A Good Reason — Pregnancy, Your Dog, Money, Anything — is Key to Quitting Smoking

Nov. 15 marks this year’s Great American Smokeout, when organizations across the country encourage smokers to quit the habit. Yahoo asked former smokers to offer to advice to those trying to stop smoking.FIRST PERSON | I remember when I quit smoking one weekend. It was a Saturday night and I was pre-gaming with some friends before going out. Someone suggested...

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Stock futures erase gains, Wal-Mart falls after results

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures were flat on Thursday, with investors again finding few reasons to buy amid weak results from retail giant Wal-Mart and tensions in the Middle East.Futures were off their highs of the session, continuing a trend of equities having difficulty holding onto gains. Futures had also indicated gains Wednesday morning,...

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Beating tax cheats key to Italy’s recovery plan

ROME (AP) — Good plumbers may be worth their weight in gold, but when one was spotted zipping around in a bright red Ferrari, Italian tax police were fast on his trail.Stamping out entrenched tax evasion is crucial to Premier Mario Monti‘s quest to keep Italy from succumbing to the European debt crisis, and it is critical to fellow eurozone members in...

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Microsoft and Google financials could surface at trial

(Reuters) – Microsoft and Google‘s Motorola Mobility unit squared off on Tuesday at a trial with strategic implications for the smartphone patent wars and which could reveal financial information the two companies usually keep under wraps.The proceeding in a Seattle federal court will determine how much of a royalty Microsoft Corp should pay Google Inc...

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Anne Hathaway reveals oatmeal paste diet for ‘Les Miserables’

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway credits a strict diet of dried oatmeal paste for helping her shed some 25 pounds (11 kg) for her role in the forthcoming big screen musical “Les Miserables.”“I had to be obsessive about it – the idea was to look near death,” Hathaway told Vogue about preparing for her role as the consumptive prostitute...

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New Hope For ‘Man on Fire Syndrome’

Pamela Costa has never known a day without agonizing pain in her legs and feet.At age 11, the Seattle native was diagnosed with inherited erythromelalgia, a genetic condition that causes such severe pain and redness some call it “Man on Fire Syndrome.” “Think of the feeling that you get when you come in from the cold...

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Stock futures rise, helped by Cisco results

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, indicating that equities could rebound after a series of weak sessions on strong results from Cisco and two retail chains.The S&P 500 has fallen 3.8 percent over the past five trading days, with most of the losses driven by uncertainty over the looming U.S. “fiscal cliff” and concerns about...

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General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend

PERTH, Australia (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged “inappropriate communications” with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an...

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‘Skyfall’ brings record Bond debut of $88.4M

LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Bond is cashing in at the box office.“Skyfall,” the 23rd film featuring the British super-spy, pulled in a franchise-record $ 88.4 million in its U.S. debut, bringing its worldwide total to more than $ 500 million since it began rolling out overseas in late October. The top 20 movies at U.S....

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Clinton says his foundation to tackle health disparities

NEW YORK (Reuters) – In one of his last messages to the U.S. Congress as president, Bill Clinton declared disparities in health “unacceptable in a country that values equality and equal opportunity for all,” and called for a national goal to eliminate the disparities by 2010.It didn’t happen. But what Clinton couldn’t accomplish with his final-days fiat...

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