Jill Scott to star in Fox Searchlight’s ‘Baggage Claim’

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Jill Scott, the Grammy-winning neo soul singer-songwriter, will star in “Baggage Claim” for Fox Searchlight, the studio announced on Thursday.She will appear alongside Paula Patton and Derek Luke in this romantic comedy from writer/director David E. Talbert. Patton will play Montana Moore, a flight attendant who tries...

Read More..

NYC Nanny Stabbing: When Is a Child Too Young to Remember Trauma?

Nessie Krim, a 3-year-old returning from a swim lesson, witnessed a family tragedy that could leave lifelong scars. She and her mother walked into their New York City apartment on Thursday to find her two siblings in the bathtub with their throats slashed, allegedly by their nanny.To add to the horror, the little girl and her mother, 34-year-old Marina Krim, watched...

Read More..

Moody’s warns may downgrade five big Canadian banks

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service warned on Friday it could cut its ratings on five top Canadian banks on concerns about a softening economy and volatile capital markets, a blow to a banking system named the soundest in the world four years in a row.But the outlook for the sector is no longer as rosy, Moody’s said, because of the risks presented...

Read More..

Amnesty Int: Ivory Coast torturing detainees

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast security officials are torturing dozens of detainees by administering electric shocks and other forms of abuse, Amnesty International alleged Friday.The victims include people charged with endangering state security in the wake of a recent spate of attacks targeting military installations. Since early August, unknown gunmen have...

Read More..

Amazon’s spending spree to hurt margins now, boost profit later: analysts

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc‘s spending spree will hurt margins in the near term but boost profit in the long run, analysts said, after the world’s No.1 internet retailer posted a loss on heavy spending on technology, infrastructure and digital content.Amazon shares were set to open about 2 percent higher on Friday even though the company forecast weak sales ahead of...

Read More..

Katy Perry wears her ballot at Obama rally

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Katy Perry‘s doing her best get-out-the vote effort: At a rally for President Barack Obama, she wore a tight white dress imprinted like a ballot, and a square box on her right hip filled in the names of Obama and Joe Biden.Perry gave a free concert at a park in a historically minority neighborhood just northwest of downtown Las Vegas to screaming fans...

Read More..

Japan quake-hit nuclear plant “may still be leaking radiation” into sea

TOKYO (Reuters) – The operator of Japan’s quake-struck Fukushima nuclear power plant said on Friday it could not rule out the possibility that it may still be leaking radiation into the sea.A massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered fuelrod meltdowns at the plant, causing radiation leakage, contamination of food and water and mass evacuations, although...

Read More..

Oil rebounds to over $86 a barrel on US growth

Faster-than-expected economic growth in the United States helped the price of oil reverse early losses on Friday and climb back above $ 86 a barrel.By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for December delivery was up 22 cents to $ 86.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 32 cents to finish at $ 86.05 a barrel...

Read More..

Lull in fighting between Israel, Gaza militants

JERUSALEM (AP) — A flare-up in fighting between Israel and militants from Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement has subsided.Both sides say the government in Egypt helped to restore calm. Israeli defense official Amos Gilad told Army Radio on Thursday that Egyptian security forces have “a very impressive ability” to convey to the militants that it...

Read More..

Apple’s weak margin outlook surprises analysts

(Reuters) – At least three brokerages cut their price targets on Apple Inc by up to $ 50 a share after the iPhone maker surprised analysts by forecasting lower gross margins for the current quarter.Apple shares edged lower 0.1 percent to $ 608.85 in premarket trading. For the December quarter, Apple forecast revenue of $ 52 billion, below...

Read More..

Germany orders recall of some Novartis flu shots

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have ordered a recall of some shipments of flu vaccines made by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis.The Paul Ehrlich Institute said in a statement Thursday that the measure is a precaution after Novartis reported some instances of small particles appearing in the vaccines that could potentially cause adverse reactions. The...

Read More..

Strauss-Kahn seeks comeback via conference circuit

PARIS (Reuters) – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief whose French presidential ambitions were shattered by a sex scandal last year, is making a comeback in business and at conferences.The 63-year-old Strauss-Kahn was accused of trying to rape a New York hotel maid in May 2011. He protested his innocence and criminal charges against him were dropped, though...

Read More..