Judgment day for Bonds, Clemens, Sosa at Hall

NEW YORK (AP) — Judgment day has arrived for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa to find out their Hall of Fame fates.With the cloud of steroids shrouding many candidacies, baseball writers may fail for only the second time in more than four decades to elect anyone to the Hall.About 600 people are eligible to vote in the BBWAA election, all members of the organization for 10 consecutive years...

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Baseball-No players voted to Hall of Fame, Bonds and Clemens snubbed

Jan 9 (Reuters) - No one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, with all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens snubbed over suspicion they used performance enhancing drugs.Bonds was named on 36.2 percent of the ballots, and Clemens 37.6, well short of the 75 percent of ballots required in voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association...

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No players voted to Hall of Fame, Bonds and Clemens snubbed

(Reuters) - No one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, with all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens snubbed over suspicion they used performance enhancing drugs.Bonds was named on 36.2 percent of the ballots, and Clemens 37.6, well short of the 75 percent of ballots required in voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.Closest...

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Hunger strike pressures Canada PM, aboriginal protests spread

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian aboriginal chief in the third week of a hunger strike is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to "open his heart" and meet with native leaders angered by his policies as small impromptu protests spread beyond Canada's borders.Chief Theresa Spence from the remote northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat has been fasting since December 11 and has vowed to continue until...

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Short and social workouts led fitness trends in 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters) - From mud races to sweat parties to CrossFit competitions, workouts turned smarter, shorter and more social in 2012, experts say, as fitness was sweetened with a little help from smart phones and friends."Everything is about making fitness fun," said Jenna Autuori-Dedic, senior fitness editor at Fitness Magazine.Even those grueling indoor cycling classes were a chance to mingle."I...

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Olympics, elections and horsing around in odd 2012

LONDON (Reuters) - Presidential preening, golden Olympic gaffes, a royal windfall for a skydiving British queen on her diamond jubilee and the endless end of days marked the odd stories in 2012 which pranced across the news in Gangnam Style.The year opened with a tale that flocks of magpies and bears had been spotted in mourning for North Korea's "Dear Leader", Kim Jong-il who died in December 2011...

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Ban on demanding Facebook passwords among new 2013 state laws

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Employers in California and Illinois will be prohibited from demanding access to workers' password-protected social networking accounts and teachers in Oregon will be required to report suspected student bullies thanks to new laws taking effect in 2013.In all, more than 400 measures were enacted at the state level during 2012 and will become law in the new year, according to the...

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Asia stocks rise as Alcoa sees stronger demand

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Wednesday after the fourth-quarter earnings season got off to a positive start in the U.S. with aluminum giant Alcoa forecasting higher demand for 2013.Demand for aluminum has been hurt by the weak global economy, but Alcoa predicted a 7 percent increase in demand this year, slightly better than the 6 percent increase in 2012. Because Alcoa makes aluminum for...

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Brent slips, below $112 as investors eye China data, cbank meetings

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent futures slipped below $112 per barrel on Wednesday as investors awaited Chinese trade data, U.S. corporate earnings and the outcome of a European Central Bank policy meeting to glean insights into the health of the world's biggest economies.China, the world's biggest energy consumer, will release its December trade figures on Thursday and fourth-quarter economic growth...

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Global shares buoyed by Alcoa earnings, dollar gains on yen

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares staged a modest recovery from two days of losses on Wednesday after aluminum giant Alcoa opened the U.S. earnings season with an optimistic outlook for world demand.However, with European and British central banks due to hold policy meetings on Thursday, the same day Spain will test demand for its debt and China releases its latest trade data, investors were in a cautious...

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