De Blasio Kicks Off Campaign for Mayor

Pledging to “leave no New Yorker behind” by focusing on public education and neighborhood and pocketbook issues, Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, announced on Sunday that he was entering the race to become the city’s next mayor. Mr. de Blasio, 51, made his long-expected announcement in front of his three-story row house in Park Slope, Brooklyn, accompanied by his wife and teenage...

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As world of gadgets grows, online industry tunes in to video ads

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Internet video ads, long a sideshow in the online advertising market, are gaining in importance to marketers and Web publishers as they look to capitalize on consumers’ changing viewing habits and tap a $ 70 billion television market.The ever-expanding array of gadgets that display online video, from tablets to Internet-connected TVs and DVD players, along with technology...

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'Skyfall,' 'Game of Thrones' win SAG stunt awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The James Bond adventure "Skyfall" and the fantasy series "Game of Thrones" have picked up prizes for best stunt work from the Screen Actors Guild.The stunt honors were announced Sunday on the red carpet before the official SAG Awards ceremony, as stars were gathering for their guild's big night.JoBeth Williams and Scott Bakula announced the winners, noting the value of stunt players,...

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Ariel Sharon Brain Scan Shows Response to Stimuli

JERUSALEM — A brain scan performed on Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister who had a devastating stroke seven years ago and is presumed to be in a vegetative state, revealed significant brain activity in response to external stimuli, raising the chances that he is able to hear and understand, a scientist involved in the test said Sunday. Scientists showed Mr. Sharon, 84, pictures...

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LOOKING AHEAD: Economic Reports for the Week of Jan. 28

ECONOMIC REPORTS Data to be released this week includes durable goods for December; pending home sales for December (Monday); the Standard &Poor’s/Case-Shiller housing price index for November; consumer confidence for January; A.D.P. employment for January and fourth-quarter weekly jobless claims; personal income and spending for December (Thursday); and unemployment for January (Friday). ...

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Chávez Is Optimistic, Says Venezuelan Vice President

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez is experiencing the “best moment” yet of his recovery from cancer surgery, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said Saturday. He emphatically added that Mr. Chávez would return to Venezuela take charge of the government again. Mr. Maduro spoke on his return from Cuba, where Mr. Chávez had surgery on Dec. 11. “The commander is in the best...

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How to Share Vine Videos on Tumblr

When Twitter launched Vine Thursday it omitted one important social network from its sharing options: Tumblr. Looped GIF images are extremely popular on Tumblr, so the audience there for Vine videos is potentially huge.Just because there’s no native way to share Vines on Tumblr, doesn’t mean you can’t share your creations on the site. Here are few different ways you can include Vine videos in your...

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Kutcher takes on tech idol Steve Jobs in 'jOBS'

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Ashton Kutcher says playing Steve Jobs on screen "was honestly one of the most terrifying things I've ever tried to do in my life."The 34-year-old actor helped premiere the biopic "jOBS" Friday, which was the closing-night film at the Sundance Film Festival.Kutcher plays the Apple Inc. founder from the company's humble origins in the 1970s until the launch of the first iPod...

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Religious Groups and Employers Battle Contraception Mandate

Shawn Thew/European Pressphoto AgencyPresident Obama, with his health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, offering a compromise on the contraception mandate last year. In a flood of lawsuits, Roman Catholics, evangelicals and Mennonites are challenging a provision in the new health care law that requires employers to cover birth control in employee health plans — a high-stakes clash between religious freedom...

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7 Die in Fire At Factory In Bangladesh

A.M. Ahad/Associated PressFirefighters and volunteers worked to extinguish the fire at a small garment factory in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday. DHAKA, Bangladesh — In the latest blow to Bangladesh’s garment industry, seven workers died Saturday after a fire swept through a factory here not long after seamstresses had returned from a lunch break. Workers said supervisors had locked one of the factory...

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