Swallowing Rain Forest, Brazilian Cities Surge in Amazon

Lalo de Almeida for The New York TimesThe torrid growth is visible in places like Parauapebas. On the outskirts, slums stretch to the horizon and houses continue to go up. More Photos »PARAUAPEBAS, Brazil — The Amazon has been viewed for ages as a vast quilt of rain forest interspersed by remote river outposts. But the surging population growth of cities in the jungle is turning that rural vision...

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6 ways to tweet yourself out of a job

Hate your job? Want to leave without giving two weeks notice? Thanks to Twitter, it’s never been easier to get fired, says Rob Lammie at Mental FlossStep 1: Drunk tweetAs any Spring Break partier knows, drinking impairs your judgment. It seems to have also impaired the judgment of Major League pitcher-turned-sports-radio-host Mike Bacsik, who put on quite a show during a San Antonio Spurs and Dallas...

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Which Star Was Best Dressed This Week?

Stylewatch Style News Now 11/24/2012 at 12:00 PM ET JB Lacroix/WireImageHer outfits aren’t always spot-on, but this week, Katy Perry really hit the mark: The star earned the title of best dressed on People.com, thanks to your more...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Political wrangling to pinch market's nerves

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Volatility is the name of this game. With the S&P 500 above 1,400 following five days of gains, traders will be hard pressed not to cash in on the advance at the first sign of trouble during negotiations over tax hikes and spending cuts that resume next week in Washington. President Barack Obama and U.S. congressional leaders are expected to discuss...

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Israeli Troops Kill a Palestinian in Shooting That Tests Cease-Fire

KHAN YUNIS, Gaza Strip — In the 12 years that he has lived here in the Abassam neighborhood adjacent to Gaza’s eastern border, Eyad Qudaih said, he had never ventured more than 20 yards east of his white stucco home because Israel said the entire area was off limits. But Friday morning, emboldened by the new cease-fire agreement, he took his four young daughters 300 yards east, to the small plot of...

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Beverley Mitchell Debuts Baby Bump

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 11/23/2012 at 11:00 AM ET There’s not just turkey in there!An expectant Beverley Mitchell debuted her baby bump on Twitter Thursday“Happy Thanksgiving! Here is my first belly pic! 21 weeks,” the actress writes. “Watch out! The belly is getting bigger!”Mitchell,...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Tech shares lead Wall Street rally, S&P retakes 1,400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose for a fifth day during a holiday-shortened, thinly traded session on Friday as investors picked up recently beaten-down shares of large technology companies. Market participants were also encouraged by signs of progress in talks about releasing aid to debt-saddled Greece and piled into U.S. retail shares as Black Friday got the holiday shopping season...

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With Cease-Fire Joy in Gaza, Palestinian Factions Revive Unity Pledges

GAZA — A cease-fire that halted eight days of lethal conflict between Israel and Hamas brought widespread jubilation to Gaza on Thursday as thousands of flag-waving residents poured into the streets and competing Palestinian factions sought to use the moment to revive their repeated efforts to unify, while in Israel, the mood was more cynical and subdued. The cease-fire agreement, which took...

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Scott Macaulay Gives Strangers Free Thanksgiving Dinner - and Family for a Day

Heroes Among Us By Alicia Dennis 11/22/2012 at 01:00 PM EST When the turkey, potatoes and stuffing get passed around at Scott Macaulay's Thanksgiving dinner table, there's really no telling whether he'll know his fellow diners. For 27 years, Macaulay, 51, has cooked and served Thanksgiving to groups of strangers...

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Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.Up to one-third of breast cancers, or 50,000 to 70,000 cases a year, don't need treatment, the study suggests.It's the most detailed look yet at...

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Global shares gain as global economic outlook improves

LONDON (Reuters) - World share markets extended a week-long rally on Thursday as manufacturing surveys in China and the United States boosted confidence in global growth and euro zone data at least did not worsen the already weak outlook for that region. The euro hit a three high against the dollar on optimism that a funding deal for debt-crippled Greece will ultimately be agreed - and...

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Israel and Hamas Agree to Cease-Fire

CAIRO — Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire on Wednesday, the eighth day of lethal fighting over the Gaza Strip, the United States and Egypt said after intensive negotiations in Cairo. The cease-fire, to take effect at 9 p.m. local time (2 p.m. E.S.T.), was formally announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr of Egypt at a news conference here....

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Harley Pasternak: 5 Ways to Avoid Blowing Your Diet on Thanksgiving

Only on People.com By Harley Pasternak 11/21/2012 at 01:10 PM EST Harley Pasternak and Jessica Simpson John Sciulli/BEImages Celebrity trainer and PEOPLE.com blogger Harley Pasternak give his top 5 tips for a healthy, happy Thanksgiving. Plus, he shares some holiday...

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US abortions fall 5 pct, biggest drop in a decade

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. abortions fell 5 percent during the recession and its aftermath in the biggest one-year decrease in at least a decade, perhaps because women are more careful to use birth control when times are tough, researchers say.The decline, detailed on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, came in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Both...

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Wall Street rises after Gaza truce in thin holiday trade

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Wednesday after a ceasefire was declared to end the flare-up in violence between Israel and the Palestinians, though the lack of a deal to release aid to Greece kept a lid on gains. Investors also remained anxious about the tax increases and spending cuts that are poised to come into effect in the new year - known as the "fiscal cliff" - though...

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Truce in Gaza Is Close, Egyptian Officials Say

JERUSALEM — Diplomatic efforts accelerated on Tuesday to end the deadly confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East and Egypt’s president and his senior aides expressed confidence that a cease-fire was close. The diplomatic moves to end the nearly week-old crisis came on a day of some...

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Giuliana and Bill Rancic Share Baby Edward's First Feeding

TV Watch TV News By Aaron Parsley 11/20/2012 at 01:15 PM EST "He eats like a horse." That's proud dad Bill Rancic describing his baby boy's appetite on the Today show Tuesday morning. But it wasn't long ago that Rancic and his wife Giuliana had no idea how their son Edward Duke, who was born via gestational surrogate...

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