Tom Hanks, Will Farrell offer custom recordings

NEW YORK (AP) — Imagine having William Shatner supply your outgoing voicemail message. Or maybe you'd prefer Morgan Freeman coolly telling callers to wait for the beep. Or perhaps having Betty White joke around is more your speed.All it takes is $299 and some luck.The advocacy group Autism Speaks is offering custom-recorded messages from those celebrities as well as Will Ferrell, Carrie Fisher, Tom...

Read More..

New H.I.V. Cases Falling in Some Poor Nations, but Treatment Still Lags

New infections with H.I.V. have dropped by half in the past decade in 25 poor and middle-income countries, many of them in Africa, the continent hardest hit by AIDS, the United Nations said Tuesday. The greatest success has been in preventing mothers from infecting their babies, but focusing testing and treatment on high-risk groups like gay men, prostitutes and drug addicts has also paid...

Read More..

Rate on 30-year mortgage hits record 3.31%

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week, a trend that is boosting home sales and aiding the...

Read More..

Feds charge former hedge fund manager in big insider-trading case

WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a former hedge fund portfolio manager with securities fraud in connection...

Read More..

Nintendo’s Wii U: First Impressions

GamePadThe Wii U GamePad has a 6.2-inch touchscreen.Click here to view this gallery. [More from Mashable: Meet the Super Fan Who Waited in Line for a Month for a Wii U [VIDEO]]Nintendo‘s newest console has only been available for one day, but that’s still enough time for early-bird consumers to get their hands on the...

Read More..

Documentary: Inmate may be involved in OJ case

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A documentary says a Florida death-row inmate might have been involved in the murder of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife and her friend, a claim being criticized by one victim's family and being looked at skeptically by a detective who has dealt with the convict.The Investigation Discovery show, "My Brother the Serial Killer," will air Wednesday. The film is a look at Glen Rogers, a carnival...

Read More..

Responding to Illnesses Manifesting Amid Recovery From Storm

Nicole Bengiveno/The New York TimesDr. Aaron Gardener, center, attended to a patient at an ad hoc medical unit in Long Beach, N.Y. Many people have coughs, rashes and other ailments. Day and night, victims of Hurricane Sandy have been streaming into ad hoc emergency rooms and relief centers, like the MASH-type medical unit on an athletic field in Long Beach, and the warming tent in the Rockaways the...

Read More..

Stocks sink after Bernake comments; HP takes a hit

A warning from the Federal Reserve chairman about the “fiscal cliff” helped push stocks lower Tuesday. In a speech to the Economic...

Read More..

Existing-home sales and builder confidence rise

WASHINGTON -- The housing market recovery showed signs it is continuing to strengthen as sales of existing homes increased 2.1%...

Read More..

MTV special profiles young people with HIV

NEW YORK (AP) — MTV is airing a special next week with profiles of three young people who have the HIV infection, amid worries that some people are taking the condition too casually.The special, "I'm Positive," is scheduled to air Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Drew Pinsky, who is one of the show's producers, said that if it does well, he hopes it can become a regular series.In three decades, infection with...

Read More..