Dec
15

Apple takes investors on a wild ride

SAN FRANCISCO — With only modest expectations, Robert Leitao of Santa Clarita made a decision in 1994 that would change his...
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Stunning Views of Glaciers Seen From Space

To a geologist, glaciers are among the most exciting features on Earth. Though they seem to creep along at impossibly slow speeds, in geologic time glaciers are relatively fast, powerful landscape artists that can carve out valleys and fjords in just a few thousand years.Glaciers also provide an environmental record by trapping air bubbles in ice that reveal atmospheric conditions in the past....
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Chicano rock pioneers Los Lobos marking 40 years

LOS ANGELES (AP) — They are seen as the progenitors of Chicano rock ‘n’ roll, the first band that had the boldness, and some might even say the naiveté, to fuse punk rock with Mexican folk tunes.It was a group called Los Lobos that had the unusual idea of putting an accordion, a saxophone and something called a bajo sexto alongside drums and Fender Stratocaster guitars and then blasting a ranchera-flavored...
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School Yoga Class Draws Religious Protest From Christians

T. Lynne Pixley for The New York TimesMiriam Ruiz during a yoga class last week at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School in Encinitas, Calif. A few dozen parents are protesting that the program amounts to religious indoctrination. More Photos »ENCINITAS, Calif. — By 9:30 a.m. at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School, tiny feet were shifting from downward dog pose to chair pose to warrior pose in surprisingly...
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Dec
14

Connecticut shooting: 20 schoolchildren among the 28 dead

The toll in the Connecticut shooting stands at 28 dead, including 20 children and the gunman, Connecticut State Police said...
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How to Talk to Your Kids About the Shooting in Connecticut

It’s a difficult day to be a parent.This morning, a gunman entered an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 28 people, including 18 children under 10 years old. This is every parent’s nightmare. Our hearts go out to the families of everyone hurt by this tragedy, even while we fight the impulse to rush to our own children wherever they may be, and hold them close.But past that,...
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Matt Damon fracking film in Berlin festival lineup

BERLIN (Reuters) – The Berlin film festival on Thursday announced the first movies of its 2013 lineup, and among the main competition entries will be U.S. director Gus Van Sant‘s drama starring Matt Damon and centering around the controversial shale gas industry.“Promised Land” will have its international premiere at the annual cinema showcase, although it is scheduled to be launched first in the...
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Life Expectancy Rises Around World, Study Finds

A sharp decline in deaths from malnutrition and infectious diseases like measles and tuberculosis has caused a shift in global mortality patterns over the past 20 years, according to a report published on Thursday, with far more of the world’s population now living into old age and dying from diseases mostly associated with rich countries, like cancer and heart disease. Tony Karumba/Agence...
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Wealth Matters: As End of Gift Tax Exemption Nears, Ways to Use It Proliferate

Fred R. Conrad/The New York TimesMark E. Haranzo, a partner at the law firm Withers Bergman, helps clients use the so-called power of substitution, by setting up a trust that allows someone to put in cash now and exchange it for other assets in the future. HOLIDAY shoppers and tax filers are known for procrastinating. This year, they’re joined by the wealthy who have still not decided whether to make...
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Dec
13

Susan Rice withdraws from Secretary of State consideration

WASHINGTON – Susan Rice, who came under heavy criticism for her defense of the Obama administration after armed militants killed...
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HP Spying Scandal Ends With a Whimper

The HP boardroom spying scandal once transfixed the national media. It sparked Congressional hearings and lawsuits, and it changed the law. But it ended on Thursday in a mostly empty San Jose, California courtroom with a three-month conviction for Bryan Wagner, the low-level foot soldier who called up telephone companies under false pretenses to obtain the telephone records of HP board members,...
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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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World’s Population Living Longer, New Report Suggests

A sharp decline in deaths from malnutrition and diseases like measles and tuberculosis has caused a shift in global mortality patterns over the past 20 years, according to a new report, with far more of the world’s population now living into old age and dying from diseases more associated with rich countries, like cancer and heart disease. The shift reflects improvements in sanitation, medical...
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European Leaders Hail Accord on Banking Supervision

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders gathering here Thursday for their year-end summit meeting hailed an agreement to place euro zone banks under a single supervisor, calling it a concrete measure to maintain the viability of the currency as well as a step in laying the groundwork for a broader economic union. Pool photograph by Michael EulerAngela Merkel, the German chancellor, and François...
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Dec
12

U.S. official: Syrian government fired Scud missiles at rebels

WASHINGTON -- The Syrian government has fired half a dozen Scud missiles at insurgents in recent days, a U.S. official said...
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Chinese Phone Packs All the Best Specs Into a Sexy Package

Oppo, the Chinese company making the best Blu-ray players you’ve never heard of, is making an Android smartphone that, well, it hopes you’ll hear about early next year.The Oppo Find 5, unveiled Wednesday in Beijing, looks like a helluva phone, with damn near every awesome spec you can pack into a handset nowadays. It is the company’s first official foray into the U.S. phone market after years...
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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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Dec
11

Police Commission eases LAPD's illegal immigrant policy

The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday approved a plan from Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck to no longer...
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Getting Your DNA Scanned Now Costs Less Than an iPhone 5

The price of unlocking the secrets of your DNA has dropped to stocking-stuffer range as Google-backed 23andMe said today that a major new investment was allowing them to offer their personal gene scans for $99.The company co-founded and run by Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, announced Tuesday that it had raised $50 million in its latest round of venture capital funding....
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“Hobbit” actor McKellen has prostate cancer

LONDON (Reuters) – “The Hobbit” actor Ian McKellen said in an interview published on Tuesday that he had had prostate cancer for the last six or seven years, but added that the disease was not life-threatening.McKellen, 73, played Gandalf in the hit “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy, and reprises the role in three prequels based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit”.The first of those, “The Hobbit:...
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Rate of Childhood Obesity Falls in Several Cities

Jessica Kourkounis for The New York TimesAt William H. Ziegler Elementary in Northeast Philadelphia, students are getting acquainted with vegetables and healthy snacks. PHILADELPHIA — After decades of rising childhood obesity rates, several American cities are reporting their first declines. The trend has emerged in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as smaller places like...
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Health Centers Find Opportunity in Brownfields

PHILADELPHIA — The community health center rising on a derelict corner here in West Philadelphia never would have broken ground if not for the asbestos inside the building that was demolished to make way for it. Because of the contamination, Spectrum Health Services received a $2 million federal cleanup grant, the first piece of a $14 million construction financing puzzle. When complete,...
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Dec
10

Latin music star Jenni Rivera believed dead in plane crash

Fans of Mexican-American singing star Jenni Rivera held a vigil Sunday night in Lynwood MEXICO CITY — Mexican American singer...
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