Twin explosions strike southern Syrian city

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria‘s state-run news agency says two large explosions have struck the southern city of Daraa, causing multiple casualties and heavy material damage.SANA did not immediately give further information or say what the target of Saturday’s explosions was. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights...

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Are Twitter’s Sports Trolls Out of Control?

The Los Angeles Lakers — a star-stacked superteam with four potential Hall of Famers — have struggled out of the gate this NBA season, and many have placed the blame squarely on new head coach Mike Brown, who was fired on Friday after just five games. Fan frustration, however, reached an ugly crescendo earlier this week, with sports trolls using Twitter...

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Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson join voice cast for “Lego”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman and Alison Brie have joined the voice cast for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow’s “Lego: The Piece of Resistance,” Warner Bros. said on Friday.Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett and Morgan Freeman were previously announced for the upcoming 3D animated feature. The first full-length...

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Boehringer Ingelheim to start late-stage hepatitis C drug trial

BOSTON (Reuters) – Boehringer Ingelheim said on Saturday it plans to initiate a late-stage clinical trial of its experimental hepatitis C treatment following promising results from earlier studies.The company announced final data from a mid-stage trial of its treatment regimen which showed that 69 percent of patients in the study were free of the virus...

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Chelsea’s first Abramovich profit

9 November 2012 Last updated at 09:32 ETChelsea Football Club has said it made a profit of £1.4m ($ 2.2m) for the financial year ending on 30 June, the first time the club has made a profit since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over as owner in 2003. The west London club also recorded a record group turnover...

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Syria opposition bloc elects Christian as leader

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Syria‘s main opposition group in exile has elected a Christian Paris-based former geography teacher as its new president.George Sabra said Friday that his election as head of the Syrian National Council is a sign that the opposition is not plagued by sectarian divisions. Sabra says the SNC‘s main demand...

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Can a Fit Video Game Avatar Make You Healthier?

Time to reconsider the stereotype of doughy, fast food-guzzling online role players in dark basements. Strongly identifying with your avatar in virtual video game worlds like “Second Life” could actually help make you healthier in the real world, research from the University of Missouri shows.Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz surveyed 249 “Second Life” users to...

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Taylor Swift to headline “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country-pop star Taylor Swift will ring in the New Year in the United States as the headline act on TV special “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which will feature a two-hour tribute to late host Dick Clark, organizers said on Friday.Swift, whose new album “Red” racked up more than 1 million copies in first week U.S. sales, will perform...

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California teen steps into rattlesnake nest, survives

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – A teenage California girl searching for a cell phone signal to call her mother in a rural area outside San Diego inadvertently stepped into a nest of rattlesnakes and was bitten six times, but survived.The 16-year-old, Vera Oliphant, spent four days in the intensive care unit of Sharp Grossmont Hospital, and doctors gave her 24 vials...

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China exports accelerate in October, imports weak

BEIJING (AP) — China‘s export growth accelerated in October in a fresh sign the world’s second-largest economy is recovering from a painful slump, but the commerce minister warned that exporters face tough conditions in coming months.Exports rose 11.6 percent from a year earlier, up from the previous month’s 9.9 percent rate, data showed Saturday. Import...

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Myanmar says Obama to visit later this month

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — President Barack Obama will make a groundbreaking visit later this month to Myanmar, an official said Thursday, following through with his policy of rapprochement to encourage democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.The Myanmar official speaking from the capital, Naypyitaw, said Thursday that security for a visit on Nov. 18 or 19...

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Dancing With The Stars Family Rallies On Twitter In Support Of Brooke Burke-Charvet Following Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis

Members of the “Dancing with the Stars” family Tweeted their well-wishes for the show’s co-host, Brooke Burke-Charvet, who revealed on Thursday she has thyroid cancer.Helio Castroneves, who was recently eliminated from the “All-Stars” season, said he is confident she will overcome the disease. PLAY IT NOW: Brooke Burke-Charvet’s...

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Lagerfeld says Ghesquiere with Arnault “not bad idea”

PARIS (Reuters) – Star designer Karl Lagerfeld said the departure of Nicolas Ghesquiere from Balenciaga as artistic director to create his own brand with backing from LVMH‘s Bernard Arnault would “not be a bad idea” as the group owned many old labels.“Perhaps Nicolas wants to have his own label, which is not a bad idea,” Lagerfeld told Reuters in an interview...

