Common Sense: Economic Experts Give Predictions for 2013

To many politicians, the deal that raised taxes on the wealthy and averted the fiscal cliff was a sellout, a cop-out, a Band-Aid — in short, nothing good. And now the debt ceiling showdown is looming. So why have stock investors cheered, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index to five-year highs? My annual survey suggests that investment experts are cautiously upbeat about the...

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Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park

Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending...

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Disk Jockey: Hear Your Favorite Theme Songs Played by a Floppy-Drive Orchestra

While making music with computers is nothing new, it’s rarely quite so literal as the melodies of Youtube user MrSolidSnake74, who transformed eight floppy disk drives into an orchestra of MIDI magic. In the gallery above, you can hear his arrangements based on popular themes from Super Mario Bros, Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Mega Man, Star Trek: The Next Generation,...

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‘Lincoln’ leads Oscars with 12 nominations

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The Civil War saga “Lincoln” leads the Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture, director for Steven Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.Also among the nine nominees for best picture Thursday: the old-age love story “Amour”; the Iran hostage thriller “Argo”; the independent hit “Beasts of the Southern Wild”;...

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F.D.A. Requires Cuts to Dosages of Ambien and Other Sleep Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that it was requiring manufacturers of popular sleeping pills like Ambien and Zolpimist to cut their recommended dosage in half for women, after laboratory studies showed that they can leave people still sleepy in the morning and at risk for accidents. The agency issued the requirement for drugs containing the active ingredient zolpidem,...

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App Smart: A Deep Look at Tech Tools for Scuba Divers

In the middle of winter there can be few more spine-chilling thoughts than the idea of slipping into the ocean for a dip. But at least one group of people are attracted to the idea of year-round: scuba divers. The Android and iOS app Scuba Exam offers a quiz to prepare divers for tests. While high technology and water don’t mix well as a rule, the smartphone...

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Weight-loss regimen a preferred choice for countering diabetes

After all those well-intentioned New Year's resolutions have yielded to the force of habit, many of the nation's 79 million...

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Google Maps of <em>Django Unchained'</em>s Plantation and Other Infamous Tarantino Locations

Naturally, Quentin Tarantino's new saddles-and-spurs flick Django Unchained has probably attracted at least a few fans of Westerns. But fans of one more recent Western may recognize some of its environs a little too well. It was partially shot on the same set at HBO's series Deadwood. The Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita served as the frontier for Django (Jamie Foxx) and Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz)...

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Fox to Launch Late-Night ‘Animation Domination High-Def’ Block in July

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Fox will launch Animation Domination High-Def, a late-night offshoot of its Sunday night Animation Domination comedy block, on July 27, the network said.The block, which will feature the voice talents of Mandy Moore, Ken Marion, Patton Oswalt and others, will run from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Saturday nights.The first season of Animation Domination High-Def will include...

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Well: Feeling Bullied by Parents About Weight

Nancy Keefe Rhodes, a therapist and writer in Syracuse, N.Y., has struggled with weight all her life. So when the uncle she idolized asked her, at age 10, if she went to “Omar the tentmaker” for her clothes, she was devastated. “When I begged him to stop, he said he was just trying to help,” she said.Parents and other adults who are “only trying to help” may do harm rather than good, as a recent study...

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