A Brief History Of: Celibacy

Preliminary data indicates Black Friday sales got off to a roaring start this year, with consumers shopping earlier and online sales increasing significantly over last year. Retailers across the board reported strong crowds early Friday, with high-definition televisions, laptops, winter coats and the popular toy Zhu-Zhu pets among the hottest items.

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Coming Soon to Your Town: Fake ‘Madoff’ Auctions?

Ads for “Bernie Madoff Auction” sales have been popping up around the country in recent weeks, getting the word out in such places as Columbus, Ohio, and Charleston, S.C., by placing big stickers on the front page of local newspapers. The ads begin: “Due to losses caused by Bernie Madoff” and then detail such treasures as original art by Peter Max, Salvador Dali and Norman Rockwell — as well as Rolex watches and “other flashy items” — that are to be sold to “recover losses from Ponzi scheme.” Trouble is, it’s hard to tell whether any of the merchandise at these auctions was owned by Madoff or those he ruined or if the ads are just a dubious way to drum up traffic for run-of-the-mill estate sales.

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‘Bad taste’ cries as McDonald’s moves into ‘Mona Lisa’ museum

Shortly after McDonald’s’ celebrated its 30-year presence in France, the fast-food chain is conquering one of the country’s most valued cultural institutions –the Louvre. The restaurant will be serving its fast burgers in the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground shopping mall which lies under the main entrance of the museum and which still contains an ancient wall that was discovered during construction works

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Michelle Obama steals the show in Copenhagen

After flying through the night for seven hours aboard Air Force One, nobody would blame President Obama for being at least slightly groggy when he arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, for a quick four hours to make the final pitch for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics.

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UK set for three-way iPhone price war

Vodafone on Tuesday announced it would start selling Apple’s popular iPhone in the UK from early next year, in a move that should bolster efforts to turnround the mobile operator’s ailing British business. It means there will be three UK mobile operators selling the US technology company’s iPhone from next year: Vodafone, Orange and O2.

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The Cost of Raising Kids

This is the time of year — second only to December, maybe — when we’re reminded how much kids cost. It’s nice when states suspend their sales tax for a week of back-to-school shopping, but it doesn’t change the fact that somehow we have to start over in September: new sneakers, new notebooks, maybe a new lunch box, because SpongeBob is so last season.

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