Easter | featured news

A 74-year-old Pennsylvania man died this week after a headstone fell on him while he was at a relative’s grave. Stephen Woytack was decorating his mother-in-law’s grave for Easter on Monday when the stone toppled, reported ABC affiliate WNEP.

Big chains report an 8.9% increase from a year earlier, led by discounters and apparel stores. A later Easter is considered only partly responsible for the big jump.

The 3-D cartoon about tropical bird was the top pick again with $26.8 million in ticket sales.The 3-D cartoon about tropical bird was the top pick again with $26.8 million in ticket sales.

Bad weather, higher gasoline prices and a later Easter were expected to result in the first monthly retail sales decline since 2009, but consumers continued to spend in March, giving retailers a modest 1.7% gain over the same period last year.Retailers delivered another decent performance last month, with shoppers continuing to spend despite poor weather, high gasoline prices and a later Easter.

With Russell Brand providing the voice of the reluctant new Easter bunny, "Hop" bound well beyond the expectations of industry analysts, who had figured the movie would debut in the $25 million range.

Universal's family Easter pic Hop over performed in its domestic box office debut, grossing north of $11 million on Friday and putting it on track to earn at least $35 million, if not more, for the weekend... It was a good day overall at the box office. Summit Entertainment’s Source Code and FilmDistrict’s debut title Insidious also opened well.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits jumped 24000 in the latest week, but the increase appeared to stem largely from the Easter holiday and other onetime factors that distorted the data.

Warmer weather and an earlier Easter enticed shoppers into stores for spring merchandise in March, helping retailers post strong sales gains for the month....

Tens of thousands of kids from across the country are descending on the White House's South Lawn.

Film News: Warner 3D film earns an estimated $61.4 million -- Warner Bros.' 3D epic "Clash of the Titans" muscled its way to the top of the domestic B.O. this Easter weekend, with an estimated $61.4 million at 3,777 locations to become the highest-grossing film during the holiday frame.