philharmonic in 2018

BERLIN (Reuters) – Renowned British conductor Simon Rattle said on Thursday he would step down as head of the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic in 2018 when his current contract with the orchestra expires and before he turns 64.“In 2018 I will be nearly 64 years old,” the 57-year-old said in a statement on the Philharmonic’s website. “As a Liverpool boy, it is impossible not to think of the Beatles’...

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Former Lab Technician Denies Faulty DNA Work in Rape Cases

A former New York City laboratory technician whose work on rape cases is now being scrutinized for serious mistakes said on Friday that she had been unaware there were problems in her work and, disputing an earlier report, denied she had resigned under pressure. The former lab technician, Serrita Mitchell, said any problems must have been someone else’s. “My work?” Ms. Mitchell said....

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Mutual Funds Found Big 2012 Gains, Despite Political Worry

ECONOMIC growth remained sluggish and politics often intruded on the markets, yet stocks achieved solid returns last year all the same. It wasn’t the first time that investors scaled a wall of worry, but it might be the only instance when the main source of concern, at least in the fourth quarter, was thought to be a cliff. Tim Kelly/ReutersA computer factory in Kobe, Japan. A resurgence...

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Southbound 5 Freeway at Grapevine reopened

Southbound Interstate 5 at the Grapevine was reopened Friday morning about 8 a.m. but the northbound lanes remained closed because...

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FAA Launches Review of Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The FAA will be conducting a “comprehensive review of the design and production of the Boeing 787,” according to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. Concern over Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner has grown this week after a lithium ion battery caught fire on board one of the new airliners in Boston on Jan. 7, one of several issues that have arisen since the airplane entered service more than...

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Seattle bankruptcy hearing to decide Tully’s sale

SEATTLE (AP) — The auction for beleaguered coffee company Tully’s will likely conclude Friday in federal bankruptcy court, with an ownership group led by actor Patrick Dempsey in position to take over the chain. But Starbucks isn’t’ out of the running.Dempsey — dubbed “McDreamy” in the “Grey’s Anatomy” hospital TV drama — claimed victory last week after an auction.But a company that teamed up with...

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Well: Calling All Cauliflower

At my house we eat cauliflower like popcorn. Using a simple recipe from Alice Waters, we slice it thin, toss in olive oil and salt, and roast. One head of cauliflower is never enough.This week in Recipes for Health, Martha Rose Shulman takes us on a trip to Sicily, where cauliflower is a favorite food. She writes:Every once in a while I revisit the cuisine of a particular part of the world (usually...

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Your Money: She’ll Tell You, It’s Time to Think Ahead

Stuart Isett for The New York TimesOnce Chanel Reynolds had enough emotional distance from her husband's death, she built the site that attempts to convince others to take a couple of hours now to spare themselves countless hours of hardship later. In the days after Chanel Reynolds’s husband was hit while riding his bicycle near Lake Washington here and the best cases just kept getting worse, she...

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Wired Oscars: Share Your Picks for the 2013 Academy Award Nominees

The nominees for the 85th Academy Awards were announced this morning, with Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln and Les Miserables leading in nominations for the most prestigious golden statues of bald men awarded annually in the world of film.The nominees were selected by members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – after a delay due to technical difficulties with...

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