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    Sports

    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:41:44 -0400

    San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) and Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) collide during the second half of Game 6 of their NBA Finals basketball series, Tuesday, June 18, 2013 in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)MIAMI (AP) — When LeBron James' greatness almost wasn't good enough, officials began preparing for a San Antonio celebration.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:44:32 -0400

    Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville listens to a reporter's question during a press conference in Boston, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The Blackhawks trail the Boston Bruins 2-1 in the best-of-seven series in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)BOSTON (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't want to talk about the injury that forced him to scratch forward Marian Hossa from the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:44:46 -0400

    Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Lobaton, left, and left fielder Kelly Johnson, center, rush in to assist starting pitcher Alex Cobb as Cobb grabs his head and lies on the pitcher's mound after being hit by a line drive by Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 15, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)Cleveland Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano has a recurring dream. A batter hits a line drive right back up the middle and it's screaming toward his head.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:46:21 -0400

    U.S tennis player, Serena Williams arrives for Burberry Prorsum show, during London Men's spring summer fashion collections 2014, in London, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP)If Rafael Nadal is going to win Wimbledon for a third time, he'll have to do it the hard way.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:45:43 -0400

    United States' Jozy Altidore (17) heads the ball as Honduras' goalie Noel Valladares (18) and teammate Jose Velasquez (5) defend in the second half during a World Cup qualifying soccer match at Rio Tinto Stadium on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, in Sandy, Utah. The United States defeated Honduras 1-0. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)SANDY, Utah (AP) — As goaltender Tim Howard looks out from in front of the U.S. net, he likes what he sees: the scoring of striker Jozy Altidore, the ball control of the midfielders and the steadiness of the defense.




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    Gaming

    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:45:13 -0400
    The video game industry continued its downward spiral in May. According to research firm NPD Group, retail sales of hardware, software and gaming accessories in the U.S. fell 25% to $386.3 million last month, their lowest level thus far in 2013. Hardware and software sales fell 31% year-over-year to $96 million and $175.1 million, respectively, while sales of gaming accessories declined 6% year-over-year to $115.3 million. Including sales of used games, rental and digitally delivered content, micro-transactions, subscriptions, mobile apps and social network games, consumers spent a total of $787 million on video games in May. Nintendo’s 3DS was the top-selling platform across hardware and portables, edging out the Xbox 360. The 3DS console had its best year-over-year performance with software sales
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:17:43 -0400

    What Is This 'Candy Crush' Game and Is It About to Go the Way of Zynga?"Maker of 'Candy Crush Saga' Plans IPO," reports the Wall Street Journal today, which very possibly makes zero sense to you. What's Candy Crush? you might ask. How does something with a silly name like that get big enough for a public offering? And did you say Zynga? Because that doesn't sound good. The Atlantic Wire is here to answer all those questions and more. 


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:33 -0400
    In addition to criticisms about the Xbox One’s connectivity policies, its used game policies, its supposedly invasive Kinect sensor and its policies toward independent game developers, Microsoft has also had to deal with criticisms that the Xbox One is overpriced at $500, which just happens to be $100 more than what Sony is charging for the PlayStation 4. Gamespot U.K. has spotted an interview that Xbox boss Don Mattrick had with Bloomberg TV last week where he defended the $500 price point and said that it was cheaper than many analysts had been expecting. “We’re over-delivering value against other choices I think consumers can get,” Mattrick said. “Any modern product these days you look at it [and] $499 isn’t a ridiculous
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:39:42 -0400
    NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. retail sales of video games, hardware and accessories declined 25 percent in May as demand for aging game consoles continued to fade and fewer new games launched compared with last year, according to market researcher NPD Group.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:32:24 -0400

    A golfer plays a shot on the Golfklubberinn Oddur golf course in RekyavikBy Paul Ingrassia REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - The names of the world's greatest golf venues roll off the tongue like a putt rolling toward the cup. Pebble Beach. St. Andrews. Valderrama. Then there are Vestmannaeyja and Porlakshafnar. Those names don't trip off the tongues of anyone except the hardy residents of Iceland. Surprisingly, this island in the frigid North Atlantic is one of the most golf-obsessed places on earth. With 65 courses for a population of 322,000, Iceland has more courses per person - one for every 5,000 people -- than any other country. ...





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    Tech
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:06:48 -0400

    Workers build a booth for Dish, a satellite TV provider, as they prepare for the International CES show at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las VegasBy Sophie Knight and Sinead Carew TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp cleared a major hurdle in its attempt to buy U.S. wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp, as rival bidder Dish Network Corp declined to make a new offer after SoftBank sweetened its own bid last week. SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son is now a step closer to sealing the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company in history, after winning support from a key shareholder by raising SoftBank's offer to $21.6 billion from $20.1 billion last week. ...


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:21:35 -0400

    Acer laptops are displayed in a computer mall in TaipeiTAIPEI (Reuters) - Acer Inc, the world's No.4 PC vendor, said on Wednesday that it expects notebook and tablet PC shipment to be flat in the second quarter from the first quarter, versus an prediction of 0-5 percent growth made in April. Acer Chairman J.T. Wang made the comment to reporters at the firm's annual shareholder meeting. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:28:29 -0400

    Alcatel-Lucent new Chief Executive Officer Combes poses for the media before a news conference in ParisBy Leila Abboud PARIS (Reuters) - Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent plans to focus on networking products and high-speed broadband and will slim down with a billion euros in cost cuts by 2015 in a bid to reverse years of losses. The plan unveiled on Wednesday by Michel Combes, the company's new chief executive, will also include more than a billion euros of unspecified asset sales and 2 billion euros in debt re-financing by 2015, followed by a further 2 billion in debt reduction that could include issuing new shares. ...


    Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:01:40 -0400
    At its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference, Apple announces new operating systems and faster computers.
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:40:34 -0400
    By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Imagination Technologies, the British chip designer whose graphics technology is in smartphones from Apple and Samsung, reported lower full-year profits as licensing slows. The British company, which licenses its designs to chipmakers and receives a royalty on every unit shipped, has lost business it had expected from customers such as Texas Instruments and ST Ericsson as the smartphone market consolidates around a few big players. ...


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    Animals & Pets
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:33:49 -0400

    In this Tuesday, June 18, 2013 photo, Zita, a liger - half-lioness, half-tiger - carries her one month-old liliger cub in the Novosibirsk Zoo. The cub's father is a lion, Sam. (AP Photo /Ilnar Salakhiev)The zoo in Novosibirsk, Russia's third-largest city, is home to a unique animal — the liliger. That's a big cat breed where the father is a lion and the mother is a lion-tiger hybrid, called a liger.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:36:22 -0400

    LSU right fielder Mark Laird climbs the wall to see a two-run home run hit by North Carolina's Brian Holberton land in the stands in the first inning of an NCAA College World Series elimination baseball game in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, June 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Ted Kirk)OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Home runs are few and far between at the College World Series these days, which made Brian Holberton's first-inning shot all the more important for North Carolina.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:10:00 -0400
    LOS ANGELES, June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This is the second in a series of reports by Business Matchmaking about companies "doing well, while doing good."The late Johnny Carson once said, "With all the pressures around us, maybe we should be on the list of endangered species."Man is not among the 289 threatened and endangered animal and plant species in California alone. But, one construction company is dealing efficiently with their protection since killing, injuring, capturing or even harassing one can be extremely costly. ...
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:24:00 -0400
    WASHINGTON, June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report released today analyzes literature on the economics of trophy hunting and reveals that African countries and rural communities derive very little benefit from trophy hunting revenue. The study, authored by Economists at Large—commissioned by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International and Born Free USA/Born Free Foundation—comes amid consideration to grant the African lion protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). ...
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:08:00 -0400
    DETROIT, June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Detroit Tigers and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute are teaming up for the second annual Pink Out the Park at the Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals game Friday, Sept. 13, at 7:08 p.m., at Comerica Park. This year's Pink Out the Park event is sponsored by Delta Air Lines. The event raises awareness of breast cancer, as well as helps raise funds for breast cancer research at the Karmanos Cancer Institute.(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130618/DC33632)(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire. ...


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    Strange & Odd
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:14:39 -0400
    Coffee snobs can now take it to a whole new level. The world’s most expensive cup of coffee is made from beans that are extracted from the excrement of a small animal. The Kopi Kuwak is famously produced by the Paradoxurus, a relative of three different breeds of civet, a slinky mammal that looks like [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:45:32 -0400
    PRESTON, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota mother and her 18-year-old son are accused of stealing nearly $5,000 in frozen gopher feet and selling them for a bounty.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:49:06 -0400
    By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A trained gymnast whose naked acrobatics and harassment of passengers at a San Francisco public transit station were captured on video and circulated widely on the Internet is facing criminal charges over his antics, authorities said on Tuesday. Yeiner Alberto Perez Garizabalo, 24, was caught on video doing handstands and contortions on turnstiles and front flips off a concrete newsstand - all in the nude - at a Bay Area Rapid Transit District station on May 10. ...
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:15:52 -0400
    A series of stunning heat maps—created by a man who's probably a little better with Excel than you are—shows the places in America most prone to natural disasters. John Nelson, a mapping manager for IDV Solutions, created U.S. maps of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires using publicly available data and Excel—a process he describes as [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:21:47 -0400

    hitchhiking catHELENA, Mont. (AP) — A well-traveled cat named "Mata Hairi" will soon be reunited with her owner after spending nearly 10 months traveling thousands of miles with a hitchhiker who rescued her from the rain.




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    Opinion

    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:23:00 -0400
    Michael Hastings, the award-winning journalist whose explosive 2010 Rolling Stone profile of U.S. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal ("The Runaway General") led to McChrystal's resignation, died Tuesday in an early morning car accident in Los Angeles, the magazine said. He was 33. "Hard-charging, unabashedly opinionated, Hastings was original and at times abrasive," Rolling Stone, where he [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:14:39 -0400
    Coffee snobs can now take it to a whole new level. The world’s most expensive cup of coffee is made from beans that are extracted from the excrement of a small animal. The Kopi Kuwak is famously produced by the Paradoxurus, a relative of three different breeds of civet, a slinky mammal that looks like [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:01:10 -0400
    More than 150 doctors and other medical professionals are asking President Barack Obama to allow them to treat hunger strikers in the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "It is clear that they do not trust their military doctors," the physicians wrote in an open letter published in The Lancet medical journal on Tuesday. "Without [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:38:04 -0400
    Larry Swilling has been on a months-long quest: He's  searching for a kidney for his wife. The 78-year-old, who has been looking for a compatible kidney donor for 76-year-old Jimmie Sue since last September, has caught the attention of the Web. But almost a year later, and despite lots of good will and plenty of [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:12:55 -0400
    For Spanish businessman Paco Santos, the safest place to keep money is still under a mattress—or rather, inside it. Santos, according to NPR, who was laid off from Spain’s largest mattress manufacturer three years ago, is the inventor of the Caja de ahorros Micolchon, or “My Mattress Safe." It's a plush, padded mattress with a [...]


