VALLEJO, CALIF. — The first couple of years were ugly. After this working-class port city became the largest in America to declare bankruptcy in 2008 , crime and prostitution surged as the police force was thinned by 40 percent. Firehouses were shuttered, and funding for libraries and senior centers was slashed. Foreclosures multiplied and home prices plummeted. Read full article > >

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Vallejo, Calif., once bankrupt, is now a model for cities in an age of austerity

In one of the largest and most high-profile share floatations of recent years, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, rang the opening bell of the Nasdaq exchange.

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VIDEO: Zuckerberg rings Nasdaq bell

Facebook shares will start trading later in one of the largest and most high profile share flotations of recent years.

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Facebook poised for market debut

More than 200 cases of measles are confirmed on Merseyside in the largest outbreak in the area since 1988, the Health Protection Agency says.

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Measles outbreak tops 200 cases

A newly described relative of Tyrannosaurus rex is the largest known feathered animal – living or extinct.

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Dino is biggest feathered animal

Fossils of a previously unrecognized dinosaur found in China show that it is the largest known feathered animal, living or extinct, scientists report.

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Dinosaur Dig in China Turns Up Largest Known Feathered Animal

In his letter from Hajj, a spiritual journey for Muslims and the largest gathering of people in the world, Malcom X , once wrote: “Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy Land.”

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Where London and Mecca Meet: The British Museum’s Hajj Exhibition

The double chins, flabby cheeks and puffy eyes in two large-scale Dutch paintings now on view at the National Gallery of Art belong to male members of Amsterdam’s mid-17th-century elite. They are governors of a building — the largest public space in Amsterdam at the time — which served as a gathering place for one of the city’s three militia companies. It also did duty as a tavern and public reception hall for dignitaries. Read full article > >

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Dutch portraits exhibit stories of power at the National Gallery

BP says it has reached a $7.8bn (£4.9bn) deal with the largest group of plaintiffs suing it over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

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BP reaches $7.8bn oil spill deal

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It’s Saturday night at Boylan Heights, one of the largest bars near the University of Virginia, and the upscale burger joint undergoes a transformation. In the upstairs dining room, the music is turned up to blaring, the lights dim. The bartenders switch from glasses to throwaway plastic cups. Security guards take their places. And a line of guys in button-downs and women in heels begin streaming up the stairs. Read full article > >

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Boylan Heights bar at center of U. Va. drinking scene

I t’s easy to frame the fight over SOPA and PIPA as Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley — two huge industries clashing over whose voice should dictate the future of Internet policy — but it’s absolutely wrong. The bills are dead , thanks to widespread protest. But the real architects of the bills’ defeat don’t have a catchy label or a recognized lobbying group. They don’t have the glamour or the deep pockets of the studios. Yet they are the largest, most powerful and most important voice in the debate — and, until recently, they’ve been all but invisible to Congress. Read full article > >

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We are the media, and so are you

The amount of non-mortgage borrowing held by consumers fell in December by the largest amount on record, £377m, the Bank of England says.

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Record fall in personal borrowing

The amount of non-mortgage borrowing held by consumers fell in December by the largest amount on record, £377m, the Bank of England says.

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Record fall in personal borrowing

Goldman Sachs, which manages Mitt Romney’s family’s fortune, is also his largest source of campaign contributions.

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Close Ties to Goldman Enrich Romney’s Public and Private Lives

And the largest in 13 years.

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Ford Posts Profit for Third Year