Hundreds honor Ravi Shankar in California

Hundreds of friends and family have paid tribute to sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar at a public memorial service near his San Diego-area home. The musician was remembered Thursday as an unfailingly generous teacher with a gentle spirit and sense of humor whose music fostered understanding between East and West. Conductor Zubin Mehta said he felt like a "little crumb" listening to Shankar play. Olivia...

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Rapper 'Fat Joe' admits tax evasion in NJ court

The rap artist "Fat Joe" pleaded guilty Thursday to failing to pay taxes on nearly $3 million in income he earned over two years for performances and music royalties. The platinum-selling artist, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, was once a Billboard chart topper with hits like the duet "What's Luv" with the R&B singer Ashanti. Cartagena entered the plea in federal court in Newark because some...

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Twitter post offers clue to The Civil Wars' future

While there still remain questions about the future of The Civil Wars, there's new music on the way. Joy Williams, one half of the Grammy Award-winning duo with John Paul White, said Thursday during a Twitter chat that she was in the studio listening to new Civil Wars songs. It's a tantalizing clue to the future of the group, which appeared in doubt when a European tour unraveled last month due to...

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Hundreds honor Ravi Shankar at California memorial

Hundreds of friends and family on Thursday remembered sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar as an unfailingly generous teacher with a gentle spirit and sense of humor whose music fostered understanding between East and West. Olivia Harrison said Shankar helped her late husband George Harrison achieve a more meaningful life when he was a young Beatle. "They were like father and son as well as brothers," Harrison...

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New Miss Universe says win shows confidence is all

The 20-year-old Rhode Islander who brought the Miss Universe crown back to the U.S. for the first time in 15 years is hoping that her quick rise through the beauty contest ranks and an onstage stumble will show women that anything is possible. Perched high above the Las Vegas Strip in the Planet Hollywood winner's suite Thursday, Olivia Culpo told The Associated Press that her yearlong transformation...

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Wall Street dealers lose edge in U.S. Treasury auctions as investor clout grows

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dramatic increase in the amount of government bonds that investors purchase directly from the U.S. Treasury Department in its regular debt auctions is reducing the advantage large dealers have traditionally held in the sale process. The Treasury will not disclose the names of investors who can purchase directly from the government in its auctions but speculation is rife that...

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S&P downgrades Cyprus on default fears

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Cyprus government has vowed to do what is needed to finalize a bailout agreement with international lenders after ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Cyprus further into junk status amid concerns that the country could default on its debts. The U.S. agency said Friday that the two-notch downgrade to CCC+ was due to a "considerable and rising" risk that the country,...

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