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    Science
    Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:19:29 -0400
    (Reuters) - An airplane entirely powered by the sun landed in Washington on Sunday after a flight from St. Louis, the next-to-last leg of a journey across the United States intended to boost support for clean energy technologies. The Solar Impulse landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington at 12:15 a.m. EDT, organizers said in a statement. It will remain in the U.S. capital until it takes off for New York in early July for the last leg of its historic trip. ...
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:37:32 -0400
    By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has chosen a science park on the southern outskirts of Cambridge, England, next to the world-renowned Addenbrooke's Hospital, for its new $500 million global headquarters and research center. Property industry sources told Reuters last month that the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) was the most likely site for the new facility, which will house some 2,000 employees - a decision confirmed by the drugmaker on Tuesday. Transplanting the heart of the company to the university city is the centerpiece of a $2. ...
    Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:16:40 -0400

    The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen as it launches from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in VirginiaBy Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have opened a probe into whether a Lockheed-Boeing joint venture that launches U.S. government satellites into space has flouted antitrust laws. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, violated federal antitrust laws by "monopolizing" or restraining competition through an exclusivity agreement with the maker of the engines used in its rockets, according to a FTC document obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. ...


    Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:18:53 -0400

    The British government's former chief drugs adviser, Nutt, speaks during a news conference in LondonBy Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The outlawing of drugs such as cannabis, magic mushrooms and other psychoactive substances amounts to scientific censorship and is hampering research into potentially important medicinal uses, leading scientists argued on Wednesday. Laws and international conventions dating back to the 1960s have set back research in key areas such as consciousness by decades, they argued in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience. ...


    Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:00:09 -0400
    (Reuters) - The government has decided to solicit construction in Japan of the International Linear Collider (ILC), a next-generation particle accelerator that will allow physicists to explore rudimentary questions about the universe, the Nikkei said. The ILC will complement the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson - a particle understood to impart mass, the business daily said. The project is seen to measure up to the International Space Station and the ITER nuclear fusion project. ...


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    Space & Astronomy
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:43:27 -0400

    Targets Scarce for NASA's Asteroid-Capture MissionNASA's audacious plan to grab an asteroid and park it near the moon is short on candidate space rocks at the moment, one researcher says.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:42:26 -0400

    Mystery on Venus: 'Super-Hurricane' Force Winds Inexplicably Get StrongerThe howling, hurricane-force winds of Venus are blowing even faster lately, and scientists aren't sure why.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:42:21 -0400

    Women In Space: NASA's History-Making New Astronaut ClassNASA's newest female astronaut candidates have the right stuff.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:15:34 -0400

    Tourists take pictures of a NASA sign at the Kennedy Space Center visitors complex in Cape Canaveral, FloridaBy Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA called on backyard astronomers and other citizen-scientists on Tuesday to help track asteroids that could create havoc on Earth. The U.S. space agency has already identified 95 percent of the potentially planet-killing NEOs - near Earth objects - with a diameter of .62 miles or more, a size comparable to the space rock many scientists believe wiped out the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. ...


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:14:10 -0400

    See Saturn in Stunning HD in Live Webcast TonightSaturn is widely regarded as the most beautiful object in the solar system, and tonight you can get a detailed look at the iconic ringed planet through a powerful telescope during a live webcast.




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    Today's Top Stories




    U.S Economy
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:26:19 -0400

    People attend a market open ceremony for Toronto Stock Exchange at the TSX Broadcast Centre in TorontoBy John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's resources-heavy stock market, which has struggled to gain traction in 2013, is expected to kick into gear in the second half of the year as the global economy rebounds, a Reuters poll found. The median forecast in a poll of 40 market strategists, taken in the past week, shows the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index is expected to end the year at 12,850, up 5 percent from Monday's close of 12,288.90. It will then rise to 13,500 by mid-2014 - a level not seen since mid-2011. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:25:13 -0400
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Namibia's central bank kept its main lending rate unchanged at 5.5 percent for the fifth straight meeting on Wednesday, saying inflation was stable but the economy needed support from the impact of the euro zone recession. "Global economic conditions remain weak with the pace of contraction in the euro area increasing and commodity prices declining, which is a concern," Bank of Namibia Governor Ipumbu Shiimi said. Namibia is one of the world's biggest producers of diamonds and a major source of uranium. ...
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:23:47 -0400

    Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez watches as Sergio Massa swears in as new Cabinet chief at the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos AiresBy Guido Nejamkis BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The savvy young mayor of Tigre, Argentina, has fostered a real estate boom, tightened security and brought celebrities to town, boosting his image to the point where pollsters say he poses a challenge to the ruling government. Sergio Massa, 41, served as President Cristina Fernandez's cabinet chief for less than a year between 2008 and 2009. He resigned after she stepped up state intervention in the economy, but he stuck with the ruling party during the 2011 elections. This year, however, is different. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:41:00 -0400
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Botswana's central bank cut its lending rate by 50 basis points to 8.5 percent on Tuesday, reducing rates for the second time this year as it tries to stimulate slowing economic growth. "The current state of the economy, which is characterised by output growing below potential and high unemployment, provides an opportunity for non-inflationary stimulus to the economy," the Bank of Botswana said in a statement on Tuesday.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:25:04 -0400
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House-backed immigration bill moving through the U.S. Senate would cut federal budget deficits over the long term and provide an overall boost to the economy, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday. The CBO, the nonpartisan budget scorekeeper for Congress, estimated the legislation would reduce deficits by $197 billion from 2014 to 2023 and by $700 billion from 2024 to 2033. The estimate contrasts starkly with a forecast issued last month by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank that said the immigration bill would cost taxpayers $6. ...


