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U.S. cities grapple for new jobs in economic upswing

Tue Nov 24, 7:45 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a depressed neighborhood in the City of Angels, hundreds of good jobs appeared to fall from the sky last week.

  • A new toilet is displayed at a promotional event for Charmin Restrooms in New York's Times Square, November 23, 2009. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
    In New York, job winners will tweet from toilets Mon Nov 23, 5:59 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Five new restroom ambassadors will soon be tweeting from toilets at Times Square after beating hundreds of hopefuls for the coveted jobs.

  • A patient is reflected in the heart monitor she is hooked up to in the emergency room at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas, July 27, 2009. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
    Speak up: study shows stifling anger at work can kill Mon Nov 23, 11:31 PM ET

    SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Men who bottle up their anger at being unfairly treated at work are up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack, or even die from one, than those who let their frustration show, a Swedish study has found.

  • Venezuelans borrow for plastic surgery in hard times 1 hour, 46 minutes ago

    CARACAS (Reuters) - Unfazed by a recession and rampant inflation, image-conscious Venezuelans show no signs of cutting back on the facelifts, liposuction, and breast augmentation that have become de rigueur beauty treatments.

  • Environmentalists target foam food trays 54 minutes ago

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Environmentalists and green businesses are targeting foam food trays used to sell vegetables, fruits and meat in grocery stores.

  • Lidia Bastianich poses in this undated handout photo. REUTERS/Paul Gelsobello/Handout
    Chef Lidia Bastianich explores regional Italian cuisines Tue Nov 24, 10:26 AM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Chef Lidia Bastianich explores the lesser known regions of Italy and serves up recipes in her new cookbook that highlight the complexity of the country's history and cuisine.

  • Actress Lindsay Lohan poses at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles in this June 1, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
    Lohan to stay on at Ungaro fashion house, despite criticism 1 hour, 49 minutes ago

    MILAN (Reuters Life!) - Hollywood wild child Lindsay Lohan is staying on as artistic adviser at fashion house Emanuel Ungaro despite her debut collection being panned by critics, President and Chief Executive Mounir Moufarrige said on Tuesday.

  • High tech storage to preserve British Library books 18 minutes ago

    LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The British Library is re-housing part of its collection in a new facility that will hand responsibility for the storage and retrieval of seven million items to a robotic crane rather than a librarian.

  • An auction house worker poses for the photographers as she holds the model of King Kong featured in the original 1933 epic film, ahead of its auction, in central London, Thursday Nov. 19, 2009. This unique relic was used to allow the animated ape to scale the dizzying heights of the Empire State Building in the films poignant and climactic final scenes. Led by King Kong, Christie's Pop Culture: Vintage Film Posters and Film Memorabilia sale on Nov. 24, will feature 290 vintage film posters, and over 160 items of film memorabilia. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
    Original King Kong model makes $200,000 at auction 51 minutes ago

    LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The model used to film the final, climactic scenes of the 1933 film "King Kong" sold for 121,250 pounds ($200,000) at auction on Tuesday.

  • Nazi leader Adolph Hitler waves to crowds in his six seater Mercedes car in this undated World War II file photo. REUTERS/Handout
    Hitler's favorite car makes comeback in Germany 1 hour, 41 minutes ago

    BERLIN (Reuters Life!) - A car expert says he has tracked down Hitler's favorite Mercedes to a garage near the town that helped the Austrian-born Fuehrer become a German citizen.

  • Bjoern Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Reuss (R), former members of the Swedish pop group 'Abba' arrive before the Berlin premiere of the musical 'Mamma Mia' October 21, 2007. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
    UK poll shows ABBA band people most want to reform Tue Nov 24, 10:18 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The British public would like to see Swedish band ABBA reform more than any other act, according to a survey.

  • Al Roker smiles as he arrives to attend the Quill Awards Gala honoring figures in the literary world in New York City October 10, 2006. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
    TV weatherman Roker writes murder mystery Tue Nov 24, 9:56 AM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - America's best known weatherman Al Roker, who is already a top-selling author, changes gears with "The Morning Show Murders", a mystery thriller set in his world of network breakfast television.

  • A handout photograph released in London November 24, 2009, shows the damage sustained by Bridgewater House in London during World War Two German air raids in 1941. Paul Delaroche's "Charles I Insulted by Cromwell's Soldiers", was hanging in the dining room at the time and sustained extensive shrapnel damage. REUTERS/The Times/Handout
    Delaroche work "ruined" in war rescued for show 2 hours, 52 minutes ago

    LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A major work by French painter Paul Delaroche thought to have been virtually destroyed during a World War Two German air raid on London in 1941 has been unrolled and found to be in good condition.

  • Revealed: the perfect telephone call center accent Tue Nov 24, 10:08 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Regional accents may be more prominent on radio and television in today's Britain, but the "Queen's English" remains the preferred accent for call centres and promoting products to consumers, a new survey shows.

