Showrooming little threat to clothiers in ho-hum holidays

Chicago (Reuters) – In retail, showrooming has not hit shirts yet.Showrooming, the retail term for shoppers who try a product, then buy it cheaper on Amazon.com or other websites, has driven retailers to the point of hiding barcodes, improving their own websites and coming up with methods to get people to complete their purchase in the store.But brand-name clothing retailers have an advantage over...

Read More..

Hundreds pay tribute to legendary Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar

ENCINITAS, California (Reuters) – Ravi Shankar‘s daughters, Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar, along with the wife of late Beatle George Harrison said their final goodbyes to the Indian sitar virtuoso on Thursday at a public memorial service in Encinitas, California.The legendary musician and composer, who helped introduce the sitar to the Western world through his collaboration with The Beatles, died...

Read More..

Cliff poses many risks to U.S. public sector, few severe: Moody’s

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The “fiscal cliff” of impending federal spending cuts and tax increases set for the beginning of the year poses a wide variety of risks to the public sector, but many of the threats hanging over state and local governments are not severe or direct, Moody’s Investors Service said on Thursday.President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders are in the middle of tough negotiations...

Read More..

Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

Read More..

Ridley Scott, Paul Attanasio Working on “Vatican” Pilot for Showtime

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Showtime is once again preparing to go papal.The network, which already has a Pope-centric hit in the form of “The Borgias,” has given the green light to pilot tentatively titled “The Vatican,” from Ridley Scott and Paul Attanasio, Showtime said Thursday.A contemporary exploration of the politics and power plays within the Catholic church, “The Vatican” will be written...

Read More..

Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

Read More..

How the Holidays Hurt Your Sex Drive

Ladies, does all of the cooking, baking, shopping, entertaining, wrapping, and decorating associated with good holiday cheer leave you too jingle-jangled to be naughty OR nice? If so, here’s some good news: There’s probably nothing seriously wrong with you if you prefer catching some shut-eye to knocking boots this time of year. The main factors contributing to low sex drive in women — including younger...

Read More..

Facebook’s new easier-to-manage ‘Privacy Shortcuts’ rolling out globally

Managing Facebook (FB) privacy settings can be a daunting nightmare. Facebook’s new “Privacy Shortcuts” is designed to make sharing items as transparent as possible with always-visible privacy button on the top toolbar. The update also brings “an easier-to-use Activity Log, and a new Request and Removal tool for managing multiple photos you’re tagged in.” The new Facebook privacy controls are...

Read More..

Showrooming little threat to clothiers in ho-hum holidays

Chicago (Reuters) – In retail, showrooming has not hit shirts yet.Showrooming, the retail term for shoppers who try a product, then buy it cheaper on Amazon.com or other websites, has driven retailers to the point of hiding barcodes, improving their own websites and coming up with methods to get people to complete their purchase in the store.But brand-name clothing retailers have an advantage over...

Read More..

Kenya police: 28 people killed in clashes

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A police official says 28 people have been killed in clashes between farmers and herders in south-eastern Kenya.Anthony Kamitu, who is leading police operations to prevent the attacks, said Friday that the Pokomo tribe of farmers raided a village of the Orma herding community, called Kipao, at dawn in the Tana River Delta.The latest deaths in a tit-for-tat cycle of killings may...

Read More..

Moroccan road film subverts Hollywood stereotypes

DUBAI (Reuters) – When director John Slattery first visited Morocco, the familiarity was jarring – and as removed from the images of an exotic Orient conjured up by Hollywood as possible.That dichotomy between the representation and the reality of Morocco drives Slattery‘s charming paean to a country he clearly loves and makes “Casablanca, Mon Amour” a thoughtful rejoinder to U.S. popular culture.Two...

Read More..