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    Politics
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:01:10 -0400
    More than 150 doctors and other medical professionals are asking President Barack Obama to allow them to treat hunger strikers in the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "It is clear that they do not trust their military doctors," the physicians wrote in an open letter published in The Lancet medical journal on Tuesday. "Without [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:20:36 -0400
    If you have reached three-score and ten, as I have just done, you’re permitted, perhaps expected, to mourn the passing of a better time, when tomatoes were tastier, the air sweeter. As Burt Lancaster in “Atlantic City” says to a young man struck by his first sight of the ocean, “You should have seen it in the old days.”
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:04:30 -0400
    President Barack Obama warmly welcomed the announcement on Tuesday of fresh reconciliation talks between Afghanistan's government and the Taliban, as well as plans to launch a new round of direct negotiations between the insurgent force and the United States. U.S. officials said one of the likely items on the U.S.-Taliban agenda would be the return [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:54:06 -0400
    In the midst of negotiations in Congress over an immigration overhaul, House Republicans are planning a series of meetings with Hispanic-Americans in the nation's capital as part of a partywide effort to woo minority voters. The House Republican Conference, chaired by Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, is planning four meetup sessions between Hispanic-Americans and Republican [...]
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:22:55 -0400
    Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a top contender for New Jersey's vacant Senate seat, joined a panel of urban policy experts on Monday night to discuss national politics and local problem-solving. George Stephanopoulos, the ABC news analyst and former adviser to President Bill Clinton, moderated the discussion at New York's 92nd Street Y. It was one [...]

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    World
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:07:10 -0400

    U.S. President Obama and German Chancellor Merkel shake hands at the end of a joint news conference in BerlinBy Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday Afghans must talk to each other to resolve the conflict in their country even though huge mistrust exists between the government and its Taliban foes. Obama was speaking in Berlin a day after the United States said it would begin talks with the Taliban on Thursday to try to seek a negotiated peace to 12 years of war - a move that has deeply upset President Hamid Karzai's U.S.-backed government. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:08:33 -0400
    MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up as he embraced a Sunni Muslim political leader in northern Iraq on Wednesday, killing the man and four of his family a day before elections in the area. Al Qaeda's local wing has increased its attacks this year, often targeting moderate Sunni Muslim leaders in a bid to ignite sectarian upheaval and undermine Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government. Pretending to be a guest at a family gathering, the attacker hugged Younis al-Rammah before detonating an explosive vest. ...
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:23:17 -0400

    Afghan President Karzai speaks during joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Rasmussen following security handover ceremony at a military academy outside KabulBy Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday his government would not join U.S. peace talks with the Taliban until they were led by Afghans and would suspend negotiations with the United States on a troop pact. U.S. officials have said talks with the Taliban would begin in Doha, capital of Qatar, on Thursday, raising hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents. Fighting, however, continues in the war-ravaged nation. Four U.S. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:45:12 -0400

    Somali government soldier runs to take cover during crossfire after gunmen attacked a UN compound in the Somali capital MogadishuBy Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants carried out their first major assault for years on a U.N. compound in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats. A car bomb exploded outside the gate of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base and attackers then ran inside and opened fire on security guards, U.N. sources said. The al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:39:01 -0400
    BEIRUT (Reuters) - A loud explosion was heard near a military site in the Syrian port city of Latakia on Wednesday, opposition groups and state media said, but the cause of the blast was unclear. Explosions in Latakia, part of President Bashar al-Assad's stronghold on the Mediterranean coast, have been rare during Syria's two-year-old conflict. State television said the blast was caused by a technical fault at a weapons store at a military engineering base, and said six people were hurt wounded. ...

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    U.S Government
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:14:51 -0400

    US President Barack Obama answers a question during the joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Obama will renew his call to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, a senior administration official said. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)BERLIN (AP) — Trying to tamp down concerns about government over-reach, President Barack Obama on Wednesday defended U.S. Internet and phone surveillance programs as narrowly targeted efforts that have saved lives and thwarted at least 50 terror threats.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:05:39 -0400

    FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2012 file photo, female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range while testing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Ky., in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan. Women may be able to begin training as Army Rangers by mid-2015, and as Navy SEALs a year later under broad plans Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is approving that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in the country’s elite special operations forces, according to details of the plans submitted to Hagel that were obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — Declaring "the days of Rambo are over," a top general said Tuesday that cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than tough physical fitness requirements for women looking to join the military's special operations units.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:38:54 -0400

    FILE - In this June 6, 2013, file photo, a woman talks on the phone outside the U.S. Courthouse in Washington, where the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court resides. The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of its low-profile existence, stymied by Congressional in-fighting and its work at times censored by government lawyers. The privacy board planned to meet privately Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in its first meeting since revelations that the NSA has been secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans: It was closed to the public. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence, stymied by congressional infighting and, at times, censorship by government lawyers.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:12:53 -0400

    President Barack Obama listens to French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The final day of the G-8 summit of wealthy nations is ending with discussions on globe-trotting corporate tax dodgers, a lunch with leaders from Africa, and suspense over whether Russia and Western leaders can avoid diplomatic fireworks over their deadlock on Syria’s civil war. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)BERLIN (AP) — President Barack Obama will renew his call Wednesday to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, the White House said.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:03:28 -0400
    WASHINGTON (AP) — The 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass will once again stand tall in the U.S. Capitol.