  • A copy of the book "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There" that belonged to the British girl, Alice Liddell, who inspired author Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" is shown in this undated publicity photograph. The book will be sold at an auction in December 2009 by Profiles in History. REUTERS/Courtesy Profiles in History/Handout (UNITED STATES MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT) NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
    The real Alice in Wonderland's book up for auction Mon Nov 23, 11:34 PM ET

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A copy of the book "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There" that belonged to the British girl who inspired author Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" will be sold at an auction next month, the company behind the sale said on Monday.

  • Child care doubles TV time for some children Mon Nov 23, 5:01 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Think you know how much television your child is watching while you're at work? If you're not taking the time they spend in child care into account, you may be way off, according to a U.S. study.

  • Police nab dozens of gambling seniors in Cyprus Tue Nov 24, 4:04 AM ET

    NICOSIA (Reuters) - Police in Cyprus detained dozens of elderly women for gambling, a popular but banned past-time on the east Mediterranean island.

  • Italy finds proposal to skip lunch hard to digest Tue Nov 24, 5:54 AM ET

    ROME (Reuters) - Food-loving Italy responded with indignation on Tuesday to a minister's comments that lunchbreaks -- still a sit-down ritual for many Italian workers -- are bad for waistlines and the economy, and should be skipped.

  • Police arresting people "just for the DNA" Tue Nov 24, 4:44 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has built the world's biggest DNA database without proper political debate and police routinely arrest people just to get their DNA profiles onto the system, the genetics watchdog said in a report on Tuesday.

  • French wines are displayed on sale at Union Square Wines in New York November 16, 2009. REUTERS/Mike Segar
    What wine goes with pumpkin pie? Tue Nov 24, 6:21 AM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Some people think the most important part of a traditional Thanksgiving meal is the turkey, but others argue it is dessert and the best wine to go with it.

  • Employees in recession are eyeing your top secrets Mon Nov 23, 3:06 PM ET

    LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Almost half the financial sector workers in London and New York say they would take sensitive company information with them if they were fired, according to a new transatlantic survey.

  • A doorman stands outside the Hyatt Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona November 4, 2009. REUTERS/Joshua Lott
    Cutting holiday tips seen as chance to really say thank you Sun Nov 22, 10:45 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - With the recession set to cut tips given to doormen, housekeepers, and other service providers this holiday, etiquette experts say it is time to reclaim the reason for tipping and actually say thank you.

  • India's Nobel economics laureate Amartya Sen speaks during a conference in his honour for development, freedom and welfare in New Delhi December 19, 2008. REUTERS/B Mathur
    Nobel laureate says happiness important for growth Mon Nov 23, 10:44 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - Levels of happiness could help shape economic policy in the industrialized world in the same way such factors have gained prominence in developing countries, said economics Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

  • Pedestrians pass a Marks and Spencer store, in central London September 30, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer
    Shop green? Global survey lists top eco-friendly retailers Sun Nov 22, 10:13 PM ET

    SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Eco-friendly managers and staff are the key to making a retailer go green, according to a study listing 15 of the world's top eco-friendly retailers in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

  • Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi arrives at the EU council headquarters in Brussels November 19, 2009, where a European Union extraordinary summit is taking place to appoint an EU president and foreign affairs chief. REUTERS/Eric Vidal
    Rolling Stone Italy names Berlusconi 2009 rock star Mon Nov 23, 1:21 PM ET

    ROME (Reuters) - The Italian edition of Rolling Stone has named Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi its "rock star of the year," paying tribute to his "lifestyle worthy of the greatest rock star."

  • A detail of British artist John Collier's 1883 painting of Charles Darwin is displayed as part of an exhibition in Darwin's former home, Down House, in Kent, southern England February 12, 2009. REUTERS/Tal Cohen
    Darwin book found on shelf worth up to $100,000 Mon Nov 23, 1:19 PM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - A first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species," which had been kept in a toilet bookcase for years, will go on sale this week and is expected to fetch 40-60,000 pounds ($66-100,000).

  • Tweets or bleats? Tool measures importance on Twitter Mon Nov 23, 1:17 AM ET

    SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - You've got followers and post regularly, but ever wondered how popular you are on Twitter? An online tool that evaluates "tweets" can tell.

  • No longer Top Secret: RAF wartime aerial photos Mon Nov 23, 9:55 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Aerial photographs of prisoners in high security Colditz and POWs who worked on the infamous bridge over the River Kwai are among images now available to view online for the first time.

  • Sichuan earthquake survivors play outside their temporary classroom at an Earthquake Relief Hope School in Yongxing town of Mianyang, Sichuan Province May 8, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Lee
    Playtime a luxury for competitive Chinese kids Mon Nov 23, 4:15 AM ET

    BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - All work and little play is the norm for most children in China, where stiff competition for future jobs and ambitious parents mean long hours in the company of school books, not friends.