Japan Airlines Says 787 Jet Leaked Fuel During Safety Test

TOKYO (Reuters) — Japan Airlines said a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet undergoing checks in Tokyo after a fuel leak at Logan International Airport in Boston last week had leaked fuel again during tests in Japan on Sunday. An open valve on the aircraft caused fuel to leak on Sunday from a nozzle on the left wing used to remove fuel, a company spokeswoman said. The jet is out of service after spilling...

Read More..

Aaron Swartz, Internet Activist, Dies at 26

Aaron Swartz, a wizardly programmer who as a teenager helped develop code that delivered ever-changing Web content to users and who later became a steadfast crusader to make that information freely available, was found dead on Friday in his New York apartment.. An uncle, Michael Wolf, said that Mr. Swartz, 26, had apparently hanged himself, and that a friend of Mr. Swartz’s had discovered...

Read More..

December video game retail sales drop 22 percent

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. retail sales of video games and gaming systems fell 22 percent in December, capping a year of declining sales for the industry.Research firm NPD Group said Thursday that overall sales fell to $ 3.21 billion from $ 4.1 billion in December 2011. NPD estimates that sales of new game hardware, software and accessories account for about half of what consumers spend on gaming.Sales...

Read More..

Milan Fashion Week starts on somber note

MILAN (AP) — Milan Fashion Week started off on a somber note Saturday, as the design world maintained a vigil for the missing CEO of the family-run Missoni fashion house.The Italian National Fashion Chamber urged the fashion community to post messages on social networks to keep pressure on authorities not to abandon the search for Vittorio Missoni and five others who disappeared aboard a twin-engine...

Read More..

City Room: Cuomo Declares Public Health Emergency Over Flu Outbreak

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.There have been nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season, officials said. Last season, 4,400 positive laboratory tests were reported.“We are experiencing...

Read More..

Aaron Swartz, Internet Activist, Dies at 26

Aaron Swartz, a wizardly programmer who as a teenager helped develop code that delivered ever-changing Web content to users and who later became a steadfast crusader to make that information freely available, was found dead on Friday in his New York apartment.. An uncle, Michael Wolf, said that Mr. Swartz, 26, had apparently hanged himself, and that a friend of Mr. Swartz’s had discovered...

Read More..

Democrats Urge Obama to Take ‘Any Lawful Steps’ to Avoid Default

WASHINGTON — The Democratic leadership in the Senate asked President Obama on Friday to take “any lawful steps” available to avoid a default on the nation’s debt if Republicans continue to press their demand that an increase in the government’s borrowing limit be accompanied by spending cuts of the same magnitude. “In the event that Republicans make good on their threat by failing to act,...

Read More..

Canada natives block Harper’s office, threaten unrest

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Aboriginal protesters blocked the main entrance to a building where Canada’s prime minister was preparing to meet some native leaders on Friday, highlighting a deep divide within the country’s First Nations on how to push Ottawa to heed their demands.The noisy blockade, which lasted about an hour, ended just before Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his aides met with about 20 native...

Read More..

Britney Spears' fiance resigns as co-conservator

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears capped a week of changes Friday with a judge accepting the resignation of her one-time fiance from the conservatorship that oversees many of her personal and financial matters.Jason Trawick submitted his resignation and it was accepted Friday by Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz, who did not elaborate on a reason for the agent's exit from the case less than a year after...

Read More..

Flu Deaths Reach Epidemic Level, but May Be at Peak

Deaths in the current flu season have officially crossed the line into “epidemic” territory, federal health officials said Friday, adding that, on the bright side, there were also early signs that the caseloads could be peaking. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking on a telephone news conference, again urged Americans to keep getting flu shots. At the same...

Read More..