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    Health
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:54:11 -0400
    CHICAGO (AP) — A nonprofit group helping to spread the word about President Barack Obama's health care overhaul launched a campaign Tuesday that will target states with high numbers of uninsured Americans and tackle their skepticism with straightforward messages.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:57:29 -0400

    FILE - In this March 14, 2009 file photo, a woman gets ready to check her blood sugar in Sacramento, Calif. Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar _ but it also may cause some patient confusion. On July 1, Medicare opens a national mail-order program for diabetes testing supplies that will drop substantially the prices the government pays for those products _ and will restrict who's allowed to sell them. The goal is to save taxpayer dollars, and seniors in the program should see their copays drop, too, from more than $15 an order to less than $5. For a chronic disease, that can add up fast. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar — but it also may cause some confusion as patients figure out the new system.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:50:16 -0400

    In this Tuesday, April 2, 2013 photo, an Indian child in a pink shirt undergoes treatment for encephalitis at a hospital in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh state, India. Encephalitis is sweeping through northern India, killing at least 118 children in what officials worry could become the deadliest outbreak in nearly a decade. (AP Photo/Biswajeet Banerjee)GORAKHPUR, India (AP) — A mosquito-borne disease that preys on the young and malnourished is sweeping across poverty-riven northern India again this monsoon season in what officials worry could be the deadliest outbreak in nearly a decade.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:26:23 -0400
    By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European antitrust regulators fined nine drugmakers, including Denmark's Lundbeck, a total of 146 million euros ($195 million) for blocking the supply of a cheaper anti-depressant to the market, the first EU sanction against such deals. The punishments follow a 2009 report by the European Commission on the pharmaceutical sector, which said "pay-for-delay" agreements between companies lead to consumers paying as much as 20 percent more for their medicines. The EU action came two days after the U.S. Supreme Court said U.S. ...
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:06:30 -0400
    TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — If doctors and patients used prescription drugs more wisely, they could save the U.S. health care system at least $213 billion a year, by reducing medication overuse, underuse and other flaws in care that cause complications and longer, more-expensive treatments, researchers conclude.


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    Taxes
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:20:31 -0400

    In this June 11, 2013, photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grassley says the Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts. He says his office has learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees’ union on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, to pay the bonuses. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:06:11 -0400
    WASHINGTON (AP) — An influential Republican senator says the Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:57:59 -0400

    A woman walks out of the Internal Revenue Service building in New YorkBy Kevin Drawbaugh and Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A manager from a U.S. Internal Revenue Service office in Cincinnati where staffers have been accused of unfairly subjecting conservative groups to extra scrutiny has said his agents were not influenced by any political agenda. John Shafer, who described himself as "a conservative Republican," told congressional investigators he flagged the first application for tax-exempt status from a Tea Party-aligned group that he and a lower-level agent came across in February 2010 because it was a new, high-profile issue. ...


    Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:35:06 -0400
    By Kim Dixon and Kevin Drawbaugh (Reuters) - Internal Revenue Service employees in Ohio, who singled out conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny, likely did not consider the political implications, an IRS official in Washington has told congressional investigators. Providing additional details about the worst crisis to hit the IRS in years, tax agency official Holly Paz told investigators she was concerned when she learned that IRS employees were singling out groups with "Tea Party" and other key words in their names. ...
    Sat, 15 Jun 2013 08:03:54 -0400

    Acting US IRS director Miller testifies before Senate Finance Committee in WashingtonBy Patrick Temple-West and Karl Plume WASHINGTON/CINCINNATI (Reuters) - A current and a former top tax official have been physically threatened in recent weeks as the scandal over Internal Revenue Service targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups has gathered steam, people familiar with their situation say. Ousted IRS acting commissioner, Steven Miller, has received such threats, according to a source familiar with his situation. The source declined to elaborate on the nature or the source of the threats. ...




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    Stock Markets
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:17:31 -0400

    Pedestrian holding an umbrella walk past a stock quotation board displaying a graph of Japan's Nikkei share average and other market indices outside a brokerage in TokyoBy Ian Chua SYDNEY (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday, thanks to a positive lead from Wall Street and a softer yen, outperforming the rest of Asia which anxiously waited for clarity on the U.S. Federal Reserve's next policy step. Major currencies, commodities and U.S. Treasuries were subdued and European stocks were expected to open steady ahead of the conclusion of the Fed's June 18-19 meeting. A policy statement is due at 1800 GMT and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will brief media half an hour later. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:49:04 -0400
    0525 GMT - Middle East investors are likely to be cautious on Wednesday, with little local news to distract them from the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day. That means international markets could shape regional trading and Japanese stocks are up due to a positive overnight lead from Wall Street and steady oil prices. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has the opportunity to soothe market jitters about a possible scaling back of the bank's $85 billion monthly bond-purchase programme. ...
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:05:37 -0400

    A Tea Party member reaches for a pamphlet at a "Food for Free Minds Tea Party Rally" in LittletonBy Susan Kelly CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. hospital operators have been on a tear this year, on average posting triple the gains of the broader stock market, as investors tallied up the benefits of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform. While some on Wall Street have held back amid signs of trouble as U.S. states prepare to implement the reform law, long-term investors still see more reward than risk on the horizon for hospital stocks. They expect company earnings to strengthen as more Americans gain insurance coverage and hospitals lose less money treating the uninsured. ...


    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:23:08 -0400

    From left, Deputy Attorney General James Cole; National Security Agency (NSA) Deputy Director Chris Inglis; NSA Director Gen. Keith B. Alexander; Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce; and Robert Litt, general counsel to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing regarding NSA surveillance. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence led by lawmakers sympathetic to the spying.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:11:46 -0400

    (Blank Headline Received)TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a one-week high on Wednesday, helped by a second-straight day of gains on Wall Street as investors bet that the Federal Reserve would temper worries about an imminent roll back of its stimulus programme. The Nikkei rose 2.0 percent to 13,265.53, while the Topix gained 2.1 percent to 1,108.60. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)




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    Fashion
    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:45:59 -0400

    Prince Harry, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony in central LondonBy Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - From Union Jack booties to "Born to Rule" sleepwear, the British royal family has joined retailers in offering baby products to mark the arrival of the royal heir. Analysts estimate the baby fever could boost the economy by 240 million pounds. A baby sleepsuit modelled on a guardsman's outfit is one of the gifts on sale at palace shops by the Royal Collection Trust, which uses all profits for the upkeep of the royal palaces. ...


