CDC says US flu season starts early, could be bad

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu season in the U.S. is off to its earliest start in nearly a decade — and it could be a bad one.Health officials on Monday said suspected flu cases have jumped in five Southern states, and the primary strain circulating tends to make people sicker than other types. It is particularly hard on the elderly."It looks like it's shaping up to be a bad flu season, but only time will tell,"...

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Decapitated body of man found at hospital

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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DealBook: UBS Described as Near Deal With U.S. and Britain on Rate Rigging

UBS, the Swiss banking giant, is close to reaching settlements with American and British authorities over the manipulation of interest rates, the latest case in a multiyear investigation that has rattled the financial industry and spurred a public outcry for broad reform.UBS is expected to pay more than $450 million to settle claims that some employees reported false rates to increase the bank’s profit,...

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Obama Is Taking Himself and #My2K to Twitter This Afternoon

What a day for Twitter! First the Pope, then the Royal Baby, and now President Obama will come online to answer questions about the fiscal cliff. A @WhiteHouse tweet with the distincitive “-bo” signature, announced not long ago that the big guy himself will be taking questions online, starting at 2:00 p.m. ET.Good to see lots of folks on twitter speaking out on extending middle class tax cuts. I’ll...

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Lindsay Lohan Is 'Out of Control,' Says a Source

By Aili Nahas 12/03/2012 at 03:00 PM EST Things are not looking good for Liz and Dick star Lindsay Lohan.Less than 24 hours before the well-documented punching incident at an N.Y.C. nightclub that got her arrested, Lohan was "dancing like crazy" past 2 a.m. at The Darby, at one point "causing a scene" when...

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Fossil fuel subsidies in focus at climate talks

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $1 per gallon at the pump."Thank God that our country is an oil producer and the price of gasoline is one of the lowest," al-Kubaisi said, filling up his Toyota Land Cruiser at a gas station in Doha. "God has given us a blessing."To those looking for a global response to climate...

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Girl, 12, held as sex slave, forced into prostitution by couple, police allege

An Oceanside couple are scheduled to be in court Monday to face accusations that they kept an underage Mexican immigrant as a sex slave, forcing her into prostitution and beating her severely.Marcial Garcia Hernandez, 45, and Inez Martinez Garcia, 43, were arrested Thursday on suspicion of 13 felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under age 14.The girl had been smuggled...

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In Damascus, Tense Anticipation of Strongest Push Yet by Rebels

Joseph Eid/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDistant explosions have awakened a sense of foreboding even in the tranquil Old City. BEIRUT, Lebanon — As Syrian rebels and government forces clashed on the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday, with explosions rumbling in the distance and warplanes screeching overhead, the rebels appeared to be making their strongest push toward the city since the government...

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Shania Twain Kicks Off Vegas Show

By Mark Gray 12/02/2012 at 02:30 PM EST Shania Twain in Las Vegas Dec. 1 Jeff Bottari/Getty Shania Twain still feels like a woman. And now she feels like a Las Vegas headliner.The Canadian singer kicked off her two-year residency Saturday at Vegas's Caesars Palace...

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Church volunteer molested boys 'for years,' police allege

Newport Beach police arrested a Costa Mesa man Saturday suspected of having inappropriate sexual relationships that spanned years with at least two boys.Christopher Bryan McKenzie, 48, allegedly sexually abused at least two victims between the ages of 8 and 16. Newport Beach police said both victims, now adults, contacted police separately early last week.One victim was abused from the...

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