D'Antoni says Lakers need better starts, tighter defense

(Reuters) - Faster starts and a much improved defense are sorely needed by the Los Angeles Lakers if the 16-time NBA champions are to resurrect a bitterly disappointing campaign, according to their head coach Mike D'Antoni.Lakers fans had lofty expectations for 2012-13 after Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol were joined by fellow All-Stars Dwight Howard and Steve Nash during the off-season but the once mighty...

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UPDATE 1-NBA-Spurs smack Sixers to ride high in the West

* Spurs win 10th straight game at home* Stay in contention for top spot in the West (adds quotes, detail)Jan 5 (Reuters) - Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs maintained course with a swagger in their bid for supremacy in the hotly contested Western Conference with a 109-86 rout of the road-weary Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.Four-times All-Star guard Parker recorded 20 points and five assists...

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Spurs smack Sixers to ride high in the West

(Reuters) - Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs maintained course with a swagger in their bid for supremacy in the hotly contested Western Conference with a 109-86 rout of the road-weary Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.Four-times All-Star guard Parker recorded 20 points and five assists while Manu Ginobili added 19 points and Tim Duncan 16 as the Spurs improved their record to 27-9 with a commanding...

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Future of state estate taxes hangs on U.S. "fiscal cliff"

(Reuters) - Falling off the "fiscal cliff" is a bad thing, right?Not necessarily for some state governments that could begin collecting more in estate taxes on wealth left to heirs if the United States goes over the "cliff," allowing sharp tax increases and federal spending cuts to take effect in January.In an example of federal and state tax law interaction that gets little notice on Capitol Hill,...

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Exclusive: Profits up, but Britain gets less tax from big firms

LONDON (Reuters) - Big companies in Britain now pay less tax than they did 12 years ago despite a big jump in profitability, a Reuters analysis of official data shows. Tax campaigners say the trend is the clearest signal yet that tax avoidance has blossomed under a more business-friendly strategy at the UK tax authority Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).Large companies' payments of corporation...

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House sets Sunday session as "fiscal cliff" deadline nears

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives will return to Washington on Sunday night, just over a day before income tax rates are set to spike higher, in a last-ditch chance to avert the year-end "fiscal cliff."Senior Republican aides confirmed that House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday told members to be back in Washington in time for a 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT) legislative session on Sunday.The...

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Indian police charge 5 in New Delhi gang rape

NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities filed rape and murder charges Thursday against five men accused of the gang rape of a 23-year-old university student on a New Delhi bus, a crime that horrified Indians and provoked a national debate about the treatment of women.Police said they plan to push for the death penalty in the case, as government officials promised new measures to protect women in the nation's...

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Authorities charge 5 in New Delhi gang rape

NEW DELHI (AP) — Five men accused of raping a university student for hours on a bus as it drove through India's capital were charged Thursday with murder, rape and other crimes that could bring them the death penalty.The attack on the 23-year-old woman, who died of severe internal injuries over the weekend, provoked a fierce debate across India about the routine mistreatment of females and triggered...

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US drones kill senior Taliban figure in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An American drone strike in Pakistan has killed a top Taliban commander who sent money and fighters to battle the U.S. in Afghanistan but had a truce with the Pakistani military, officials said Thursday.While the death of Maulvi Nazir was likely to be seen in Washington as affirmation of the necessity of the controversial U.S. drone program, it could cause more friction in already...

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Pettersson: Golf on 'witch hunt' of long putters

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Carl Pettersson says the proposed rule to ban the anchored stroke for long putters feels like a "witch hunt," and that golf's governing bodies were only reacting to three of the last five major champions using a belly putter."It seems silly to ban something that's been around for 40 years," Pettersson said in his first comments since the U.S. Golf Association and Royal &...

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