Strahan, Sapp, Ogden among Hall of Fame finalists

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Single-season sacks leader Michael Strahan and two players who tried to block him are among 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Strahan, who had 22½ sacks in 2001 and 141½ for his 15-year his career with the New York Giants, is joined by offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden of the Ravens and guard-tackle Larry Allen of the Cowboys and 49ers.The fourth first-year...

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Golf-Late long-range birdie putts put Oosthuizen on top

DURBAN, Jan 11 (Reuters) - World number six Louis Oosthuizen ended the second round with a real flourish to complete a bogey-free 64 and seize a one-stroke lead in the Volvo Golf Champions on Friday.Britain's Scott Jamieson, who also recorded a 64, was one behind on 11-under 133 alongside overnight leader Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand (68).Six shots adrift in a share of fourth place on 139 were British...

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Late long-range birdie putts put Oosthuizen on top

DURBAN (Reuters) - World number six Louis Oosthuizen ended the second round with a real flourish to complete a bogey-free 64 and seize a one-stroke lead in the Volvo Golf Champions on Friday.Britain's Scott Jamieson, who also recorded a 64, was one behind on 11-under 133 alongside overnight leader Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand (68).Six shots adrift in a share of fourth place on 139 were British pair...

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Microsoft taps Krikorian to help run its Xbox business

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it hired technology entrepreneur Blake Krikorian to help run its Interactive Entertainment Business as the world's largest software company plans bigger things for its Xbox gaming console.Krikorian will be corporate vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business, reporting to Marc Whitten, chief product officer for the division,...

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FireEye raises $50 million as it prepares for possible 2013 IPO

BOSTON (Reuters) - Cyber security firm FireEye Inc, which named former McAfee Chief Executive Dave DeWalt as its CEO in November, said it has raised $50 million in new financing as it prepares for a possible initial public offering this year.FireEye sells technology that helps businesses protect themselves against malicious software that gets past traditional anti-virus programs sold by companies...

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T-Mobile’s CEO trashes AT&T’s ‘crap’ service, analyzes mobile porn consumption

When you’re CEO of America’s No.4 wireless carrier, you can afford to be a little colorful. Per PCMag, T-Mobile CEO John Legere decided to bring some much-needed spice to the Consumer Electronics Show this week by speaking candidly about his company’s rivals and the state of the mobile industry as a whole. Legere said that AT&T’s (T) mobile data service in New York is “crap” before backtracking...

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Exclusive: BlackRock to buy Credit Suisse's European ETFs - source

NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc has won the bidding for Credit Suisse Group AG's European exchange-traded fund business, according to a source familiar with the situation.The deal is expected to be announced shortly, said the source, who declined to be identified because the deal is not yet public. The value of the deal could not be determined.A BlackRock spokeswoman and a Credit Suisse spokeswoman...

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Chrysler 2012 Jeep sales topped 700,000 worldwide for first time

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC's Jeep brand sold more than 700,000 vehicles worldwide for the first time in 2012, an increase of 19 percent from the previous year, Chrysler said on Wednesday.Mike Manley, head of the Jeep brand, said he expects 2013 sales to continue to climb as upgraded versions of Jeep's biggest seller Grand Cherokee, as well as a new midsize Jeep SUV, are introduced.Jeep's...

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Nike wins trademark case in Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nike Inc won a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court barring a smaller rival from suing to void the company's trademark for its top-selling Air Force 1 sneakers.Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a unanimous court on Wednesday that Nike's promise not to pursue an infringement lawsuit against Already LLC, maker of Yums sneakers, meant that the Texas company could not pursue its...

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Italy's real election battle is Monti vs Berlusconi

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's election campaign is shaping up as a bitter contest not between right and left but between Silvio Berlusconi and outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti to win the balance of power after the February poll.The final lines were drawn on Monday when Berlusconi sacrificed his own candidacy for prime minister as the price for winning a crucial new alliance with his estranged allies...

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APNewsBreak: $5M paid to Iraqis over Abu Ghraib

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defense contractor whose subsidiary was accused in a lawsuit of conspiring to torture detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has paid $5.28 million to 71 former inmates held there and at other U.S.-run detention sites between 2003 and 2007.The settlement in the case involving Engility Holdings Inc. of Chantilly, Va., marks the first successful effort by lawyers for...

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Supreme Court narrows avenue for death row appeals

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two death row inmates were not entitled to a delay of their federal appeals on the grounds that they were incompetent to assist their lawyers, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.In a unanimous ruling against inmates Ernest Valencia Gonzales and Sean Carter, the court also said federal judges cannot indefinitely delay appeals of state criminal convictions in the hope that the...

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Wall Street edges off five-year high, awaits earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks lost ground on Monday, as investors drew back from recent gains that lifted the S&P 500 to a five-year high, in anticipation of sluggish growth in corporate profits.Shares of financial companies dipped after a group of major U.S. banks agreed to pay a total of $8.5 billion to end a government inquiry into faulty mortgage foreclosures. The KBW bank index <.bkx>,...

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Libyan cop in Benghazi kidnapped

Abdelsalam al-Mahdawi, the head of Benghazi's criminal investigation department, was kidnapped on his way to work today by gunmen at an intersection in Libya's second largest city.Benghazi was the heart of the uprising against Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, and since then it has failed to bring the militias that fought on the side of the revolution – some Islamist, some not – under any kind of government...

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Amid bloodshed and chaos, Syrian wages a war for neutral reporting

While Syria's state-run news outlets run a steady stream of reports about "terrorists" and international conspiracies against President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists roll out their own endless barrage of footage highlighting atrocities and destruction by regime forces, with little in the way of context.With media access difficult or impossible in most of the country and no tradition of balanced...

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Good Taliban, Bad Taliban? Pakistani commander's killing exposes blurry lines

The US drone killing of Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir threatens to unleash new anti-government violence against the country’s weak government or civilian targets, and expose fractures in the country’s military and security forces, analysts say.Mr. Nazir was traveling in a car in troubled South Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan, Thursday, when his vehicle was hit by a missile, according...

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