Peer Steinbrück Stumbles in Effort to Unseat Angela Merkel in Germany

Kay Nietfeld/European Pressphoto AgencyPeer Steinbrück, second from right, at a party conference this month. He recently said Angela Merkel had a “women’s bonus.” BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s challenger in next year’s election may have already blurted out his own “binders full of women” gaffe early in the German campaign. Peer Steinbrück, the Social Democratic Party’s candidate for...

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What to Do With Your New Android

So you got a shiny new Android for Christmas? Before showing it off to all your Apple-loving friends, the device should be fully optimized at the start. Taking a couple measures ahead of time will make for a better experience later.If you’re a brand new Android owner, the phone’s operating system is likely Jelly Bean or Ice Cream Sandwich. You shouldn’t have to upgrade anything, but there might be...

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Expecting a Child

By Mike Fleeman 12/31/2012 at 03:45 AM EST Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Splash News Online Talk about onstage pyrotechnics!Kanye West dropped a bombshell during an Atlantic City concert on Sunday night, revealing that he and girlfriend Kim Kardashian are expecting...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Wall Street opens lower without "cliff" solution

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened lower on Monday, the last trading day of the year, as political leaders in Washington worked to find agreement that would keep the United States from falling off the "fiscal cliff." The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 51.99 points, or 0.40 percent, at 12,886.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 4.09 points,...

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Drone War Spurs Pakistan Militants to Deadly Reprisals

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — They are dead men talking, and they know it. Gulping nervously, the prisoners stare into the video camera, spilling tales of intrigue, betrayal and paid espionage on behalf of the United States. Some speak in trembling voices, a glint of fear in their eyes. Others look resigned. All plead for their lives. “I am a spy and I took part in four attacks,” said Sidinkay, a...

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Matthew & Camila McConaughey Name Their Son Livingston

12/29/2012 at 09:15 PM EST Camila and Matthew McConaughey Gary Miller/FilmMagic Matthew McConaughey has spilled the beans about his new baby!"Camila gave birth to our third child yesterday morning. Our son, Livingston Alves McConaughey, was born at 7:43 a.m....

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Obama says failure to reach fiscal deal would hurt markets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial markets would be affected adversely if U.S. lawmakers fail to agree on a "fiscal cliff" deal before Tuesday, President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Sunday, while urging Congress to act quickly to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans. Lawmakers are seeking a last-minute deal that would set aside $600 billion in tax increases and...

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Russia Urges Assad to Negotiate with His Opponents

MOSCOW — Russia, Syria’s longtime ally, urged the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, on Friday to negotiate with his opponents as further signs emerged that Moscow and other international parties to the conflict were coalescing around the idea of a transitional government as a key to solving the nearly two-year-old Syrian crisis. During a news conference with his Egyptian counterpart in Moscow,...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Wall Street opens down before talks on "cliff" deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell at the open on Friday as President Barack Obama and top lawmakers planned to make a last-ditch attempt at a budget deal to prevent the United States from going over the "fiscal cliff." The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 76.30 points, or 0.58 percent, to 13,020.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped 8.93 points,...

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Putin to Sign Ban on U.S. Adoptions of Russian Children

MOSCOW President Vladimir V. Putin said on Thursday that he would sign into law a bill banning adoptions of Russian children by American citizens, retaliating against an American law that punishes Russians accused of violating human rights and dealing a potentially grave setback to bilateral relations. Mr. Putin announced his decision at a meeting with senior government officials, including...

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Temple Run was downloaded more than 2.5 million times on Christmas Day

Title Post: Temple Run was downloaded more than 2.5 million times on Christmas DayRating: 100%based on 99998 ratings.5 user reviews.Author: Fluser SeoLinkThanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comm...

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Kendall & Kylie Jenner Get Crazy-Expensive Christmas Gifts

Stylewatch Style News Now 12/26/2012 at 05:30 PM ET Michael Simon/Startraks. Insets: Courtesy Kendall and Kylie JennerThe youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan took to Instagram to share the goods they got on Dec. 25. And if the...

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Wall Street flat as "fiscal cliff" talks eyed

To a black ESPN sports analyst, this is the critical question: Is Robert Griffin III, aka RG III, the black rookie sensation Washington Redskins quarterback, "a brother, or is he a cornball brother?" What has RG III done or said to raise a suspicion about his bona fides as a black person? More importantly, what does this have to do with appreciating — or choosing not to appreciate — Griffin as an...

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Bethenny Frankel: 'Marriage Doesn't Come Easily for Me'

TV News By Liz McNeil 12/26/2012 at 09:00 AM EST Bethenny Frankel and husband Jason Hoppy with daughter Bryn Jae Donnelly/INF After calling this their "toughest year ever," reality star Bethenny Frankel announced on Dec. 23 that she and Jason Hoppy, her husband...

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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...

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Wall Street inches up as Obama to return to "cliff'"debate

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Wednesday as President Barack Obama cut short his vacation and readied to return to Washington a day ahead of last-minute talks to avert a series of tax increases and government spending cuts set to begin next week. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 22.33 points, or 0.17 percent, to 13,161.41. The Standard & Poor's 500...

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Israel to Review Curbs on Women’s Prayer at Western Wall

JERUSALEM – Amid outrage across the Jewish diaspora over a flurry of recent arrests of women seeking to pray at the Western Wall with ritual garments – in defiance of Israeli law — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Natan Sharansky, the chairman of the Jewish Agency, to study the issue and suggest ways to make the site more accommodating to all Jews. The move comes after more than...

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Mundie, one of Gates’ successors, to retire from Microsoft

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Craig Mundie, one of two Microsoft Corp executives who took over Bill Gates‘ role at the company, has relinquished control of Microsoft’s large research organization and is to retire from the company in 2014.Mundie is taking on a new role as a senior adviser to Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, according to a memo circulated internally earlier this month but only made public on Monday.Eric...

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Season's Greetings and Personal Pics! Star Families Share Photos

From picking out a tree to posing with Santa, see how these celeb parents and their tots spread cheer together Credit: Courtesy Snooki Updated: Wednesday Dec 19, 2012 | 05:30 PM EST By: Anya Leon Subscribe Now ...

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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...

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Yen on defensive on U.S. fiscal worry, helps Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - Uncertainty over whether U.S. lawmakers will strike a deal by an end-of-year deadline to avert a severe fiscal retrenchment undermined the yen and bolstered Japanese shares on Tuesday in low volume, with many participants away on Christmas holiday. The dollar rose to a 20-month high of 84.965 yen early on Tuesday in Asia, as Japanese markets caught up with global investors...

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Philippine Law Forbids Abductions by Military

MANILA — The Philippines has enacted a law aimed at stopping the military and police officers from abducting people suspected of antigovernment activity, one of the ugly legacies of years of dictatorship. The law, which President Benigno S. Aquino III signed late Friday, makes the “arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the state” punishable...

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