Voters in Egypt Cast Ballots on Draft Constitution

CAIRO — Egyptians voted on Saturday in a referendum on an Islamist-backed draft constitution, even as they doubted that the results would end three weeks of violence, division and distrust between the Islamists and their opponents over the ground rules of Egypt’s promised democracy. By midmorning Saturday, long lines had formed outside polling stations around the capital and the country....

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Stars Tweet Over Gun Control Following Elementary School Shootings In Connecticut — Updated

Celebrities were outraged over the tragic elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, and many immediately turned to Twitter, to share their sadness.And some even urged America’s leaders to address gun control.PLAY IT NOW: Edward Norton Discusses Tragic Colorado Shootings“Gun control is our only road to freedom. Freedom from the fear of senselessly losing children. I’m so saddened. WE...

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Connecticut Shooting: Grief and Disbelief at Vigils for Victims

By Sara Hammel 12/15/2012 at 09:45 AM EST St. Rose of Lima Church Andrew Gombert/EPA/Landov A palpable grief hung in the air on a bitterly cold night in Newtown, Conn., on Friday night as hundreds came out to mourn the dead – 20 children and six adults – of themass shooting just hours before.Several...

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Fewer health care options for illegal immigrants

ALAMO, Texas (AP) — For years, Sonia Limas would drag her daughters to the emergency room whenever they fell sick. As an illegal immigrant, she had no health insurance, and the only place she knew to seek treatment was the hospital — the most expensive setting for those covering the cost.The family's options improved somewhat a decade ago with the expansion of community health clinics, which offered...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Holiday "on standby" as clock ticks on cliff

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The last two weeks of December are traditionally quiet for stocks, but traders accustomed to a bit of time off are staying close to their mobile devices, thanks to the "fiscal cliff." Last-minute negotiations in Washington on the so-called fiscal cliff - nearly $600 billion of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January that could cause a sharp slowdown...

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WORLD: Assad’s Grip on Power Is Questioned

December 13, 2012By Mac William Bishop, Channon Hodge, Pedro Rafael Rosado and Elaisha StokesThe Times’s Anne Barnard on Thursday’s violence in Syria and the significance of the statement by a top Russian envoy on President Bashar al-Assad’s weakening gr...

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Online gambling companies struggle to clear EU hurdles

LONDON (Reuters) – A partnership stuck on Friday between bwin.party Digital Entertainment and a Belgian casino group has defused one of many disputes pitting online gambling companies against governments across Europe.The agreement came a month after bwin.party’s co-CEO was questioned by Belgian authorities in an escalating license dispute the company said was costing it 700,000 euros ($ 916,000)...

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PHOTO: Jessica Biel's Dog Tina Sleeps in a Tree

People Pets 12/14/2012 at 09:30 AM EST Jessica Biel found her dog snoozing beneath a tree – but not the kind you might expect for this time of year. In her regular photo post series, #TuesdayswithTina, Biel shared four shots of her dog hopping into a potted tree and laying down for a nap. "That doesn't even...

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Fewer health care options for illegal immigrants

ALAMO, Texas (AP) — For years, Sonia Limas would drag her daughters to the emergency room whenever they fell sick. As an illegal immigrant, she had no health insurance, and the only place she knew to seek treatment was the hospital — the most expensive setting for those covering the cost.The family's options improved somewhat a decade ago with the expansion of community health clinics, which offered...

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Wall Street dips at open on "cliff" overhang

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street dipped at the open on Friday as investors digested the latest round of economic data, while concerns about a lack of progress by politicians in ongoing fiscal negotiations remained at the forefront. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 7.22 points, or 0.05 percent, to 13,163.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped...

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Kim Jong-un’s Image Bolstered by Rocket Launching

SEOUL, South Korea — For North Korea’s inexperienced young leader, Kim Jong-un, the largely successful launching on Wednesday of a long-range rocket could not have come too soon. Analysts say the launching was sure to bolster Mr. Kim’s grip on power after months of political purges meant to tame the elite class and hints of dissatisfaction among his hungry people. It was also expected to...

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iPad mini deemed a ‘game changer,’ outgrew Kindle Fire by nearly 50%

Smaller tablets in the 7-inch range have been on the market for more than two years now, but it looks like it took Apple (AAPL) just one month to vault to the top of the category. Mobile advertising firm Millennial Media recently published the findings of a study pitting the iPad mini against Amazon’s (AMZN) popular Kindle Fire, which has been an extremely popular iPad alternative since it first launched...

