Africa Must Take Lead in Mali, France Says

Marco Gualazzini for The New York TimesA French armored vehicle patrolled a strategic bridge over the Niger River in Markala, Mali, on Saturday. PARIS — With French officials saying confidently on Saturday that an advance by Islamist militants on Bamako, Mali’s capital, had been halted, France’s foreign minister told African leaders that “our African friends need to take the lead” in a multilateral...

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Nintendo’s Wii U problems turn into a crisis

In just a week, the problems Nintendo’s (NTDOY) new home console is facing have cascaded into something sinister. The traditional post-New Year slump hit Nintendo’s home market in the week ending January 12 and exposed cruelly how weak the consumer interest in Wii U truly is. According to Famitsu, Wii U sales slumped from a pace of 70,000 per week to just 21,000. The ancient PlayStation 3 sold the...

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'Diet Mom' Defends Her Daughter's Weight Loss in New Book

By Catherine Kast 01/19/2013 at 03:00 PM EST After making headlines last year with her Vogue story about her then-7-year-old daughter Bea's battle with obesity – and the mother's strict orders about no pizza Fridays at school and no whip cream on hot chocolate – New York City "Diet Mom" Dara-Lynn Weiss has just...

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Teacher who starred in porn film fight for job, money

The Oxnard teacher who was fired for appearing in porn movies has until Feb. 13 to decide whether to appeal a decision dismissing her from the classroom, school officials said.The Commission on Professional Competence, in a 47-page report dated Jan. 3, found that Stacie Halas, 32, was unfit to teach eighth-grade science at Haydock Intermediate School and ordered her dismissal.Although...

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British Leader, David Cameron, Sees Wider Threat in Algeria Attack

Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesPrime Minister David Cameron en route to Parliament to deliver a statement on the Algeria hostage crisis. LONDON — With more than 60 hostages still missing and many feared dead, Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament on Friday that the Qaeda-linked attack on a remote Algerian gas installation demonstrated the need for Britain and its western allies, including the United...

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With an air kiss or empty hug, Te’oing is Twitter craze

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Manti Te’o, the Notre Dame linebacker entangled in a girlfriend hoax that gives a whole new meaning to the term “air kiss,” is inspiring a new fad racing through social media: Te’oing.An avalanche of pictures of people hugging empty chairs or puckering up to an otherwise empty room were posted to Twitter with the hashtag #Te’oing days after the college football star’s story about...

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7 Stunning Dresses You May Have Missed!

Sure, the Golden Globes fashion was predictably glam, but some of the best gowns that weekend never made it to your TV screen. Check out the looks you may have missed Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Updated: Thursday Jan 17, 2013 | 01:00 PM EST By: Alex Apatoff ...

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Flu season 'bad one for the elderly,' CDC says

The number of older people hospitalized with the flu has risen sharply, prompting federal officials to take unusual steps to make more flu medicines available and to urge wider use of them as soon as symptoms appear.The U.S. is about halfway through this flu season, and "it's shaping up to be a worse-than-average season" and a bad one for the elderly, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers...

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Man molested girls, gave them tattoos, police allege

Authorities were looking Thursday for more possible victims of a Mission Viejo tattoo artist arrested for allegedly molesting two teenage girls after giving them free tattoos and alcohol in his apartment, deputies said.Edder Giovani Nieves-Vera, 29, met one of the 14-year-olds through Facebook and promised to give her a tattoo, alcohol and drugs, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange...

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IHT Rendezvous: Jihadist Kingpin Suspected in Hostage Seizure

LONDON — Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed smuggler-jihadist said to be behind the seizure of foreign hostages at a gas plant in Algeria, has been a notorious kingpin of the Sahara for more than a decade.As a successful kidnapper, cigarette smuggler — he is nicknamed “Mr. Marlboro” — and go-between for Al Qaeda, Mr. Belmokhtar has been a wanted man in his native Algeria after returning from training...

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Amazon holiday results to show sales tax impact

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Acting as a tax collector may have hurt Amazon.com, Inc’s holiday sales analysts and industry executives said, but they expect to know more when the internet retailer reports its fourth-quarter results on January 29.Best Buy Co., an archrival of Amazon in consumer electronics, saw holiday online sales increase in three states where Amazon started collecting sales tax ahead...

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Uma Thurman: Why My Daughter Has Five Names

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 01/17/2013 at 11:00 AM ET What’s in a name? Apparently every last one on Uma Thurman‘s list of favorites!After the actress and her boyfriend Arpad Busson revealed they had decided on Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence for their baby girl born in July,...

