At Christmas Eve Mass, pope urges space for God

Pope Benedict XVI marked Christmas Eve with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and a pressing question: Will people find room in their hectic, technology-driven lives for children, the poor and God? The pontiff also prayed that Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and freedom, and asked the faithful to pray for strife-torn Syria as well as Lebanon and Iraq. The ceremony began at 10 p.m. local time Monday...

Read More..

Marilyn Monroe subway grate photo on view in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — A famous image of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt billowing atop a New York City subway grate is on display in a picture-perfect spot: outside the Times Square subway station. The supersized version of Sam Shaw's well-known picture is part of an exhibit. The exhibit also features eight of Shaw's other Monroe pictures, on view inside the 42nd Street-Bryant Park station on the B, D, F,...

Read More..

Country singer Tate Stevens wins Fox's 'X Factor'

NEW YORK (AP) — Tate Stevens, who was mentored by music exec L.A. Reid on the second season of "The X Factor," has won the Fox singing competition. The 37-year-old country singer from Belton, Mo., beat runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar, a 13-year-old schoolgirl from Westchester, N.Y., and teenage girl group Fifth Harmony on the finale that aired live Thursday night. Stevens wins a $5 million recording...

Read More..

Hot spots draw believers, but not doomsday

As the sun rose from time zone to time zone across the world on Friday, there was still no sign of the world's end — but that didn't stop those convinced that a 5,125-year Mayan calendar predicts the apocalypse from gathering at some of the world's purported survival hot spots. Many of the esoterically inclined expected a new age of consciousness — others wanted a party. But, in some places said to...

Read More..

UK man jailed over forged Churchill signatures

A British antiques dealer has been jailed for 10 months for forging the signatures of Winston Churchill and other famous figures in books he sold as collector items. Prosecutors say Allan Formhals bought books at recycling centers and junk sales and made thousands of pounds selling them on eBay after adding the bogus autographs. Judge Peter Henry said police who searched the 66-year-old's home in...

Read More..

PSY's 'Gangnam Style' reaches 1B views on YouTube

Viral star PSY has reached a new milestone on YouTube. The South Korean rapper's video for "Gangnam Style" has reached 1 billion views, according to YouTube's own counter. It's the first time any clip has surpassed that mark on the streaming service owned by Google Inc. It shows the enduring popularity of the self-deprecating video that features Park Jae-sang's giddy up-style dance moves. The video...

Read More..

Analysis: In ICE-NYSE deal, one CEO steps back, the other rises

(Reuters) - Duncan Niederauer, the chief executive of New York Stock Exchange operator NYSE Euronext, once boldly proclaimed that his company could not be acquired. Last year, even when Niederauer was prepared to sell his company to Deutsche Boerse, he insisted that he be chief executive of the combined company. The deal ended up being quashed by German regulators. But with the agreement by IntercontinentalExchange...

Read More..