    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:42:42 -0400

    Britain's Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony in central LondonBy Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - From Union Jack booties to "Born to Rule" sleepwear, the British royal family has joined retailers in offering baby products to mark the arrival of the royal heir. Analysts estimate the baby fever could boost the economy by 240 million pounds ($380 million). A baby sleepsuit modeled on a guardsman's outfit is one of the gifts on sale at palace shops by the Royal Collection Trust, which uses all profits for the upkeep of the royal palaces. ...


    Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:11:31 -0400

    A technical expert inspects a cellar at the Hennessy factory in CognacBy Astrid Wendlandt PARIS (Reuters) - LVMH will throw open the doors of its Louis Vuitton workshops and Hennessy cognac cellars at the weekend in the latest salvo of an advertising war among luxury groups to show off the craftsmanship behind their brands. Starting on Saturday, the world's top luxury group by sales and market value will also offer behind-the-scenes tours of Christian Dior's salons, Guerlain's perfume plant outside Paris and Fendi leather shoe and handbag workshops in Italy. ...


    Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:41:27 -0400

    To match Feature RETAIL-LUXURY/By Neil Maidment LONDON (Reuters) - British luxury fashion group Mulberry defended its plans to move further upmarket, saying it was crucial to expansion plans in Asia, where local shoppers and outbound tourists are still spending heavily on top-end lines. Mulberry, known for its Bayswater and Alexa handbags, makes over 80 percent of its sales in Britain and continental Europe, and has been hit hard recently by weak consumer spending there, as well as cooling demand from Chinese shoppers and tourists. ...


    Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:54:14 -0400

    File of pedestrians wait to walk across a street near Times Square in New YorkBy Victoria Cavaliere WILDWOOD, New Jersey (Reuters) - The bottom line on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey: Pull up your pants. The Jersey Shore city voted on Wednesday to ban saggy pants on its two-mile stretch of boardwalk. Offenders whose pants hang lower than three inches from the waist could be fined up to $200, and the statute also requires shirts to be worn on the boardwalk between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. ...




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    Entertainment
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:22:40 -0400

    In this image provided by NBC Blake Shelton, Danielle Bradbery and Cher, right, pose after Bradbery won season-four of "The Voice" Tuesday June 18, 2013. Bradbery never had a big singing gig or a vocal lesson. It's also the third win for her coach Blake Shelton. (AP Photo/NBC, Trae Patton)UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — Cher is no stranger to tabloid fodder.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:19:04 -0400

    It's Official: Anger Management's Selma Blair Abruptly Exits in Midst of Show's 90-Episode RunLOS ANGELES (AP) — Selma Blair is making a sudden exit from the Charlie Sheen sitcom "Anger Management."


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:00:42 -0400

    FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2013 file photo, recording artist Lil Wayne poses at a photo op for his contemporary street wear apparel brand TRUKFIT at his hometown Macy's, in New Orleans. Lil Wayne says he wasn't intentionally stepping on the American flag when shooting his latest video. Video of the rapper hit the web Monday from his music video shoot for his song “God Bless Amerika.” In it, he appears to be stepping on top of the American flag, but he says in a Facebook post Tuesday that the flag on the ground will not appear in the clip. Wayne writes: "It was never my intention to desecrate the flag of the United States of America.” (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK (AP) — Lil Wayne says he wasn't intentionally stepping on the American flag when shooting his latest video.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:57:31 -0400

    FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2012 file photo, Justin Bieber performs at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Los Angeles police say Justin Bieber struck a pedestrian with his car in Hollywood, but there was no crime and the injuries aren’t life-threatening. Lt. Craig Valenzuela says Bieber’s car collided with someone at 11:45 p.m., Monday, June 17, 2013, in the 8800 block of Sunset Boulevard. Valenzuela says nobody was cited or arrested and officers determined no crime was committed. He says investigators are trying to determine whether the pedestrian was in the roadway. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES (AP) — Video shows Justin Bieber running into a photographer with his white Ferrari in Hollywood, but police say there was no crime and the injuries aren't life-threatening.


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:20:32 -0400
    LOS ANGELES (AP) — 'Terminator 2' star Edward Furlong has been charged with assault after a May 21 incident in which his girlfriend called police and reported he attacked her.


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    Music
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:58:07 -0400

    Recording artist Kanye West attends the NBA basketball game between Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers in Los AngelesBy Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Kanye West pushes the boundaries of hip hop with his latest album "Yeezus," using aggressive electro-dance music beats to channel his anger and win over critics, who have called the record "daring" and "ambitious." "Yeezus," the 36-year-old rapper's seventh solo studio album, has also sped to the top of the iTunes digital music chart upon its release on Tuesday, led by the single "Black Skinhead. ...


    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:17:41 -0400

    Singer Justin Bieber arrives late for the premiere of the film "After Earth" in New YorkLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen pop star Justin Bieber struck a photographer with his Ferrari sports car while driving away from a comedy club in Los Angeles on Monday night, but the accident was not considered a hit-and-run, police said. Video taken outside the Laugh Factory comedy club showed Bieber behind the wheel of his white Ferrari, surrounded by photographers as he was pulling away. Celebrity website TMZ said Bieber motioned the photographers to clear out of the way but apparently pinned one between his Ferrari and a parked car as he pulled out. He then drove away. ...


