Yahoo's News - Today's Top Stories
Herbert Breslin, the hard-driving manager who helped propel Luciano Pavarotti to international fame during the 36 years they worked together, has died, his wife said Thursday. He was 87.
"American Idol" finalist Joshua Ledet won't be belting it out on this season's final showdown.
Tony Parker scored 22 points on his 30th birthday, Tim Duncan had 18 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the fading Los Angeles Clippers 105-88 on Thursday night, pushing their winning streak to 16 and taking a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government took a brighter view of the economy in a report on Friday, thanks to improvements in private consumption and exports, but it warned that Europe's debt crisis and financial market swings could worsen the outlook. The upgrade, the first since August last year, comes one day after data showed Japan's economy grew faster than the United States, Germany and Britain in the first quarter as subsidies boosted sales of energy-efficient cars. ...
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - An FBI expert found crucial evidence in the Trayvon Martin case was inconclusive, saying it was impossible to tell if the voice screaming for help belonged to the black Florida teenager or his shooter George Zimmerman just before the neighborhood watch captain pulled the trigger. That detail came from a mass of evidence made public on Thursday in the case that sparked civil rights protests across the United States and debates over guns, self-defense laws and race relations in America. ...
A company started in a Harvard dorm room in 2004 has just raised $16 billion and is valued at $104 billion. All that from an initial public offering of stock.
(Reuters) - Investors are bracing for Facebook's Wall Street debut on Friday after the world's No.1 online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history. Valued at $104 billion, Facebook is larger than Starbucks Corp and Hewlett-Packard combined, sparking intense speculation on how much higher its valuation will rise once shares start trading. "A 15 to 20 percent pop is in the realm of possibility," said Tim Loughran, a finance professor at the University of Notre Dame. ...
Facebook is about to find out just how much status updates, puppy photos and billions of "likes" are worth on Wall Street.
The leaders of eight of the world's biggest economies meet this weekend outside Washington, seeking to keep Europe's debt crisis from spiraling out of control and jeopardizing fledgling recoveries in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Today is Friday, May 18, the 139th day of 2012. There are 227 days left in the year.
President Barack Obama on Thursday declared a new chapter in U.S. relations with Myanmar, easing an investment ban and naming the first U.S. ambassador to the former pariah state in 22 years to reward it for democratic reforms.
Trayvon Martin's autopsy shows he had marijuana in his system the night he was killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, and a gunshot to his chest came from close range, according to nearly 200 pages of previously undisclosed documents released Thursday.
Dwight King scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Jonathan Quick made 18 saves, and the Los Angeles Kings rolled to the brink of their first Stanley Cup final in 19 years with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night.
About 70 Christian youths in the Philippines have chanted "Stop the Lady Gaga concerts" at a rally calling for the singer's shows in Manila next week to be canceled.
Ryan Palmer has been thinking about redemption at the Byron Nelson Championship, and a chance at home to hold up that trophy.
A crowded bus plunged into a river bank in central Vietnam, killing 34 people and injuring 21 others in one of the country's deadliest road accidents.
LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch sowed the seeds of the phone hacking scandal that has tarnished his reputation by forcing Britain's most respected newspapers into "a Faustian bargain" with the powerful, a former editor of the UK's Times newspaper said on Thursday. Harry Evans told a British media inquiry how as editor of the Times he battled attempts by Murdoch to compel him to support Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. At the Leveson inquiry last month, Murdoch denied influencing the editorial stance of the Times papers. ...
US Navy sailors tend to be overlooked when it comes to Hollywood blockbusters, but the new action movie "Battleship" features American destroyers and their crews in the starring role, waging war against hostile aliens in the Pacific Ocean.
LeBron James grabbed a seat on Miami's bench, lowered his head and stared down at the floor.
Plans to turn Wayne Newton's sprawling Las Vegas estate into a celebrity museum have shifted into an ugly legal battle citing mismanagement, animal abuse and sexual harassment.
Asian stocks dived Friday after discouraging U.S. economic reports unnerved investors already worried about the stability of the 17-country euro currency union.
Hundreds of firefighters worked Thursday to combat a growing blaze that was scorching terrain around a scenic canyon in northern Colorado.
A 12-year-old Texas boy who was suspended from school after shaving his head to resemble the face of Spurs forward Matt Bonner scored tickets to a playoff game and props from his favorite NBA player.
The man once considered China's most-wanted fugitive was sentenced to life in prison Friday for running a large-scale smuggling operation that paid off scores of Chinese government officials, state media said.
New Zealand police filed charges Friday against a 20-year-old Boston University student who drove a minivan in a crash that killed three of his college classmates last week.
American Dave Zabriskie won fifth-stage time trial to seize the overall lead in the Tour of California, taking the yellow jersey from four-stage winner Peter Sagan.
A Japanese rocket has lifted off with a South Korean satellite in Japan's first commercial launch of a foreign probe into space.
Van Halen is postponing some dates on its summer concert tour.
LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch sowed the seeds of the phone hacking scandal that has tarnished his reputation by forcing Britain's most respected newspapers into "a Faustian bargain" with the powerful, a former editor of the UK's Times newspaper said on Thursday. Harry Evans told a British media inquiry how as editor of the Times he battled attempts by Murdoch to compel him to support British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. At the Leveson inquiry last month, Murdoch denied influencing the editorial stance of the Times papers. ...
The man once considered China's most-wanted fugitive was sentenced to life in prison Friday for running a large-scale smuggling operation that paid off scores of Chinese government officials, state media said.
Asian stocks plunged Friday after discouraging U.S. economic reports unnerved investors already worried about the stability of the 17-country eurozone.
Like the King of Pop or the Queen of Soul, Donna Summer was bestowed a title fitting of musical royalty — the Queen of Disco.
Yahoo's new boss is reorganizing a consumer-commerce division created by recently dispatched CEO Scott Thompson.
Facebook on Friday is to make the richest-ever share offering for a technology firm, raking in billions of dollars it could wield to dethrone Google as king of the Internet.
Highlights in the career of singer Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco, who died Thursday at age 63:
Closing arguments were delivered in the trial of fallen US political star John Edwards, with the defense saying he may have been a bad husband but did not break any laws.
Three people were killed Thursday after a chaotic shooting scene that had crowds running for cover in a crime-ridden section of Louisville.
Eight Oregon high schools will have to retire their Native American mascots after the Board of Education voted Thursday to prohibit them, giving the state some of the nation's toughest restrictions on Native American mascots, nicknames and logos.
State media: Man once called China's most-wanted fugitive gets life in prison for smuggling.
The nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service is moving forward with a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting plan that will close nearly 250 mail processing centers, saying on Thursday it can no longer wait as Congress remains deadlocked over how to help.
