...sumers are attracted by efficiency, but don’t want them to control their lives A refrigerator that’s so smart it automatically updates you on what food should go in the trash. A washing machine that ...machine in hopes of enticing busy consumers leading such hectic lifestyles they might not know what’s going bad in their fridge. “The rising number of single households and double-income households i...

U.N. Climate change panel says 80% of energy needs could be met by renewables by 2050 ABU DHABI (AFP) ― Renewable energy could meet nearly 80 percent of the world’s energy needs by mid-century and play a crucial role in fighting global warming, the U.N.’s climate scientists said Monday in a major report. The 194-nation Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change said renewable sources had grown ...

BEIJING (AP) ― China reported an unexpectedly large April trade surplus, likely fueling U.S. pressure over currency controls and market access as American and Chinese officials hold high-level talks ... euro as the American currency weakened over the past year. China’s April trade surplus with the U.S. rose 52 percent over a year ago to $15.1 billion. The gap with the European Union, China’s bigges...

EU officials say Greece may need more help with debt as S&P downgrades Greek bonds LONDON (AP) ― Two major credit agencies signaled their concern about Greece’s massive debt on Monday, lending new c...un out in 2013 ― a scenario most investors think is unlikely. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s bond grade further into junk status Monday, saying was increasingly likely that Greec...

...the globe are waiting to see how she will close out a show that engineered a media empire. Winfrey’s producers plan a star-studded, double taping on May 17 at Chicago’s United Center. The shows will ... “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,’’ Jennings said. “There’s something that grips us about that. It’s something about being there with the crowd, being there for history.’’ And Winfrey’s talk show hi...

... sorts of putsches, never through popular revolutions. During the great democratic wave of the 1990s, which brought down dictatorships in Eastern Europe, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southe...t Asia, nothing similar happened in Arab North Africa and the Middle East. Now, however, the region’s political inertia has been disrupted. Cairo’s Tahrir Square has become a symbol for both hope and ...

...lonely life with his young son after the abrupt death of his wife. While driving from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., a woman named Annie Reed turns on her car radio and happens to tune in to hear Sam’s sad story. She flies all the way to Seattle to meet Sam. Falling in love with Annie, Sam finally recovers from his psychological wounds and starts a new life with the charming woman. “A Man and A W...