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Taylor Swift & Harry Styles Get Away - Far Away - for Her Birthday

By Simon Perry 12/13/2012 at 10:00 AM EST Taylor Swift and Harry Styles Courtesy Magda Taylor Swift is taking the road less traveled for her birthday. The country star, who turns 23 on Thursday, has been getting a tour of rural northern England – where a fan snapped...

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Dozens sue pharmacy, but compensation uncertain

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dennis O'Brien rubs his head as he details ailments triggered by the fungal meningitis he developed after a series of steroid shots in his neck: nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, exhaustion and trouble with his speech and attention.He estimates the disease has cost him and his wife thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses and her lost wages, including...

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Wall Street opens flat on "fiscal cliff" worry

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The departure of Spanish strugglers HRT from Formula One still leaves the sport with one team too many, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday. Madrid-based HRT have not been included on the official 2013 entry list published by the governing International Automobile Federation, a move that leaves 11 teams and 22 cars on the starting grid. "I'd rather have...

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SAG Award Nominations Go to Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Downton Abbey

By Stephen M. Silverman 12/12/2012 at 09:30 AM EST from left: Maggie Smith (in Downton Abbey) and Nicole Kidman (in The Paperboy) Getty; Millennium Entertainment The 2013 Award Season officially kicked off Wednesday morning with the announcement of the 19th annual...

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Wall Street opens higher ahead of Fed announcement

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday, after five straight days of gains, as investors anticipated the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce a fresh stimulus plan to support the economy at the end of a two-day monetary policy meeting. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 25.24 points, or 0.19 percent, to 13,273.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index...

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Allies of Egypt’s Morsi Beat Protesters Outside Palace

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesYehia Negm said he was in a group detained by Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Morsi. “It was torment for us,” he said. CAIRO — Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Morsi captured, detained and beat dozens of his political opponents last week, holding them for hours with their hands bound on the pavement outside the presidential palace while...

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Ian McKellen Has Prostate Cancer

By Maggie Coughlan 12/11/2012 at 09:50 AM EST Ian McKellen Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Sir Ian McKellen has revealed that he suffers from prostate cancer.McKellen – who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and reprises the role in the soon-to-open The...

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New tests could hamper food outbreak detection

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's about to get faster and easier to diagnose food poisoning, but that progress for individual patients comes with a downside: It could hurt the nation's ability to spot and solve dangerous outbreaks.Next-generation tests that promise to shave a few days off the time needed to tell whether E. coli, salmonella or other foodborne bacteria caused a patient's illness could reach medical...

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Wall Street gains on German data; Fed eyed

If you're not already aware of the bull-headed CIA agent whose persist pressure to track Al Qaeda couriers helped lead the way to bin Laden's compound, you're about to be. The main character of Zero Dark Thirty, the soon-to-be released Oscar bait that portrays the story of the Bin Laden raid, is based on said agent, "is based on a real person" whose identity remains classified as she's still...

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Plane Wreckage of Mexican-American Singer Jenni Rivera Found

A plane carrying the Mexican-American singer and television star Jenni Rivera crashed early Sunday morning, Mexican officials said, adding that they feared there were no survivors. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesMs. Rivera recently won two Billboard Mexican Music Awards: Female Artist of the Year and Banda Album of the Year. More Photos » In addition to...

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#OccupyCheerios: A Facebook Revolt

It wasn’t an obvious forum for an anti-GMO protest.A YouTube video posted on Cheerio’s Facebook page depicts an elderly woman leaning over the highchair of her infant grandchild, cooing about family and the holidays, drawing a map with pieces of cereal representing relative’s far-flung houses. “But don’t you worry,” the grandmother says, pushing two Cheerios together, “we’ll always be together for...

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Jenni Rivera's Family: 'We Are Feeling Devastated'

By Stephen M. Silverman 12/10/2012 at 09:20 AM EST While fans far and wide share their sympathy over the death of singer Jenni Rivera, her family members are expressing their grief over the personal loss."We are feeling devastated. It's a devastation to the family," the 43-year-old's brother, Pedro Rivera Jr.,...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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