Dec
14

20 children, 6 adults killed at Conn. school shooting

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — A man opened fire Friday inside the Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked as a teacher, killing 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in their classrooms and trembled helplessly to the sound of gunfire reverberating through the building.The killer, armed with two handguns, committed suicide and another person was found dead at a second scene,...
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Dec
13

Cuban lawmakers meet to consider economy, budget

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban lawmakers are holding the second of their twice-annual sessions with a year-end report expected on the state of the country’s economy.Legislators are also to approve next year’s budget.Cuban leaders have sometimes used the parliamentary gatherings to make important announcements or policy statements.Observers will be watching for word on the progress of President Raul Castro‘s...
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Verizon Offering $5 Shared 4G Plan for Samsung Galaxy Camera

Imagine the powerful Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, except that it can’t make phone calls and its backplate has been replaced by a digital camera — handgrip, zoom lens, and all. That’s basically the Samsung Galaxy Camera in a nutshell, and whether it’s a small, awkwardly-shaped Android tablet or a digital camera that you can play Modern Combat 3 on depends on how you look at it.When the Galaxy Camera...
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Documents: Prisoner plotted to kill Justin Bieber

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — An imprisoned man whose infatuation with Justin Bieber included a tattoo of the pop star on his leg has told investigators in New Mexico he hatched a plot to kill him.Court documents in a New Mexico district court say Dana Martin told investigators he persuaded a man he met in prison and the man’s nephew to kill Bieber, Bieber’s bodyguard and two others not connected to the...
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U.S. faces task of running dozens of health exchanges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fourteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia so far have told the federal government they plan to operate healthcare exchanges under President Barack Obama‘s reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting task of creating online marketplaces for at least two-thirds of the country.On the eve of a federal deadline for states to say whether they will run their own exchanges,...
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Rice drops out of race for top State post

Susan Rice (Stephen Lam/Reuters)Susan Rice, the embattled U.S. ambassador for the U.N., withdrew her name on Thursday from consideration to be Secretary of State."If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly—to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities," Rice wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama, NBC News first...
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Dec
12

The Hobbit: Richard Armitage Talks Preparations For Playing Thorin Oakenshield

British actor Richard Armitage admitted it wasn’t a walk in the park to play a J.R.R. Tolkien character in Peter Jackson’s reimagining of “The Hobbit,” the first installment of which is on its way into theaters.Upon touching down in New Zealand, where the trilogy was shot, the cast had a lot of character preparation to do.PLAY IT NOW: Martin Freeman Discusses The Hobbit’s ‘Good Chemistry’ & Playing...
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“Lincoln,” “Les Miserables,” “Playbook” lead acting nominations

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hollywood‘s actors cast their net wide on Wednesday, nominating performers from big awards contenders “Lincoln” and musical “Les Miserables” for Screen Actors Guild honors while also singling out the likes of Denzel Washington and Javier Bardem.“Lincoln,” “Les Miserables” and comedy “Silver Linings Playbook” led the nominations for the SAG awards with four apiece, including...
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Mind-body education helps irritable bowel syndrome

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Patients who go through a mind-body educational course are better able to manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to a new study.The benefits of the course were modest, about as large as what are typically seen from taking medications, said Dr. Emeran Mayer, the senior author of the study and a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine.The...
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Police: Mall shooting 'could have been much, much worse'

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The gunman who killed two people and himself in a shooting rampage at an Oregon mall was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday.Jacob Tyler Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts.The...
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