Dec
21

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...
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‘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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Dec
20

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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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