Protests Erupt After Egypt’s Leader Seizes New Power

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesEgyptians in central Cairo ran from tear gas during clashes with the police on Friday. Protesters took to the streets in several cities. More Photos »CAIRO — Protests erupted across Egypt on Friday, as opponents of President Mohamed Morsi clashed with his supporters over a presidential edict that gave him unchecked authority and polarized an already divided...

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Secret message found with carrier pigeon may never be deciphered

British man finds carrier pigeon skeleton in his fireplace with unbreakable secret code (Reuters)Before military forces had secure cell phones and satellite communications, they used carrier pigeons. The highly trained birds delivered sensitive information from one location to another during  World War II. Often, the birds found the intended recipient. But not always.A dead pigeon was recently...

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Larry Hagman Dies

TV Watch TV News By Aaron Parsley 11/24/2012 at 12:00 AM EST Larry Hagman has died. The actor, who famously played J.R. Ewing on the hit primetime soap Dallas, was 81. "When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones," his family said in a statement released to the Dallas Morning News on Friday. "It was a peaceful...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Political wrangling to pinch market's nerves

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Volatility is the name of this game. With the S&P 500 above 1,400 following five days of gains, traders will be hard pressed not to cash in on the advance at the first sign of trouble during negotiations over tax hikes and spending cuts that resume next week in Washington. President Barack Obama and U.S. congressional leaders are expected to discuss...

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Jake Owen Welcomes a Daughter

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 11/22/2012 at 08:30 PM ET Courtesy Jake Owen It’s a Thanksgiving baby!Jake Owen and his wife Lacey welcomed their first child, daughter Olive Pearl Owen, on Thursday, Nov. 22 in Nashville, Tenn., his rep confirms to PEOPLE.Pearl, as she will be called after...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Asia shares set for best week in 2 months as outlook improves

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Friday and were on course for a weekly gain of more than 2.5 percent, their best in two months, after manufacturing surveys from the world's biggest economies raised hopes that the global growth outlook is improving at last. The euro was also enjoying a positive week, despite data on Thursday pointing to the euro zone sliding into its deepest...

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Mayim Bialik and Michael Stone Divorcing

By Mike Fleeman 11/21/2012 at 05:00 PM EST After "much consideration and soul-searching," Mayim Bialik announced Wednesday that she and husband Michael Stone are divorcing after nine years of marriage.The Big Bang Theory star, who has sons Miles, 7, and Fred, 4, with Stone, cites "irreconcilable differences"...

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Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.Up to one-third of breast cancers, or 50,000 to 70,000 cases a year, don't need treatment, the study suggests.It's the most detailed look yet at...

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Asian shares rise on encouraging China, U.S. factory data

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Thursday and European equities were expected to follow as solid manufacturing surveys in the United States and China fed optimism that the global growth slowdown may have turned a corner, while the euro was underpinned by hopes for aid for Greece. The euro rebounded to a two-week high against the dollar of $1.28685. German Chancellor Angela Merkel...

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Gunman in Mumbai Attacks Is Hanged

India executed the only surviving gunman from the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai early Wednesday, the country’s Home Ministry said. The gunman, Muhammad Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 attackers who rampaged through the streets of India’s financial capital for three days in November 2008 and killed 163 people. Mr. Kasab was hanged in secrecy at 7:30 a.m. at a jail in Pune, a city...

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The Voice: Top Eight Contestants Revealed

TV Watch By Julia Haskins 11/20/2012 at 10:05 PM EST From left: Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and host Carson Daly Mark Seliger/NBC Following what Blake Shelton called the "best episode of The Voice we've ever had", spirited group...

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription...

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Asian shares, euro fall on uncertainty over Greek bailout

TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro skidded on Wednesday and Asian shares fell after European officials failed to reach a deal on another bailout for Greece, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke highlighted the dangers of a U.S. fiscal crisis. U.S. stock futures eased 0.4 percent, pointing to a weak Wall Street open. Financial spreadbetters predict London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>,...

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Obama Receives Warm Welcome in Myanmar

YANGON, MYANMAR — The generals predicted that the Americans would come — but not like this. In the paranoid decades of military rule, members of Myanmar’s junta told diplomats that they feared an American invasion and regime change. On Monday, there was a large American deployment to Myanmar, but of an entirely different kind. Two jumbo jets carrying President Barack Obama, Secretary...

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Dancing with the Stars: Couples Perform Crazy Combinations in Semi-Finals

TV Watch Dancing With the Stars By Aaron Parsley 11/19/2012 at 11:05 PM EST Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough Craig Sjodin/ABC It's the semi-finals!The remaining five couples on Dancing with the Stars faced two rounds of competition on Monday. First, the pairs performed...

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make...

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Asian shares rise on hopes for U.S. fiscal deal

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Tuesday on hopes of a compromise in the U.S. fiscal crisis, while the euro fell after Moody's Investors Service scrapped France's top-notch credit rating, reminding investors of the downside risk from the euro zone debt woes. With risk assets from stocks to commodities rallying over the past two sessions, recovering some of last week's sharp losses,...

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Gaza Clash Escalates With Deadliest Israeli Strike

Bernat Armangue/Associated PressSmoke rose over Gaza City on Sunday, as Israel widened its range of targets to include buildings used by the news media. CAIRO — Emboldened by the rising power of Islamists around the region, the Palestinian militant group Hamas demanded new Israeli concessions to its security and autonomy before it halts its rocket attacks on Israel, even as the conflict took an increasing...

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Cisco to buy cloud-networking start-up Meraki for $1.2 billion

(Reuters) – Networking equipment company Cisco Systems Inc said it will buy privately held cloud networking company Meraki for $ 1.2 billion in cash as part of its cloud and networking strategy.Cisco said the acquisition of Meraki, which was founded in 2006 by members of MIT’s Laboratory for Computer Science, is expected to close in the second quarter...

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Justin Bieber Brings His Mom to the American Music Awards

By Maggie Coughlan 11/18/2012 at 09:35 PM EST Pattie Mallette and Justin Bieber Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters/Landov Mother knows best!Despite his recent split from Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber still had a date for the 40th American Music Awards on Sunday: his mother,...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Asian shares rise on US fiscal hopes

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Monday, supported by hopes U.S. politicians can overcome an imminent fiscal crunch while the yen fell to a near seven-month low against the dollar on expectations a new government chosen in next month's election could pump large amounts of stimulus cash into the economy. A 0.2 percent gain in U.S. stock futures point to a firm Wall Street open, and...

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Israel Broadens Its Bombing in Gaza to Include Government Sites

Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesA man injured by bombing in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on Saturday that also killed one person. GAZA CITY — Israel pressed its assault on the Gaza Strip early Sunday, deploying warplanes and naval vessels to pummel the coastal enclave a day after Israeli forces widened the onslaught from mostly military targets to centers of government infrastructure including...

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