Search results for

The Federal Reserve surprised the financial markets today with a decision to leave its main stimulus program in place. Most analysts expected the central bank to begin "tapering" its bond and securities purchases, but the Fed said it wanted to see more positive signs the economy is ready to stand on its own.

The cashier found the winning $6.3 million ticket last year and turned it in. He could claim the jackpot if authorities don't find the person who purchased it.

After sailing was canceled on Tuesday because of high winds, the giant 72-foot catamarans face off for their 12th race in San Francisco.

As a teenager, Christian Dior helped his mother design the garden at their home in Normandy, France. He carried his love of flowers — also the focus of the French Impressionists who came before him — along with him into his fashion career.

Workers for American Airlines and U.S. Airways rallied in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to urge the Justice Department to speed up approval of the pending merger. The department is pushing to block the deal on the grounds that it would hurt travelers by reducing competition, and increasing airfare.

Starbucks — which has been caught in the cross hairs of the gun control debate — is now asking customers to consider its coffee houses gun-free zones. Until now, the company had not discouraged customers in open-carry states from bringing weapons into their stores.

The bill, which the French Senate approved, is aimed at protecting girls from being sexualized. It's part of a larger measure on women's rights. The legislation still must be approved by the lower house of parliament.

Martin Limon's hard-boiled tales of military police in Korea in the early 1970s are collected in the new Nightmare Range. Reviewer Nick Mancusi says Limon is " a sensitive observer of the darker angels of human nature" who only occasionally veers into cliche.

Document requests by the ACLU of Northern California have produced an inside look at the records of suspicious activity reports gathered by federal authorities. The feds appear to be keeping files on people based on tips that fall far below the threshold of reasonable suspicion.

Also: The Man Booker Prize goes global; a defense of Jonathan Franzen; Khartoum's fading literary culture; the history of obscenity.