Resolve to Get Clearer Skin in the New Year– Tips From the Paula’s Choice Research Team

It’s frustrating, but true: Acne, to one degree or another, can occur at any age. The Paula’s Choice Research Team behind the best-selling book, Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, share the facts and products they’ve uncovered to have acne-free skin at any age.Seattle, Washington (PRWEB) December 21, 2012Let 2013 be a year where skin is beautiful and clear—because, while it’s frustrating,...

Read More..

A somber moment for 26 victims of Sandy Hook school massacre

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — The chiming of bells reverberated throughout Newtown on Friday, commemorating one week since the crackle of gunfire in a schoolhouse killed 20 children and six adults in a massacre that has shaken the community — and the nation — to its core.Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gathered with other officials in rain and wind on the steps of the Edmond Town Hall as the bell rang 26 times in memory...

Read More..

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ One of Biggest Mid-Week Limited Debuts Ever

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Zero Dark Thirty” has been slammed by several senators for its depiction of torture, but the issue only appears to have helped it at the box office.Director Kathryn Bigelow‘s dramatization of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden racked up an estimated $ 124,848 in five theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on Wednesday. That’s an average of $ 24,969, making it one of the biggest...

Read More..

Silence, ringing of bells to honor Newtown shooting victims

NEWTOWN, Conn./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many Americans will remember the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre with a moment of silence on Friday, just before a powerful U.S. gun rights lobbying group plunges into the national debate over gun control. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy called for residents of his state to observe the moment at 9:30 a.m. EST (1430 GMT) to...

Read More..

European watchdog starts safety review of Merck cholesterol drug

LONDON (Reuters) – The European Medicines Agency said it has launched a review of Merck & Co Inc‘s cholesterol drug Tredaptive after the medicine failed a U.S. trial assessing its effectiveness and safety.Although the commercial fallout from any decision to pull the drug from the market in Europe would be limited, it would be a blow to Merck‘s reputation.Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson estimates...

Read More..

Nokia to get payments in patent deal with RIM

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Struggling Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has settled its patent dispute with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion in return for payments, as it tries to exploit its trove of technology patents to boost its finances.Terms of the agreement were confidential, but Nokia said on Friday it included a one-time payment to be booked in the fourth quarter, as well as ongoing fees, all...

Read More..

Kenya police: 28 people killed in clashes

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A police official says 28 people have been killed in clashes between farmers and herders in south-eastern Kenya.Anthony Kamitu, who is leading police operations to prevent the attacks, said Friday that the Pokomo tribe of farmers raided a village of the Orma herding community, called Kipao, at dawn in the Tana River Delta.The latest deaths in a tit-for-tat cycle of killings may...

Read More..

State Department security chief leaves post over Benghazi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday its security chief had resigned from his post and three other officials had been relieved of their duties following a scathing official inquiry into the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi.Eric Boswell has resigned effective immediately as assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, State Department spokeswoman...

Read More..

Facebook predicted to overtake Google in mobile display ad revenue this year

Shares of Facebook (FB) have begun to rebound since the company’s disastrous initial public offering this past May. After opening at $ 38 per share the company’s stock plummeted into the mid-20s over the summer months and eventually fell to a low of $ 17.55 in early September. Since then, however, Facebook shares have begun to bounce back after the company posted better-than-expected results...

Read More..

Thousands mourn U.S.-Mexican singer Jenni Rivera

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Thousands of mourners on Wednesday packed a Los Angeles theater to pay their final respects to Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera more than a week after her death in a plane crash.Rivera, 43, best known for her work in the Mexican folk Nortena and Banda genres, died after the small jet she was traveling in crashed in northern Mexico on December 9.Rivera’s family, dressed...

Read More..

Texas governor asks cancer agency to halt grants

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A $ 3 billion cancer-fighting effort that’s already under criminal investigation received yet more humiliation Wednesday when Texas Gov. Rick Perry called for a moratorium on new grants until confidence is restored in a once-celebrated agency that has plunged into turmoil in just three years.Leaders of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas quickly embraced the...

Read More..