Home prices post first quarterly rise in 3 years

NEW YORK – A closely watched index shows home prices posted their first quarterly increase in three years, signaling the housing market has turned a corner. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller’s U.S. National Home Price Index released Tuesday rose nearly 3 percent from the first quarter, though was still down almost 15 percent from the second

Cutler has good things to say about McDaniels

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)—Now that they’ve been separated for five months, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler(notes) has high praise for Broncos rookie coach Josh McDaniels, whom he’ll see in a preseason game at Invesco Field this weekend. Cutler says in the brief time he spent with McDaniels he could tell Bill Belichick’s latest disciple was an offensive

Court: Investigators wrong to seize MLB drug list

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—An appeals court ruled Wednesday that federal agents were wrong to seize the infamous drug list and samples of 104 Major League Baseball players who allegedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. In a 9-2 vote, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with three lower court judges who chastised investigators

Ryan chooses rookie Sanchez as starting QB

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP)—The future is now for the new face of the New York Jets, Mark Sanchez(notes). Sanchez was selected as the team’s starting quarterback by coach Rex Ryan on Wednesday, making him the first rookie slated to open a season under center for the Jets. “This comes with a lot of responsibility,” a

LEMON PUDDING CAKE WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE RECIPE

Impress someone tonight with this easy and fast Lemon Pudding Cake. This light, puffy cake, separates into a creamy lemony custard layer during baking. You may also bake in a 8 x 8-inches glass baking dish and spoon in bowls or plates and sprinkle with sifted confectioners’ sugar and/or serve with raspberry sauce. Cake 3

WeAreChange Real Change Conference

Don’t get confused by imitations this is the real CHANGE conference www.wearechange.org/91109 Thursday 9/10 Street Action: Council of Foreign Relations – 58 East 68th Street – 4:30pm March down surprise locations, then ending at Columbus Circle – Broadway and 59th street – 6:30pm by CNN headquarters     Event: Broadway and Walker Street start 7:30pm -10pm

Luxury Hotel Chains Dropping Five-Star Ratings to Conserve Cash

Luxury-hotel chains, the biggest losers in the lodging industry’s decline, are giving up some of their hard-won stars to save money. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the U.S. owner of luxury brands including St. Regis and W Hotels, will let some of its properties reduce their level of service — and number of stars

Verizon gets top marks in call quality

Another day, another cell phone study from J.D. Power and Associates. This time, it’s not customer service–T-Mobile, Alltel, and Verizon Wireless tied for that honor earlier this month–but a survey of the all-important call quality. Just like last year, Verizon was the overall winner this time around. The carrier ranked highest in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic,

Spotify for iPhone gets thumbs up from Apple, subscription music with offline playlists is a go

Streaming and subscription music services are a dime a dozen on iPhone, and they seem to get past Apple’s app store approval hurdles with relative ease. But Spotify was one whose fate wasn’t so clear cut, given its offline playlist function — which as the name suggests downloads songs ahead of time for you to

Human-carrying robot bear gets cuteness upgrade