    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:13:10 -0400

    Bass player Ted Dwane performs with his band Mumford and Sons on the main stage during the 2nd day of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio(Reuters) - British folk band Mumford & Sons' bassist Ted Dwane posted a message on Monday saying he was recovering after brain surgery to remove a blood clot. Dwane posted a picture of himself with a shaved head on the band's official website with the caption, "Bear with a sore head! Thanks so much for all the well wishing, it seems to be working! I'm home." The Grammy-winning London band was forced to cancel the final three U.S. dates of its "Summer Stampede" tour last week after doctors discovered a clot on the surface of Dwane's brain, which required immediate surgery. ...


    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:00:52 -0400

    Rapper Jay-Z attends 'The Great Gatsby' world premiere in New YorkBy Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Jay Z's upcoming studio album will go to a million users of Samsung smartphones three days before its official release in a promotional deal, but the distribution is unlikely to count toward official sales figures, an industry expert said on Monday. Jay Z, 43, announced on Sunday in a three-minute television commercial during the telecast of basketball's NBA Finals that his latest album "Magna Carter Holy Grail" will be released on July 4 exclusively to 1 million users of Samsung smartphones who had downloaded a special app. ...


    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:50:33 -0400

    Original members of the rock band Black Sabbath announce the reunion of the rock group at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los AngelesBy Ellen Sowerby LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran British rock bands Motorhead and Black Sabbath were crowned the kings of heavy metal on Monday, winning the top accolades at the UK's top metal music awards, the Metal Hammer Golden Gods. Motorhead, best known for its 1980 hit "Ace of Spades", received the Golden Gods awards at the 11th annual ceremony for making a significant contribution to the rock and heavy metal industry over nearly four decades. Black Sabbath won the award for best album for "13" which soared to No. ...




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    Arts
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:50:43 -0400
    Lauren Kaelin's art draws inspiration from memes.        
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:42:09 -0400
    Lauren Kaelin's art draws inspiration from memes.        
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:40:12 -0400
    Lauren Kaelin's art draws inspiration from memes.        
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:15:01 -0400
    Lauren Kaelin's art draws inspiration from memes.        
    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:41:09 -0400
    The Perot Museum has opened an environmentally friendly summer exhibit designed to let visitors -- not museum employees -- create the exhibit.


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    Reviews
    Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:31:34 -0400
    By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - What would have happened if Anne Boleyn, the wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I, had given her husband the son he so desperately wanted instead of miscarrying and eventually losing her head as a traitor? This is the premise behind "The Boleyn King" by Laura Anderson, the first book of a trilogy set to take a look at the reign of Henry IX, known as William, in a Tudor court where Henry VIII had only two wives rather than six. William, an impetuous 17 year-old with one year left under a regency, is aching to prove himself as both king and man. ...
    Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:33:33 -0400
    By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - A British writer whose debut novel about mothers at the school gate sparked a seven-way bidding war between publishers has attributed the overnight success of her book to striking a chord with women used to negotiating the politics of female groups. The hype around "The Hive" led to Gill Hornby being described as publisher Little Brown's "most important new author of 2013" and NBC Universals' arthouse Focus Features snapped up the film rights even before the book's release on May 23. ...
    Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:04:57 -0400
    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dan Brown's "Inferno" kept a tight hold on the top spot of the U.S. best-sellers list on Thursday for the fourth straight week. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Inferno" by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $29.95) 1 2. "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $28.95) 2 3. "Zero Hour" by Clive Cussler/Graham Brown(Putnam, $28.95) 3 4. "Revenge Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger (Simon & Schuster, $25.99) - 5. ...
    Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:10:09 -0400
    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fans of Greg Iles' Penn Cage books can look forward to several more of the thrillers with the announcement of a new trilogy, the first of which is slated for release in May 2014, the publisher said on Tuesday. "Natchez Burning" will kick off the trilogy in which Cage's father, Dr. Tom Cage, stands accused of killing his former nurse, a death that opens the door to several unsolved murders from the 1960s, William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, said. ...
    Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:11:18 -0400
    By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - When Harper meets Kirby, he is a grown man and she is a child. He gives her a toy pony, tells her he'll be back, then vanishes - into Chicago in the 1930s and a mysterious house that opens onto other times. Later, he tries to kill her. "The Shining Girls", by South African Lauren Beukes, traces Harper's compulsion to murder the women he knows as "The Shining Girls" and Kirby's stubborn fight to unravel the mystery behind him and bring him down. ...


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    Bay Area
    California News

    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:19:48 -0700
    BART officials announce it will assess its police reforms since the Oscar Grant shooting.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:39:06 -0700
    The City of Calistoga recently took down a gay pride flag after it received complaints from residents.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:50:07 -0700
    NBC Bay Area uncovers a multimillion dollar underground market based on medical records.
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:17:13 -0700


    Richmond Vice Mayor Corky Booze is in the middle of a fight against what zoning officials call blight.Photo Credit: Cheryl Hurd
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:36:36 -0700
    California Public Utilities Commission president Michael Peevey received an honor from a union that represents PG&E a few months before he is expected to vote on a penalty against the utility for its role in the deadly San Bruno pipeline explosion.


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    Authors
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:08:00 -0400

    Mary Louise Kelly used to cover national security for NPR, but lately she's turned her attention to fiction. Her new novel, Anonymous Sources, draws on Kelly's own reporting experiences, including things she couldn't say when she was a journalist.

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    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:45:00 -0400

    Journalist Judith Schwartz believes that the key to addressing carbon issues and climate change lies beneath our feet. In her book Cows Save The Planet, she argues that proper management of soil could solve a long list of environmental problems.

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    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:42:00 -0400

    In his new book, journalist Charles Glass explores the little-known history of thousands of American and British soldiers who deserted during World War II. Glass describes how the strain of war can push a soldier to the breaking point — and how the line between courage and cowardice is never simple.

