Brady throws 3 TDs, Pats lead Texans 21-0 at half

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady stunned the mistake-prone Houston Texans with touchdown passes on his first three possessions and the New England Patriots led the team with the NFL's best record 21-0 at halftime on Monday night.Taking advantage of disorganization and poor coverage by the Texans, Brady hit Aaron Hernandez with a 7-yard scoring pass, Brandon Lloyd with a 37-yarder and Hernandez again...

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Surprise: New insurance fee in health overhaul law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too. It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.The charge, buried in a recent regulation, works out to tens of millions of dollars for the largest companies, employers say. Most of that is likely to be passed...

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Luke Bryan cleans up at ACAs with 9 awards

Luke Bryan didn't want the American Country Awards to end.He cleaned up during the fan-voted show, earning nine awards, including artist and album of the year. His smash hit "I Don't Want This Night To End" was named single and music video of the year.Miranda Lambert took home the second most guitar trophies with three. Jason Aldean was named touring artist of the year. Carrie Underwood won female...

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'Dollar Menu' sparks McDonald's rebound

McDonald's took Wall Street by surprise Monday morning, with a November same-store sales report that beat expectations and showed...

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Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera feared dead in plane crash

The wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying Mexican-American...

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In giant "garage sale", Japan's TV giants hawk $3 billion of assets

TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp, Japan's struggling maker of Viera brand TVs, owns more than 10 million square meters of office and factory space, dormitories for its workers and sports facilities for its rugby, baseball and women's athletics teams. As it battles for Christmas shoppers' wallets in the year-end holiday season, the sprawling electronics conglomerate is also seeking buyers...

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New tragedy rocks NFL's regularly scheduled world

The games go on.For the second straight weekend, tragedy rocked the regularly scheduled world of the NFL. It left families, friends, teammates and coaching staffs grieving over yet another senseless loss of life. It also left the league facing questions not only about efforts to safeguard players on the field but whether it's doing enough to help them stay out of harm's way once they step outside...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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'Amour' takes top prize from LA film critics

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The French-language drama "Amour" was chosen as the year's best film Sunday by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, whose prizes are among a flurry of year-end honors that help sort out the Academy Awards race.Among the group's other honors, the 1950s cult drama "The Master" earned four awards: best director for Paul Thomas Anderson, best actor for Joaquin Phoenix, supporting...

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Huppke: Don't be afraid to hire people with disabilities

One of the best experiences of my life was watching Jamie Smith, a young man with autism, leave his routine in Chicago, travel to the Special Olympics World Games in the chaotic Chinese city of Shanghai — and succeed.Jamie's success — managing in a foreign country and bringing home a silver medal — was the result of one thing: hard work. And I've...

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