Roto-Rooter takes "Undercover Boss" TV challenge

2010-03-12T14:15:27Z

<div><p>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Four more leading U.S. executives have agreed to go undercover in their own companies for the hit reality TV show "Undercover Boss", CBS

Obama's proposed student loan overhaul gets boost

2010-03-12T13:16:53Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's stalled bid to overhaul the federal student loan program by cutting subsidies to private lenders and increasing aid to students received a boost on Friday.</p><p>Democratic congressional leaders agreed to fold Obama's student-loan proposal into a bill aimed at winning final approval of his drive t...

Kids outgrow growing pains: study

2010-03-12T13:15:54Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most youngsters grow out of having otherwise unexplained bone and muscle aches known as growing pains, researchers from Israel report.</p><p>Of 35 children who originally had growing pains, Dr. Yosef Uziel, at Meir Medical Center in Kfar-Saba, and co-investigators found that ...

House panel to consider healthcare bill Monday

2010-03-12T13:15:48Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives Budget Committee on Monday will consider a reconciliation bill that Democrats hope clears the way for final congressional approval of an overhaul of

Els takes control as Allenby records ace at rainy Doral

2010-03-12T12:45:11Z

<div><p>MIAMI (Reuters) - South African Ernie Els held a one-stroke lead in the clubhouse at the WGC-CA Championship after a bogey-free, six-under 66 in Friday's rain-affected second round.</p><p>Lightning meant play was suspended with 18 players still on the course although the early start left plenty of time for th...

Calcium may help you live longer: study

2010-03-12T12:32:42Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Getting a bit more calcium in your diet could help you live longer, new research suggests.</p><p>Swedish researchers found that men who consumed the most calcium in food were 25 percent less likely to die over the next decade than their peers who took in the least calcium from food. None of the men took calcium supplements.</p><p>The findings are in line with ...

Slow financial regulatory reform irks industry

2010-03-12T12:00:36Z

<div><p>BOCA RATON, Florida (Reuters) - The pace of financial regulatory reform remains slow even as the global economy struggles to recover from a crisis that many say was caused by inadequacies in the current system, attendees at an annual financial conference said this week.</p><p>Now 18 months after the fin...

Treasury says 1 million homeowners in loan modifications

2010-03-12T11:45:35Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Obama administration program to help struggling homeowners modify their mortgages has more than one million active borrowers, though fewer than 10 percent have obtained permanent loan modifications, according to a Treasury Department repo...

Want to live like a cowboy? Try Wyoming

2010-03-12T11:45:23Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Whether you want to live like a rock star or a cowboy, or become an urban gardener or just opt for the simple life, there is a town in America to suit everyone's taste.</p><p>Wannabe cowboys should head to Casper, Wyo...

Paying to pick seats loathsome, many passengers say

2010-03-12T11:45:17Z

<div><p>SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Paying for extras has become routine for airline passengers but it doesn't mean they like it, with a poll showing more than half all travelers hate having to fork out to choose their seat.</p><p>The online poll of nearly 2,000 people by website Airfarwatchdog.com, asked respondents which airline fees they despi...

Man takes double hit from wife

2010-03-12T11:45:11Z

<div><p>WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand man is recovering from injuries after being run over by his wife -- twice, local media reported on Friday.</p><p>Sandy Telford ran over her husband, Terry, as she backed down the driveway of their rural property in the Hawke's Bay region, 350 kilometers (22...

Playoff-hungry Browns sign Watson in bid to rebuild roster

2010-03-12T11:32:13Z

<div><p>CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The Cleveland Browns continued to rebuild their roster by signing free-agent tight end Ben Watson to a multi-year contract on Friday as the team looks to snap a seven-season playoff drought.</p><p>Watson, 29, has spent his six-year

2010-03-12T11:30:36Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The leading lights of U.S. musical theater will sing "Happy Birthday" to the great Broadway composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim on his 80th birthday in two New York Philharmonic concerts next week.&...

"Cash for keys" aids home borrowers, investors

2010-03-12T11:30:31Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jon Daurio, chief executive officer of mortgage investor Kondaur Capital Corp., recently offered a $4,000 check to Barry Culver for the deed to his Bryan, Ohio house.</...

U.S. may extend deadline for aerial tanker bids

2010-03-12T11:00:18Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States may extend the deadline for bids on its aerial refueling tanker to give Europe's EADS <EADS.PA> an opportunity to consider whether to compete against Boeing <BA.N> on the project, a s...

Geithner still optimistic on financial reform

2010-03-12T11:00:15Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after U.S. Senate bipartisan talks on financial reform collapsed, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sought to revive hope that Congress can still complete a bill to overhaul financial rules.</p><p>It is in the U.S. domestic interest to make the financia...

Toyota may keep discounts after strong March sales

2010-03-12T09:45:12Z

<div><p>DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> may keep aggressive discounts available for U.S. consumers beyond this month after unprecedented incentives sent its U.S. sales sharply higher in early March, an executi...

BofA mortgage modifications jump in March

2010-03-12T09:15:24Z

<div><p>CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> completed 20,666 mortgage modifications in March under a U.S. government-backed program, up 61 percent from February, the bank sa...

Somali rebels attack in capital for third day

2010-03-12T08:45:34Z

<div><p>MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist fighters attacked government positions near the president's palace in a third day of fighting as the death toll hit 60, residents and a human rights group said on Friday.</p><p>Witnesses sai...

U.S. setting bad example on protectionism: Sarkozy

2010-03-12T08:45:27Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - President Nicolas Sarkozy of France accused Washington on Friday of setting the wrong example on protectionism, suggesting there had not been a level playing field in the race for a $50 billion refueling plane contract.</p&g...

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