"Bennifer" buried as Ben Affleck's star soars

It has taken 10 years of hard work and indie movies, but Ben Affleck finally has moved past his "Bennifer" nightmare. Affleck, 40, once a tabloid staple who risked becoming a laughingstock during his romance with Jennifer Lopez and their movie flop "Gigli," is back on top in Hollywood, winning accolades for his work both in front of and behind the camera. Fifteen years after Affleck shared an Oscar...

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Norman Woodland, co-inventor of bar code, dies at 91

Norman Woodland, co-inventor of the bar code, the inventory tracking tool that transformed global commerce in the 1970s and saved shoppers countless hours on the supermarket checkout line, has died, his daughter said. Woodland, 91, died Saturday from complications related to Alzheimer's disease in Edgewater, New Jersey, said Susan Woodland of New York. Today, five billion products a day are scanned...

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Actor Depardieu hits back at French PM over tax exile

Actor Gerard Depardieu, accused by French government leaders of trying to dodge taxes by buying a house over the border in Belgium, retorted that he was leaving because "success" was now being punished in his homeland. A popular and colourful figure in France, the 63-year-old Depardieu is the latest wealthy Frenchman to seek shelter outside his native country after tax increases by Socialist President...

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Pop star Kelly Clarkson announces engagement

Kelly Clarkson, who became the first contestant to win "American Idol" a decade ago and went on to several chart-topping successes, has gotten engaged to her boyfriend, the singer said in a Twitter message on Saturday. Clarkson, 30, previously revealed she had been dating talent manager Brandon Blackstock since early this year. Blackstock is the stepson of country singer Reba McEntire. "I'M ENGAGED!"...

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Gabby Douglas, Adele among brightest young stars -Forbes magazine

Fashion designer Carly Cushnie, actress Kate McKinnon and videogame creator Kim Swift may not be household names yet, but they are destined to do great things and will be tomorrow's young stars, Forbes magazine said on Monday. Along with Olympic Gold medalist gymnast Gabby Douglas, rapper Wiz Khalifa and researcher Josh Sommer, they have been chosen by the magazine for its "30 Under 30" list of top...

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Wall St clings to hopes for budget deal, but market risks rising

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the United States sails over the fiscal cliff in less than two weeks, it probably will not mean disaster for the stock market, investors said on Friday, but the margin for error is getting dangerously thin. At heart are fears over how long the U.S. economy, the world's largest, can hold up under the brunt of higher taxes and big spending cuts that would be triggered by the...

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Signs suggest better economy if 'cliff' is averted

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh signs of a strengthening U.S. economy on Friday suggested that if Congress and the White House can avert the "fiscal cliff," the economic recovery might finally accelerate in 2013. Consumers spent and earned more in November. And for a second straight month, U.S. companies increased their orders for a category of manufactured goods that reflects investment plans. In light of...

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