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Study: NYC better than LA at cutting kids' obesity

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study shows New York City is doing better than Los Angeles in the battle against childhood obesity, at least for low-income children.From 2003 to 2011, obesity rates for poor children dropped in New York to around 16 percent. But they rose in Los Angeles and ended at about 20 percent.The researchers focused on children ages 3 and 4 enrolled in a government program that provides...

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Woman repeatedly raped inside Nordstrom, police allege

Prosecutors said one of the five people charged in connection with the take-over robbery at a Nordstrom Rack department store in Westchester raped one of the female hostages. Prosecutors offered no details. But a district attorney's office spokeswoman said the victim was sexually assaulted "multiple times." Raymond Sherman Jr., 34, who authorities said was the most violent in the group,...

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China Arrests 7 in New Effort to Stop Tibetan Self-Immolations

BEIJING — The authorities in northwest China have detained seven people they claim organized the fatal self-immolation of a Tibetan villager in October, photographed his burning body and then sent the images abroad. The arrests, announced Tuesday by Xinhua, the official news agency, suggest that the Chinese government is increasing the use of its newest strategy against the politically motivated...

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Facebook search to generate revenue, no rival to Google: analysts

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc’s new search tool has strong potential to generate revenue for the social networking company, though it is unlikely to challenge Google Inc as the world’s dominant search engine, Wall Street analysts said on Wednesday.Facebook’s “graph search” tool, rolled out on Tuesday, lets its more than 1 billion users trawl their network of friends to find everything from restaurants...

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Harley Pasternak Blogs About the Benefits of Eating Avocados

01/16/2013 at 04:00 PM EST Getty. Inset: Lou Rocco/ABC Every morning I receive an email with the newest scientific studies published in the exercise and nutrition world. Once in a while, a study comes up that makes me excited enough that I have to...

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ER visits tied to energy drinks double since 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving...

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L.A. councilman seeks ban on large-capacity gun magazines

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian wants the city to explore the feasibility of banning the possession of high-capacity...

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The Lede Blog: Video of Aleppo University Bombing

Last Updated, 3:57 p.m. Video posted online by Syrian opposition activists appeared to show the moment one in a series of deadly explosions struck the campus of Aleppo University on Tuesday.Video said to capture an explosion on the campus of Aleppo University in Syria on Tuesday, uploaded to the Web by opposition activists.The brief clip, uploaded to the YouTube channel of the ANA New Media Association...

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Apple supplier sees big Q4 boost, likely a good sign for iPhone 5 demand

Shares of Apple (AAPL) have been hit hard over the last few days. Investors continue to worry about the company’s profit margins, demand for its popular line of smartphones and tablets, and its future endeavors. With upcoming competition from Research in Motion (RIMM) and Microsoft (MSFT), and an ongoing battle with Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, analysts fear that Apple’s mobile dominance...

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Holly Madison in Doghouse with Homeowners Association

People Pets 01/15/2013 at 03:30 PM EST Holly Madison and dog Louis Denise Truscello/WireImag Holly Madison is having a little trouble getting her neighbors to think pink.The former Playboy pin-up – and current mom-to-be – is moving out of her home in the Rancho...

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Risk to all ages: 100 kids die of flu each year

NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty flu-related deaths have been reported in children so far this winter — one of the worst tolls this early in the year since health officials began keeping track.Still, experts say that doesn't mean this year will turn out to be unusually deadly. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, and it's not clear that will happen this year.The deaths have included a 6-year-old...

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Man kills wife, leave her body in casino, police allege

About L.A. NowL.A. Now is the Los Angeles Times’ breaking news section for Southern California. It is produced by more than 80 reporters and editors in The Times’ Metro section, reporting from the paper’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters as well as bureaus in Costa Mesa, Long Beach, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Riverside, Ventura and West Los Angeles.Have a story tip for L.A. Now?Can I call...

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Leon Panetta Says U.S. Has Pledged to Help France in Mali

LISBON — In a move that could draw the United States into another conflict in North Africa, the Obama administration has pledged to help the French in their fight against Islamist militants in Mali, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Monday. He said the assistance could include air and other logistical support. Jacquelyn Martin/Associated PressDefense Secretary Leon E. Panetta boards...

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Facebook shares rise in buildup to mystery event, earnings

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc’s stock opened on Monday above $ 32 for the first time since July as anticipation about upcoming products and financial results underscored Wall Street’s renewed confidence in the online social network.Facebook will on Tuesday host its first major press event at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, since its troubled initial public offering in May, triggering...

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