R.A. Dickey, David Price win Cy Young awards

NEW YORK (AP) — R.A. Dickey languished in the minors for 14 years, bouncing from one team to another before finally perfecting that perplexing knuckleball that made him a major league star.David Price was the top pick in the draft and an ace by age 25, throwing 98 mph heat with a left arm live enough to make the most hardened scout sing.Raised only 34 miles apart in central Tennessee, Dickey and Price...

Read More..

With TV and film production heading overseas, should Uncle Sam get into showbiz?

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Is it time for Uncle Sam to go Hollywood?With the exodus of film and TV production to foreign shores – and with the states’ incentives plans frequently out-gunned by countries outside the U.S. – there is some thought that it may be time for the federal government to step in. The idea of the...

Read More..

Booze calories nearly equal soda's for US adults

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans get too many calories from soda. But what about alcohol? It turns out adults get almost as many empty calories from booze as from soft drinks, a government study found.Soda and other sweetened drinks — the focus of obesity-fighting public health campaigns — are the source of about 6 percent of the calories adults consume, on average. Alcoholic beverages account for about...

Read More..

Erdrich wins her first National Book Award

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Book Awards honored both longtime writers and new authors, from Louise Erdrich for "The Round House" to Katherine Boo for her debut work, "Beyond the Beautiful Forevers."Erdrich, 58, has been a published and highly regarded author for nearly 30 years but had never won a National Book Award until being cited Wednesday for her story, the second of a planned trilogy, about...

Read More..

McDonald's U.S. chief stepping down

Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA has stepped down, the company said Friday. Fields, 57, will be succeeded by Jeff...

Read More..

Ex-Dixon comptroller pleads guilty in $53 million scam

A former longtime treasurer of Dixon pleaded guilty today to fraud in federal court in Rockford for stealing $53 million from...

Read More..

Facebook stock jumps as share lockup expires

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Facebook Inc jumped as much as 11.2 percent on Wednesday, even as the biggest block of shares held by insiders became eligible for sale for the first time since the social media company's disappointing debut in May. Facebook shares were up 8.5 percent at $21.54 in heavy morning trade on the Nasdaq, off an earlier high at $22.09. "While...

Read More..

Leftwich to start at QB for Steelers on Sunday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers will be playing for first place in the AFC North without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.The team announced Wednesday that backup Byron Leftwich will start against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in place of Roethlisberger, who sprained his right shoulder in Monday night's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.The Steelers (6-3) have won four straight to pull...

Read More..

Actor Channing Tatum dubbed People’s sexiest man alive

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Actor Channing Tatum, who set female hearts fluttering in the summer movie hit “Magic Mike”, was named the sexiest man alive by People magazine on Wednesday.“My first thought was, ‘Y’all are messing with me,” Tatum told the magazine after hearing the news. The 32-year-old actor, who is married to...

Read More..

Ireland probes death of ill abortion-seeker

DUBLIN (AP) — The debate over legalizing abortion in Ireland flared Wednesday after the government confirmed that a miscarrying woman suffering from blood poisoning was refused a quick termination of her pregnancy and died in an Irish hospital.Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he was awaiting findings from three investigations into the death of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian who was 17 weeks...

Read More..