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Home blood pressure monitors show mixed results: study

(Reuters) – Home blood pressure monitors may be useful to some older adults who have suffered a stroke, but little help to others, according to a UK study.Past studies have found that home monitoring may aid blood pressure control, with a 2010 review of 37 clinical trials finding that, overall, people who used monitors shaved a few extra points from their...

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The Loneliness of David Cameron

Inside his 10 Downing Street office, David Cameron has surrounded himself with friends of two decades or more—contemporaries from his time at Eton and Oxford and his early days as a political researcher. Once he steps outside his front door, the 46-year-old prime minister’s life is lonelier. In Parliament lawmakers from his Conservative Party are rebelling...

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Merkel says Germany, Britain must work together on EU

LONDON (Reuters) – Germany and Britain must cooperate to work round their differences on the European Union‘s long-term spending plans, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.“Despite differences that we have it is very important for me that the UK and Germany work together,” Merkel said through a translator before a meeting in London with Prime...

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Youth support drives passage of California tax-hike measure

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California‘s 74-year-old governor, Jerry Brown, engineered a surprise victory for his tax-hike ballot proposition by tapping support at the other end of the age spectrum.Proposition 30, a temporary $ 6 billion tax hike, passed with a solid 54 percent approval on Tuesday, driven largely by a higher-than-expected turnout of young...

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Country duo Civil Wars cancel tour, cite discord

LONDON (Reuters) – Grammy Award-winning country-folk duo The Civil Wars have cancelled their British tour dates, citing “irreconcilable differences” via Twitter and Facebook.The pair made the announcement shortly after performing at the Roundhouse in north London late on Tuesday, but they added that they hoped to record together soon. “We...

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Los Angeles mandates condoms for porn actors, industry threatens suit

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles County voters passed a ballot initiative mandating that pornographic film actors wear condoms during sex scenes, prompting a trade group on Wednesday to threaten to sue and take production elsewhere.Measure B, which was sponsored by the group AIDS Healthcare Foundation, won approval on Tuesday by a margin of 55.85 percent...

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Walmart moves “Black Friday” earlier on Thanksgiving night

(Reuters) – Walmart will kick off its holiday sales rush at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, its earliest start ever, and will guarantee that those who line up can buy a trio of gadgets as it places a big bet that shoppers are ready to spend this holiday season.The holiday season is critical for Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world’s largest retailer, and its Walmart...

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Officials: New mass graves found in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Up to 10 new mass graves have been discovered near the site of a July attack on a camp for displaced people, officials said Tuesday, amid allegations that initial casualty totals were downplayed to mask killings carried out by the national army.Rights groups claim summary executions were carried out by the Republican Forces...

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AT&T’s Nokia Windows phone prices to undercut rivals

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – AT&T set a $ 50 starting price for Nokia‘s latest Windows smartphones, on which the struggling Finnish phone maker is pinning its hopes for a turnaround.The No. 2 U.S. mobile provider said on Tuesday that it will sell the Nokia Lumia 820 for $ 49.99 and the flagship Lumia 920 phone for $ 99.99 compared with its $ 199.99...

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The Civil Wars cancel tour using divorce language

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Grammy-winning duo The Civil Wars have canceled their upcoming tour dates, citing irreconcilable differences.The folk-pop duo Joy Williams and John Paul White released a statement Tuesday announcing that because of “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition” they were unable to “continue as a touring entity at...

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Pfizer says FDA approves arthritis drug Xeljanz

NEW YORK (AP) — Pfizer says the Food and Drug Administration approved its rheumatoid arthritis pill Xeljanz (ZEL’jans), seen as potential big seller for the world’s largest pharmaceutical company.Pfizer Inc. says the FDA approved Xeljanz as a treatment for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis in patients who can’t take methotrexate or haven’t been helped...

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Futures off lows as election called for Obama

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures fell late on Tuesday, but were off session lows, as major TV networks called the U.S. presidential election for Democratic incumbent Barack Obama over challenger Mitt Romney.S&P 500 futures fell 6.7 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends...

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Methane warnings ignored before NZ mine disaster

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand coal mining company ignored 21 warnings that methane gas had accumulated to explosive levels before an underground explosion killed 29 workers two years ago, an investigation concluded.The official report released Monday after 11 weeks of hearings on the disaster found broad safety problems in New Zealand workplaces...

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TV networks tell staff: watch what you tweet on Election Day

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Television networks face a new challenge in covering this year’s excruciatingly close presidential election: prevent closely guarded exit poll results from leaking onto Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.The major TV news networks agreed to shield early exit poll data suggesting who is leading in a state until the...

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