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    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:57:00 -0400

    The capital of Northern Ireland is no longer the city of snipers that it was before the Good Friday Agreement, but novelist Stuart Neville still draws inspiration from the decades of violence. In The Ghosts of Belfast, he examines the shattered life of an IRA killer in the aftermath of The Troubles.

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    Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:27:00 -0400

    Considered by many to be the most deadly sniper in American military history, Chris Kyle was killed on a Texas gun range in February. He was an outspoken advocate for both veterans and gun rights, and his book, American Gun, has just been published.

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    Religion
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:18:00 -0400

    The account has gained more than 100,000 followers worldwide in less than six months. Followers, who represent a wide variety of professions and religions, are convinced the language of the ancient Romans is perfectly suited to 21st century social media.

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    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:00:00 -0400

    As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on two cases involving same-sex marriage, a new documentary takes a look at what same-sex marriage means for African-Americans. Host Michel Martin speaks with Yoruba Richen, the director of The New Black to find out what inspired the film.

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    Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:56:00 -0400

    There is no more graphic example of the daunting challenges facing Pakistan's new prime minister than the bloody events playing out in the west of his nation. The fractured country is as threatened as ever by forces committed to its destruction.

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    Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:00:00 -0400

    Breaking the norms of faith isn't always easy — especially for Orthodox Jews. But Ruth Balinsky Friedman wants to take up the traditionally male-dominated role of faith leader. She speaks with host Michel Martin about what a woman can bring to the position.

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    Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:18:00 -0400

    The company sent the pope two motorcycles and a leather jacket. The occasion is a gathering of bikers in Vatican City this weekend hoping for a blessing of the motorbikes.

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    Education
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:45:00 -0400

    Roughly half of U.S. states have passed laws making home-schooled students eligible to play for their local school teams. But in Indiana, an attempt to find a middle ground hasn't calmed the debate.

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    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:00 -0400

    The quality of teacher education is falling flat in the United States, according to a new report. Host Michel Martin speaks with Stephanie Banchero of The Wall Street Journal about why some teachers say they're not well prepared.

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    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:56:00 -0400

    The first-ever study of more than 1,100 schools of education released Tuesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality shows that teacher preparation is in disarray. The study warns that 163 programs provide only "minimal, substandard training."

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    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:00:00 -0400

    In 1961, Phyllis Richman started applying to graduate school at Harvard. But she was discouraged when a professor asked how she would balance her professional life with 'responsibilities' to her husband. Host Michel Martin speaks with Richman about a response letter she wrote 52 years later.

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    Sat, 15 Jun 2013 08:38:00 -0400

    The United Negro College Fund's new campaign shows just how much the way we talk about and around race has changed.

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    Top 5 Box Office Movies
    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:23:32 GMT

    Man of Steel

    Buy Tickets

    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:23:31 GMT

    This Is the End

    Buy Tickets

    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:23:30 GMT

    Now You See Me

    Buy Tickets

    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:23:29 GMT

    Fast & Furious 6

    Buy Tickets

    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:23:28 GMT

    The Purge

    Buy Tickets



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    Environment
    Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:19:00 -0400

    So often, we take water for granted. But it's not always where we need it, or there when we need it. Two rivers on opposite sides of the country — the Chattahoochee in the South and the Klamath in the far West — may provide lessons for the inevitable and growing dispute over how we manage our most precious resource.

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    Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:00:00 -0400

    Carbon emissions are slowly acidifying ocean waters, forcing marine life to adapt. Oysters and other shellfish, for example, may have a harder time building their shells, according to NOAA's Richard Feely. At Quilcene, Washington's Taylor Shellfish Hatchery, research director Benoit Eudeline says he's already seeing those effects.

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    Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:00:00 -0400

    Like any major city near a coast, Seattle likely won't be immune from rising sea levels and other effects of global warming. Mayor Mike McGinn discusses the city's plans for addressing climate change, including his push to divest Seattle's pension funds from fossil fuel investments, and the city council's plan to make Seattle carbon neutral by 2050.

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    Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:00:00 -0400

    Since his days as head of the Solar Energy Research Institute under President Jimmy Carter, Denis Hayes has been pushing to add more renewable energy sources to the country's energy portfolio. Hayes discusses the current U.S. market for renewables such as solar and wind, and gives his take on where he sees America's energy future headed.

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    Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:59:00 -0400

    Investors like Gates are betting that our planet can't sustain the current rate of growth in animal-based foods for too much longer. Products like Beyond Eggs, a plant-based substitute, are designed to fill the void.

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    Food
    Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:10:00 -0400

    Apricots are the finest of summer's fruits, with dense, juicy flesh and delicate, velvety skins. That's why it is so disheartening when you bite into one, only to find it is mealy and flavorless. To find the best ones, head to your local farmers market.

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    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:06:00 -0400

    Did a 10-pound bag of potatoes really cost $15 back in 2008? We get to the bottom of some puzzling numbers in the lawsuit alleging America's potato growers have become a spud cartel.

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    Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:06:00 -0400

    A fresh study looks at what happens after people change their meat-eating habits. Those who upped their intake — about 3.5 servings more per week — saw their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes during four years of follow-up increase by almost 50 percent.

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    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:21:00 -0400

    The Obama administration says the bill "makes unacceptable deep cuts" to federal food aid programs and extends, rather than cuts, crop insurance payments to farmers.

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    Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:02:00 -0400

    A civil lawsuit that shifted into U.S. district court in Idaho last week alleges that the United Potato Growers of America has become a veritable OPEC of spuds. The group is accused of using high-tech, strong-arm tactics to inflate potato prices.

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