As Castro Era Drifts to Close, a New Face Steps In at No. 2

Franklin Reyes/Associated PressMiguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, right, during the closing session of the Cuban National Assembly in Havana on Sunday. MEXICO CITY — He may have just taken on the toughest job in Cuba. Rivals at home will try to take him down. Enemies abroad will discredit him. Almost anyone with an interest in Cuba — including American spies and Cuban intelligence officers — will dig through...

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Billie Joe Armstrong Comes Clean About Rehab

By Kevin O'Donnell 02/27/2013 at 08:00 PM EST Last September, Billie Joe Armstrong made headlines when, during his band Green Day's performance at the I Heart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas, the rocker unleashed a profanity-laced tirade that took aim at everyone from the concert's promoter, Clear Channel,...

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Wall Street gains on Bernanke comments, S&P above 1,500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday, with major indexes posting their best daily gains since early January, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke remained steadfast in supporting the Fed's stimulus policy and data pointed to economic improvement. In a second day before a congressional committee, Bernanke defended the Fed's buying of bonds to keep interest rates low to boost...

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New Report Details Syrian Missile Attack

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian government fired at least four ballistic missiles last week that hit civilian neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, killing more than 141 people, including 71 children, according to a Human Rights Watch report released on Tuesday. Syrian antigovernment activists had reported the missile strikes last week, corroborated by video of the aftermath posted...

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Bobby Brown Sentenced to 55 Days in Jail in Drunk Driving Case

02/26/2013 at 09:30 PM EST Bobby Brown has been sentenced to 55 days in jail and four years probation in his most recent drunk driving arrest.Brown, 44, was pulled over in Studio City, Calif., on Oct. 24 for driving erratically and was arrested when the officer detected "a strong scent of alcohol." He was charged...

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C. Everett Koop, 'rock star' surgeon general, dies

NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. C. Everett Koop has long been regarded as the nation's doctor— even though it has been nearly a quarter-century since he was surgeon general.Koop, who died Monday at his home in Hanover, N.H., at age 96, was by far the best known and most influential person to carry that title. Koop, a 6-foot-1 evangelical Presbyterian with a biblical prophet's beard, donned a public health uniform...

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Ikea Recalls Its Meatballs Horse Meat Is Detected

LONDON — The furniture giant Ikea joined a growing list of brands that have been touched by Europe’s food scandal on Monday and withdrew its signature Swedish meatballs from its markets and cafeterias across most of Europe after one batch was found to contain traces of horse meat. Ikea’s decision — which followed a recall by the Swiss food maker Nestlé last week — demonstrated that even closely...

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PEOPLE Live at the Oscars - Pics and Tweets from the Inside!

02/25/2013 at 07:35 PM EST The Oscars hit the Dolby Theatre in L.A. Sunday night – and PEOPLE was there! Editor Peter Castro was on the red carpet with Modern Family's Rico Rodriquez for the live pre-show event Backstage Pass – plus we had editors at the after parties and more! Check out our best Tweets and pics from the show:View the...

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Koop, who transformed surgeon general post, dies

With his striking beard and starched uniform, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop became one of the most recognizable figures of the Reagan era — and one of the most unexpectedly enduring.His nomination in 1981 met a wall of opposition from women's groups and liberal politicians, who complained President Ronald Reagan selected Koop, a pediatric surgeon and evangelical Christian from Philadelphia,...

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Wall Street trips and falls on cloudy Italian election

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks on Monday suffered their biggest drop since November after a strong showing in Italian elections by groups opposed to the country's economic reforms triggered worry that Europe's debt problems could once again destabilize the global economy. The decline marks the biggest percentage drop for the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index since November7, and...

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