Aaron Swartz, Internet activist and programmer, dead at 26

Internet activist Aaron Swartz, pictured at a Wiki Meetup in Boston in 2009, has reportedly committed suicide. ...

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Oracle Corp to fix Java security flaw "shortly"

BOSTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp said it is preparing an update to address a flaw in its widely used Java software after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged computer users to disable the program in web browsers because criminal hackers are exploiting a security bug to attack PCs. "A fix will be available shortly," the company said in a statement released late on Friday. ...

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Armstrong to admit doping in Oprah interview

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong will make a limited confession to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.Armstrong, who has long denied doping, will also offer an apology during the interview scheduled to be taped Monday at his home in Austin, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because...

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“The Middle” will gladly take longevity over awards

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – ABC’s “The Middle” doesn’t get the recognition, ratings or Emmy Awards that “Modern Family” does, but the cast and creators are fine with cruising under the radar if they can continue producing more episodes.“I say slow and steady wins the race,” series star Neil Flynn rationalized at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour.Despite averaging a middling 2.8...

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Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots

CHICAGO (AP) — Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal."Where does it say that I am no longer a patient if I'm a nurse," wondered Carrie Calhoun, a longtime critical care nurse in suburban...

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CBS welcoming actor Angus Jones back to comedy

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The teenage actor Angus T. Jones is expected back at "Two and a Half Men" next week, with CBS accepting his apology for calling the popular comedy "filth" and "very inappropriate.""We move on," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said on Saturday. After a break for the holidays, actors on "Two and a Half Men" are about to begin rehearsals for new episodes.Jones, 19, plays...

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The story behind Tribune's broken deal

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Lottery winner's body likely to be exhumed next week

He won the lottery, then he was poisoned to death. A judge's ruling Friday to have Urooj Khan's body exhumed could give his family and police answers about how cyanide got into his system. ...

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Analysis: Nokia's results breakthrough buys it time and options

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia's stronger-than-expected quarterly results mean the mobile phone maker now has breathing space and better options to help it claw back a place alongside Samsung and Apple in the smartphone market. The Finnish handset maker, whose fall from market leader to loss leader was so bad its chief executive said two years ago it was on a "burning platform", may even...

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Eager Chudzinski takes over new-look Browns

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns have always been a part of Rob Chudzinski's life. Now, he's the man in charge.Chudzinski, who spent the past two seasons as Carolina's offensive coordinator, was introduced as the club's sixth fulltime coach on Friday, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the 44-year-old who as a kid pretended he played tight end for the Browns during games in his backyard in Toledo, Ohio."It...

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‘Smash’ season debut sneak peek begins Monday

LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBC is giving viewers a sneak peek at the new season of “Smash.”Starting next week, the first hour of the drama’s two-hour season debut can be seen online and in the air — where it will be screened on American Airlines flights.The “Smash” preview will be available through several outlets, including NBC.com, Hulu, iTunes, Amazon and Xbox and on demand. It will be shown on American’s...

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is more widespread across the nation, but the number of hard-hit states has declined, health officials said Friday.Flu season started early this winter, and includes a strain that tends to make people sicker. Health officials have forecast a potentially bad flu season, following last year's unusually mild one. The latest numbers, however, hint that the flu season may already have...

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'Smash' season debut sneak peek begins Monday

LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBC is giving viewers a sneak peek at the new season of "Smash."Starting next week, the first hour of the drama's two-hour season debut can be seen online and in the air — where it will be screened on American Airlines flights.The "Smash" preview will be available through several outlets, including NBC.com, Hulu, iTunes, Amazon and Xbox and on demand. It will be shown on American's...

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U.S. to review Boeing 787 design, safety

Two new incidents involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner have been reported in Japan -- a crack in the cockpit and an oil leak. Norah O'Donnell reports. ...

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Wife of poisoned lottery winner: 'No one would dare kill him'

The wife of Urooj Khan – the million-dollar lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning – said today that Chicago police detectives...

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Lumia sales lift Nokia results and turnaround hopes

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia said strong sales of Lumia smartphones helped its mobile phone business achieve underlying profitability in the fourth quarter, raising hopes the struggling handset maker may be past the worst. The Finnish company, which has been losing market share to Samsung and Apple, said the better-than-expected result was also helped by cost cuts, a stronger-than-expected...

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NFL star Junior Seau suffered from brain disease

Junior Seau, one of the NFL's best and fiercest players for two decades, suffered from a degenerative brain disease often associated with repeated blows to the head when he committed suicide last May, the National Institutes of Health said in a study released Thursday.The NIH, based in Bethesda, Md., said Seau's brain revealed abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE....

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Timberlake hints return to music in video

NEW YORK (AP) — Is Justin Timberlake bringing his music career back?The superstar has concentrated almost exclusively on his acting career over the last few years. But on Thursday, he posted a video on his website that showed him walking into a studio, putting on headphones and saying: “I’m ready.”Timberlake hasn’t made an album since 2006′s Grammy-winning “FutureSex/LoveSounds.” In the video, Timberlake...

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China's one-child law: Less competitive adults?

BEIJING (AP) — They're called "little emperors" — the children born in China under a law that generally limits urban families to having just one child.They grow up as the sole focus of doting parents. How does this affect them? What does it mean to Chinese society if generations of kids are raised this way?Concerns about the "only child" practice in China have been expressed before. Now researchers...

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'Lincoln' leads Oscars with 12 nominations

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Steven Spielberg has matched his personal best at the Academy Awards: 12 nominations for his Civil War saga "Lincoln," including best picture, director and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.That ties the 12 nominations for his 1993 drama "Schindler's List," which won seven Oscars, including best picture and director.Also among the nine...

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Jewel-Osco stores to be sold to Cerberus group

Jewel-Osco stores will be sold to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Jewel's parent Supervalu said...

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More turbulence for Dreamliner

Chicago-based Boeing Co. has "extreme confidence" in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the plane is "absolutely 100 percent safe...

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