Topic: Valentine's Day

Maine same-sex couples marry in first hours of law

After waiting years, gay couples in Maine's largest city didn't have to wait a moment longer than necessary to wed, with licenses issued at the stroke of midnight as the law went into effect.

Bal Thackeray: godfather of nativists in India's most cosmopolitan city

In death as in life, Bal Thackeray divided Mumbai. Mumbaikars shuttered shops fearing violence, while hundreds of thousands thronged the funeral today of the Shiv Sena founder. 

Happy Halloween! Wait, Americans spend how much on candy?!

'Happy Halloween,' reads store signs across the United States. Halloween is one of the most profitable holidays of the year. Why? Candy!

Difference Maker
Family-to-Family links well-off families to others in need

Pam Koner started a nonprofit group that helps families who want to aid less-fortunate families.

Why are there so many solar flares these days? (+video)

Solar flares are ten million times more powerful than a volcanic explosion on earth. They increase in frequency during the solar maximum phase of the sun's 11-year cycle. This cycle is expected to peak in 2013.

Angry Birds joins Facebook in bid to reach 800 million users

Angry Birds has gone from an iPhone App to a series of popular cross-platform video games, to books, to a movie, and now to the web's #1 social network.

Pekingese wins at 2012 Westminster dog show

The Pekingese, Malachy, wobbled to across the ring at the Westminster dog show to receive the award for Best in Show.

Horizons
Valentine's Day Google doodle: Does it subtly support gay marriage?

Valentine's Day inspires a lovely Google doodle cartoon, with a political message right at the end.

Valentine's Day: cost of romance rising for flower delivery, 4 other things

When you arrange for flower delivery or take a special someone out for dinner this Valentine's Day, it'll cost more than it did a year ago. That's the cold hard fact about a warmhearted and festive day, according official US inflation data.

But the rising cost may actually be a relatively small one: Those chocolate or flower prices haven't been rising at gas-pump-fast rates. Here's the official inflation tally of five common Valentine's Day activities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Stir It Up!
Valentine's Day dinner idea: Roasted salmon roll

Tender and delicious, a roasted salmon roll for a Valentine's Day meal at home.

Valentine's Day and 5 other great Google doodles (+video)

The Valentine's Day Google doodle animation is sure to melt anyone's "Cold, Cold Heart." But is this Valentine's Day doodle the best Google doodle video? Here are five of our past favorites.

'The Vow' leads strong pre-Valentine's weekend at box office

'The Vow,' starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, took in $41.7 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters from Friday through Sunday in the biggest domestic opening so far this year, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.

Valentine's Day gifts: How to save money on roses

This Valentine's Day, consumers will spend an estimated $1.8 billion on flowers, mostly roses. But high demand combined with an off-peak growing season can make Valentine's Day roses quite pricey. Here's how to save.

Valentine's Day: Three new love stories

Three couples risk it all in three great new novels

10 romantic movies for Valentine's Day

Check out these 10 movies for the holiday

Solar flare 2011: How a dazzling display can wreak electrical havoc

Solar flare 2011: A massive eruption of charged solar plasma glanced off the earth this week, a reminder that our star can still surprise us.

McWeddings? Sure. Or tie the knot at Taco Bell.

McWeddings in Hong Kong are only the latest iteration of the fast-food wedding. Besides McWeddings, couples get married at places like Taco Bell and White Castle.

Comet Tempel 1: Stardust photos reveal crater that 'partly healed itself'

Photos from the Stardust-NExT rendezvous with comet Tempel 1 are streaming in. Some show a crater that was created by a different NASA mission but never sucessfully photographed.

72 new images of comet Tempel 1 streaming in from Stardust-NExT flyby

Stardust-NExT sped to within 112 miles of the comet Monday at 11:39 p.m. EST. During the flyby, it snapped 72 new images of comet Tempel-1. Stand by for scientists' analysis of what they see.

Longest kiss record broken in Thailand kissathon

Longest kiss record: In a Valentine's Day contest, several couples broke the previously held longest kiss record, but after 46 hours, only one couple remained. For setting a new longest kiss record the couple won a diamond ring and over $3,000 in prize money.

The secret of Valentine's Day superpowers

James seemed so smooth with the ladies. Really he was just being human.

On Valentine's Day, express your love with a giant hissing cockroach

On Valentine's Day, nothing says 'I love you' more than naming a giant Madagascar hissing cockroach after your beloved. Now the Bronx Zoo is offering just that opportunity.

Valentine's Day report: seven ways marriage is changing

It seems Valentine's Day, when 10 percent of all marriage proposals take place, is one of the few constants in the institution of marriage. Here are seven ways marriage has changed from 50 years ago, when marriage was between a man and a woman barely into their twenties, of the same race and social class, till death did them part.