Syrian Resort Town Is Stronghold for Alawites

TARTUS, Syria — Loyalists who support the government of President Bashar al-Assad are flocking to the Mediterranean port of Tartus, creating an overflowing boomtown far removed from the tangled, scorched rubble that now mars most Syrian cities. The New York TimesThe port city of Tartus is sheltered by a mountain range. There are no shellings or air raids...

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Massive PC, Console Game Discounts Ring in Holiday Season

Black Friday, the day right after Thanksgiving, is normally the day associated with electronics sales. And while the proponents of “Cyber Monday” and “Small Business Saturday” have tried to get in on the action, it’s still common knowledge that Thanksgiving weekend is the best time to upgrade your PC or console game arsenal. Right?Not according to online game retailers. Discounts of up to 80 percent...

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PEOPLE Remembers the American Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

With the exit from Iraq and the draw-down of troops in Afghanistan, the numbers of Americans killed continues to drop. Still, loved ones are mourning 311 lost, and as of Dec. 17, the wars' toll since 2001 now stands at 6,656. Edward Joseph Acosta, 21 Trevor Brandon Adkins, 21 Ahmed Kousay al-Taie, 46 Erica Paige Alecksen, 21 Tobias Christoph Alexander, 30 Joseph James Altmann, 27 Mabry James Anders,...

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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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Husband sets wife on fire during fight, police say

A Fresno man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and domestic violence after he allegedly set his common-law wife on fire Sunday afternoon, authorities said.The 21-year-old man apparently "became emotional" while discussing his relationship with the woman in a car in southeast Fresno, police Sgt. Steve Crawford told the Fresno Bee. The man allegedly threw gasoline on the woman and...

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U.N. Panel Votes to Help Mali’s Army Oust Extremists

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday that will send thousands of African troops into the desert nation of Mali to help oust Islamist extremists who have turned its northern half into a vast Qaeda enclave and training ground, menacing the stability of neighboring states and posing a potent new international terrorism threat. But the resolution also...

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RIM shares dive as fee changes catch market off guard

(Reuters) – Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd dropped 20 percent on Friday on fears that a new fee structure for its high-margin services segment could put pressure on the business that has set the company apart from its competitors.The shares were still more than 80 percent above the year’s low, which was hit in September. They started to rally in November as investors began to bet...

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Ashton Kutcher Files for Divorce from Demi Moore

People Exclusive By Ken Lee 12/21/2012 at 03:55 PM EST Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore Amanda Edwards/WireImage After more than a year with their marriage in legal limbo, Ashton Kutcher has filed for divorce from Demi Moore.The papers were filed Friday Los Angeles...

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AP IMPACT: Big Pharma cashes in on HGH abuse

A federal crackdown on illicit foreign supplies of human growth hormone has failed to stop rampant misuse, and instead has driven record sales of the drug by some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, an Associated Press investigation shows.The crackdown, which began in 2006, reduced the illegal flow of unregulated supplies from China, India and Mexico.But since then, Big Pharma has been...

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18,000 'horrendously' abused rodents found inside business

Animal control officials have euthanized the entire inventory of an animal dealer in Lake Elsinore that were kept in “horrendous” conditions,  including more than 600 reptiles and 18,000 rodents. Authorities raided Global Captive Breeders after receiving information from a two-month undercover operation at the facility conducted by PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.VIDEO:...

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At Benghazi Hearing, State Dept. Concedes Errors

WASHINGTON — State Department officials promised on Thursday to carry out quickly the recommendations of a review board to beef up security for the foreign service and urged Congress to provide more money to protect American diplomats. The promises came during a Senate hearing into the handling of diplomatic security in Benghazi, Libya, before a deadly attack on a diplomatic outpost there...

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Acer will beat Google to market with its own $99 tablet

Title Post: Acer will beat Google to market with its own $99 tabletRating: 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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Shiri Appleby Expecting Her First Child

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 12/20/2012 at 03:00 PM ET Charley Gallay/GettyShiri Appleby is going to be a mom.The actress and fiancé Jon Shook are expecting their first child this spring, PEOPLE confirms.“Thank you for all the well wishes,” Appleby, 34, says. “We can’t wait to meet our little...

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AP IMPACT: Steroids loom in major-college football

WASHINGTON (AP) — With steroids easy to buy, testing weak and punishments inconsistent, college football players are packing on significant weight — 30 pounds or more in a single year, sometimes — without drawing much attention from their schools or the NCAA in a sport that earns tens of billions of dollars for teams.Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid...

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Executive accused of dumping dead wife on Mexico border free on bail

A man accused of killing his wife at their Newport Coast home and leaving her body on the U.S. side of the Mexican border was released from jail Wednesday, court records show. Peter Gregory Chadwick, 48, who is charged with murder, posted bail and was released from jail at 1:47 a.m., jail records show. One of the sentencing enhancements against him, murder for financial gain, was dropped, according...

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The Lede Blog: Aleppo's History Under Threat

As my colleagues Chris Chivers, Tyler Hicks and Ben Solomon report in text, photographs and video, civilians are suffering from shortages of food and medicine, among other hardships, in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, which is being torn apart in urban warfare between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.But the city is also one of the Middle East’s most culturally and historically significant....

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Wii U finally gets Nintendo’s TVii service on December 20th

After a month-long delay, Nintendo (NTDOY) will launch its Nintendo TVii service for the Wii U on December 20th in the U.S. and Canada. Nintendo TVii is the company’s take on organizing all of the various video streaming and DVR services a user might subscribe to and then displaying them in an easy-to-navigate touchscreen-based interface on the Wii U GamePad. With Nintendo...

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Taylor Swift's Cat Really, Really Likes Her New Song

People Pets By Alison Schwartz UPDATED 12/19/2012 at 03:00 PM EST • Originally published 12/19/2012 at 02:00 PM EST Taylor Swift's cat Meredith is no trouble at all – just a fan. "What's on the radio right now?" the Red singer asks her feline friend as her new single, "I Knew You Were Trouble,"...

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Experts: Kids are resilient in coping with trauma

WASHINGTON (AP) — They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts.Last week's school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They're at risk for lingering...

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Scarlett Johansson: Hacker who stole nude photos 'perverted'

Actress Scarlett Johansson said she was "truly humiliated and embarrassed" by a Florida man who hacked into celebrity email accounts and procured naked images of her, actions she called "perverted and reprehensible."Johansson, whose then-husband Ryan Reynolds' email was hacked, videotaped a statement that was played in U.S. District Court on Monday as Judge S. James Otero sentenced Christopher...

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