National / International News

Backed by broadcasting powerhouse Barry Diller, a new service picks up broadcast TV signals and makes them available over the Web — and the TV networks don't like that one bit. Currently available only in New York City, Aereo is planning to expand ... if it makes it through the legal challenges.

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ITV's expose of the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal is named "scoop of the year" at the Royal Television Society's Journalism Awards.

Twelve police officers have been disciplined for their handling of the disappearance of a 22-year-old man from the Ulster Hospital.

Transformers star Shia LaBeouf pulls out of his forthcoming Broadway debut in Orphans, opposite Alec Baldwin and Tom Sturridge, over "creative differences".

Dubai police deny allegations they beat and gave electric shocks to three British men awaiting trial on drugs charges, according to media reports from the city-state

Powys councillors will vote over plans later to cut around 200 staff as the authority bids to balance its budget.

Updated (7:45am EST): Walmart beat expectations in its latest earnings report, but offered a wary outlook for the first part of this year. Safeway also reported better-than-expected earnings Thursday. The two companies have more in common than one might think. Groceries now make up more than half Walmart’s American sales.

Today’s numbers look back, but the worry is about what’s ahead. There’s been a lot of speculation about how this year’s increase in the payroll tax will impact consumer spending, but other factors will also come into play.

It’s clear some Walmart higher-ups are worried about tightwad consumers. Bloomberg obtained leaked e-mails where a top executive called February sales “a total disaster.” Low-income shoppers are especially sensitive to the payroll tax.

But macroeconomists, true to their name, think about the big picture. They point to other happenings that could offset skimpier paychecks.

“There was a minimum wage increase in 10 states, so that would help balance it out,” says Susan Sterne, president of Economic Analysis Associates.

Plus, there’s hiring happening, which means some people are getting brand new paychecks, putting more money in their pockets.

Grocery industry watchers pay close attention to gas prices, which are currently on the rise. Many large grocery stores now have filling stations on site and offer shoppers gas deals through their loyalty programs, placing gas prices at top of mind as consumers push their carts through the aisles.

“That kind of puts it right in the customer’s face,” says Meg Major, editorial director for the trade magazine Progressive Grocer.

People will still buy groceries. The question is whether seeing higher gas prices will keep shoppers from grabbing something extra or upgrading to a higher-end item. Stores live or die on those impulse buys -- items that aren't not on the grocery list.

“Any form of discretionary purchase with every consumer possible is a victory,” Major says.

And victory for these retailers is riding on much more than the payroll tax increase.

Mark Garrison: Some Walmart higher-ups are definitely worried about tightwad consumers. Bloomberg obtained leaked e-mails where a top exec called February sales quote, “total disaster.” Low-income shoppers are especially sensitive to the payroll tax. But Susan Sterne of Economic Analysis Associates thinks there may be enough going on to offset it.

Susan Sterne: There was a minimum wage increase in ten states, so that would help balance it out.

Plus, there’s hiring happening, which means some people are getting brand new paychecks. Rising gas prices are something Meg Major watches. She’s editorial director for the trade mag Progressive Grocer. Many grocers now have filling stations on their lots.

Meg Major: That kind of puts it right in the customer’s face.

People will still buy groceries. The question is whether seeing higher gas prices will keep shoppers from grabbing something extra. Stores live or die on those impulse buys.

Major: Any form of discretionary purchase with every consumer possible is a victory.

And victory is riding on a lot more than the payroll tax. In New York, I'm Mark Garrison, for Marketplace.

The Radio 1 DJ confirms the arrival of her first son with partner Jesse Wood on Twitter and names him Rex.

For the last 27 years, Kevin Beverley has been unable to speak, after a violent attack left him brain damaged and paralysed.

The German Bruce Willis. The Italian Colin Firth. Welcome to the curious world of dubbing Hollywood films.

Police are investigating reports a four-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a children's play centre.

Though Yahoo’s shine has faded in recent years, Yahoo news, sports and entertainment sites are still some of the most popular destinations on the web. 

But it’s been losing ad dollars to competitors. Yahoo’s new homepage, in part, is supposed to address that. Part of Yahoo’s problem is “stickyness” or the time people spend on the site. In that respect, Facebook is eating Yahoo’s lunch, says Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivitol Research.

“Facebook reaches far more people and probably triple the cumalitive time, when you account for all the time people are on Facebook,” says Wieser.

The more time people spend on the site, the more ads it can serve up,  says Carlos Kirjner an analyst at Sanford Bernstein.

“The more the site owner can learn about your preferences and behaviors, they can put forward better ads and better content,” he says.

Yahoo thinks users will stay on the site longer if the news is “tailored” to them, said CEO Marissa Mayer in an interview on NBC’s Today Show.

“One of the things I like is this very personalized news feed down below, it’s infiniate, so you can keep scrolling forever,” Mayer said.

Mayer scrolled down a list of news headlines that appear in the center of the homepage and looks sort of like Facebook’s newsfeed. In fact, Yahoo teamed up with Facebook to update its hompage. When users log in with their Facebook account, they can see news stories, their friends like.

Carlos Kirjner says Yahoo’s been able forge partnerships in a tech environment that’s become increasingly adversarial. Earlier this year, it partnered with Google, which will start selling advertising for Yahoo. And its search engine is powered by Microsoft’s Bing.

“I think that is one of the advantages that Yahoo has, it is large enough to be an interesting opportunity,” says Kirjner, “but it’s small enough not to be seen as a threat.”  

The opening day of the WGC Match Play Championship in Arizona is suspended because of heavy snow at Dove Mountain.

For the last 27 years, Kevin Beverley has been unable to speak, after a violent attack left him brain damaged and paralysed.

The firm which built a police station denies being to blame for the failure of talks to renegotiate the bill of more than £20m.

Within a year of launching, a US online university network has 2.8 million students and announces a further 29 universities joining as partners.

Fears the number of new medicines available to patients in the UK is declining have been rejected by researchers.

Between 2002 and 2009, homegrown Indonesian militants staged deadly attacks almost yearly. The story of one former terrorist-turned-chef — and his unrealized dreams of global jihad — help illustrate why terrorism hasn't flourished in the Muslim-majority country.

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Between 2002 and 2009, homegrown Indonesian militants staged deadly attacks almost yearly. The story of one former terrorist-turned-chef — and his unrealized dreams of global jihad — help illustrate why terrorism hasn't flourished in the Muslim-majority country.

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Elderly people in NI are given drugs such as tranquilisers, sedatives and anti-dementia drugs at a much higher rate in care homes, a study finds.