In HP-Autonomy debacle, many advisers but little good advice

(Reuters) - When Hewlett Packard acquired Autonomy last year for $11.1 billion, some 15 different financial, legal and accounting firms were involved in the transaction -- and none raised a flag about what HP said Tuesday was a major accounting fraud. HP stunned Wall Street with the allegations about its British software unit and took an $8.8 billion writedown, the latest in a string...

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ESPN to broadcast college football playoffs

NEW YORK (AP) — The college football playoff system will be televised on ESPN for 12 years once it starts after the 2014 season, the network said Wednesday.The title game will be played on a Monday, at least a week after the semifinals.The deal is worth close to $500 million a year, a person with knowledge of the terms said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the fee had not been announced."Folks...

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A Minute With: Guillermo del Toro on “Rise of the Guardians”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is known for putting a dark twist on super heroes and children’s fantasy, but in “Rise of the Guardians” the producer brings together holiday heroes for a festive adventure.“Rise of the Guardians,” which will be in theaters on Friday, is based on award-winning author William Joyce’s “The Guardians...

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US abortions fall 5 pct, biggest drop in a decade

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. abortions fell 5 percent during the recession and its aftermath in the biggest one-year decrease in at least a decade, perhaps because women are more careful to use birth control when times are tough, researchers say.The decline, detailed on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, came in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Both...

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Justin Bieber won't face charge for May encounter

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors decided not to file any charges against Justin Bieber after investigators found no evidence that the pop star had kicked and punched a photographer after leaving a movie theater last month, a document obtained Wednesday states.Prosecutors had been asked by police to consider filing a misdemeanor battery charge against Bieber, but Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators...

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Judge rejects 9/11 suit against United

United Airline employees help passengers at the check-in counter in Terminal 1 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport....

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Elmo puppeteer resigns amid new sex allegation

Kevin Clash, who created the persona and voice of Elmo on 'Sesame Street,' has resigned...

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HP alleges Autonomy wrongdoing, takes $5 billion charge

(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co on Tuesday took a massive $5 billion charge, claiming a raft of improprieties, misrepresentation and disclosure failures at software firm Autonomy, which it acquired last October for $11.1 billion. HP said it discovered "serious accounting improprieties" and "a willful effort by Autonomy to mislead shareholders" after a whistleblower came forward. ...

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Rutgers joins the Big Ten, leaving Big East behind

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Rutgers is joining the Big Ten, leaving the Big East behind and cashing in on the school's investment in a football program that only 10 years ago seemed incapable of competing at the highest level.The school announced its decision Tuesday at a campus news conference attended by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, Rutgers President Robert Barchi and athletic director Tim Perenetti."The...

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make...

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