National / International News

India's Kumbh Mela festival is considered the largest religious gathering in the world, and it can be completely disorienting for an outsider. An NPR reporter found an expert guide.

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Controversial plans to move specialist intensive care for babies in north Wales to England look set to go ahead.

The "night stalker" stayed at the Cecil Hotel in the '80s. So did an Austrian man who killed at least 11 prostitutes in three countries. This week, a woman's body was found in a rooftop water tank.

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How many movies do you see in the theater a year? Two per month, maybe? At that rate, that’s 75 hours you’re spending in the theater each year, if every movie lasts three hours.

But stats show that Americans on average spend a lot more time -- 142 hours a year -- playing video games. That’s why Sony’s PS4 announcement last night is a big deal, even though company didn’t necessarily unveil its new gaming console.

"The biggest surprise of last night was the fact that there wasn't even a console in the house," says CNET's Jeff Bakalar, who covered the event in New York.

Though they lacked hardware, Bakalar says Sony did promote new console features, such as social gaming and Internet connectivity.

To hear more about Sony's PlayStation plans, click on the audio player above.

Will League Two Bradford's luck hold for one more game - Sunday's League Cup final against Premier League Swansea?

Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida has been one of the fiercest critics of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. But yesterday, Scott reversed course on a big part of the new law, dropping his opposition to expanding health care for the poor in his state. Scott said he'll expand medicaid for three years -- that's when federal startup funding expires. While the announcement is sure to make political ripples, it is also a big win for Florida hospitals – who currently absorb most of the costs that uninsured patients incur.

Payday lenders are often blamed for taking advantage of the little guy. But that's something that Justin Davis, a payday lender in Kansas City, Missouri, takes issue with. "For me and my business, I try to treat my customers right," says Davis. "As long as people do the math, then they are not doing something stupid."

Walmart beat expectations in its latest earnings report, but offered a wary outlook for the first part of this year. Safeway also reports earnings on 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.

And finally, to Russia where a woman was looking for an address on the Russian alternative to Google Maps when she made a shocking discovery. In the streetview of the address, she saw a picture of her fiance, Sasha, with another woman. She knew when the picture was taken because Sasha had a cast on his arm. A confession soon followed.

An Irish publican is prosecuted after police found dozens of 'nuns' drinking illegally, several hours past closing time on his premises.

A broad array of medical groups has agreed on an expanded list of things doctors shouldn't do. The idea is to curb unnecessary, wasteful and often harmful care, the sponsors say.

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The mother of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence is helping to launch a new centre for research in to race and education.

UK scientists exploring the ocean floor in the Caribbean have discovered an "astounding" set of hydrothermal vents, the deepest anywhere in the world.

The police officer leading the Oscar Pistorius probe is facing seven charges of attempted murder, police confirm, as the bail hearing ends its third day.

Global markets were down this morning over concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s attitude toward monetary policy. On Wednesday, the central bank released meeting minutes which showed division over how long it should continue its stimulative policy of quantitative easing.

"We've had such a strong run that the market used that as a pivot-point," says Susan Schmidt, head of U.S. equities at Mesirow Financial, who says that investors are now moving funds out of stocks.

According to Schmidt, there is little chance the Fed will abandon quantitative easing anytime in the next year. “The market is using this as an excuse to have people move to the sidelines and take a breather," she says.

Global markets were down this morning over concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s attitude toward monetary policy. On Wednesday, the central bank released meeting minutes which showed division over how long it should continue its stimulative policy of quantitative easing.

"We've had such a strong run that the market used that as a pivot-point," says Susan Schmidt, head of U.S. equities at Mesirow Financial, who says that investors are now moving funds out of stocks.

According to Schmidt, there is little chance the Fed will abandon quantitative easing anytime in the next year. “The market is using this as an excuse to have people move to the sidelines and take a breather," she says.

A glow-in-the-dark shark scares off predators with the help of "lightsaber-like" spines, a study suggests.

The storm that has already dusted parts of New Mexico and Oklahoma is expected to move through the Midwest, dumping as much as a foot and a half of snow.

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Wal-Mart posts a rise in fourth-quarter profits, benefiting from a delayed tax rise in the US, but the supermarket giant says sales were slower at the start of the year.

Consumer prices were flat in January. But since then, gas prices have risen sharply. So upcoming inflation reports may not be as positive.

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The trial of an elderly Chinese man accused of murder during the Cultural Revolution sparks online debate about the excesses of the period.

Bulgarian MPs vote to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov and his government.

Invasive alien species pose a greater risk to Europe's biodiversity, economy and human health than previously thought, a report concludes.