Israel Steps Up Aerial Strikes in Gaza

Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesA man injured by bombing in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on Saturday that also killed one person. More Photos »GAZA CITY — Israel broadened its assault on the Gaza Strip on Saturday from mostly military targets to centers of government infrastructure, obliterating the four-story headquarters of the Hamas prime minister with a barrage of five bombs. The...

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President Obama Perfects the McKayla Maroney Scowl

By Kristen Mascia 11/17/2012 at 01:45 PM EST Pete Souza/The White House/Getty Heads up, America: the President is not impressed.During the U.S. women's gymnastics team's visit to the White House on Thursday, president Barack Obama posed with McKayla Maroney,...

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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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Girl, 15, forced into prostitution by family counselor

A San Bernardino family counselor responsible for providing services to children and families also coerced a 15-year-old girl into prostitution and sold sexual services on the Internet, the San Bernardino County district attorney's office said Thursday.Daron Lamar Whitworth, 42, worked for EMQ FamiliesFirst, a nonprofit that provides social services, mental-health and foster care for young...

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Tensions Escalate in Gaza Conflict

New Cars SearchUsed Cars SearchMore in Automobiles Corner OfficeIf I Hire You, What’s Your 100-Day Plan?John Duffy of 3C Interactive says he asks job candidates to describe what their first months on the job would be like, partly to “learn what their expectations are, and where they think we’re at.” Find the best job in the New York metro area and beyo...

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Samsung goes after HTC deal to undercut Apple-filing

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When Apple Inc and HTC Corp last week ended their worldwide legal battles with a 10-year patent licensing agreement, they declined to answer a critical question: whether all of Apple‘s patents were covered by the deal.It’s an enormously important issue for the broader smartphone patent wars. If all the Apple patents are included...

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Jordin Sparks Celebrates Her Own Sexy Man Jason Derulo

By Lilly Workneh 11/16/2012 at 05:45 PM EST Jordin Sparks and Jason Derulo Patrick Butler for People There's no question that Channing Tatum is one sexy man, but Jordin Sparks only has eyes for her own man, fellow singer Jason Derulo. Last year, Derulo was dubbed one of PEOPLE's Sexiest Men...

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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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Irvine plans review of Great Park funds

Irvine leaders are planning a detailed review of the $200 million spent on what has been billed as the country's next great...

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Palestinian Rockets Kill Three Israelis and Trigger Air Sirens in Tel Aviv

KIRYAT MALACHI, Israel — Israel and Hamas widened their deadly conflict over Gaza on Thursday, as militants fired dozens of rockets — including one that killed three civilians in an apartment block in this small southern Israeli town — and two longer-range rockets aimed at Tel Aviv, causing no harm but triggering the first air raid warning there set off by incoming fire from Gaza. The death toll in...

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Kris and Bruce Jenner Divorce Rumors Are 'Rubbish,' Says a Source

By Maggie Coughlan and Jennifer Garcia 11/15/2012 at 05:05 PM EST Here's a storyline you won't see on Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Kris and Bruce Jenner splitting.After reports surfaced that the couple of 21 years was headed for divorce, a source tells PEOPLE it couldn't be farther from the truth. "They're...

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Diabetes rates rocket in Oklahoma, South

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's diabetes problem is getting worse, and the biggest jump over 15 years was in Oklahoma, according to a new federal report issued Thursday.The diabetes rate in Oklahoma more than tripled, and Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama also saw dramatic increases since 1995, the study showed.The South's growing weight problem is the main explanation, said Linda Geiss, lead author of the...

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Justin Bieber freeway chase charged unconstitutional, judge says

A Los Angeles Superior court judge threw out charges related to a first-of-its-kind anti-paparazzi law Wednesday in the case of a freelance photographer who was charged in connection with a freeway chase involving pop star Justin Bieber. Judge Thomas Rubinson ruled that while Los Angeles city prosecutors could proceed with two traffic-related charges against Paul Raef, the two counts...

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Israelis Launch Major Assault on Gaza, Killing Hamas Commander

GAZA — Israel on Wednesday launched one of the most ferocious assaults on Gaza since its invasion four years ago, hitting at least 20 targets in aerial attacks that killed the top military commander of Hamas, drew strong condemnation from Egypt and escalated the risks of a new war in the Middle East. The Israelis coupled the intensity of the airstrikes with the threat of another ground invasion...

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Beverly Johnson Welcomes a Grandson

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 11/14/2012 at 05:30 PM ET Courtesy Patterson Family Election day ended in a big win for Anansa Sims!The plus-size model and her husband, former NFL player David Patterson, welcomed their second child, David Bernard Patterson III, on Tuesday, Nov. 6, her rep confirms...

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New gene triples risk for Alzheimer's disease

Scientists have identified a new gene variant that seems to strongly raise the risk for Alzheimer's disease, giving a fresh target for research into treatments for the mind-robbing disorder.The problem gene is not common — less than 1 percent of people are thought to have it — but it roughly triples the chances of developing Alzheimer's compared to people with the normal version of the gene. It also...

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Justin Bieber, driving Ferarri, gets second citation in 6 months

For the second time in six months, pop star Justin Bieber has been cited by authorities for a traffic violation involving a high-end sports car.But this time Bieber can't blame his traffic violation on the paparazzi. This time it was all Bieber during an apparent joyride Tuesday night in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies.Bieber was pulled over in a white...

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White House Supports Top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan

President Obama has faith in Gen. John R. Allen, the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, the White House spokesman said on Tuesday, after it was disclosed that the general was under investigation for what the Pentagon called “inappropriate communication” with the woman whose complaint to the F.B.I. set off the scandal involving David H. Petraeus’s extramarital affair. “The president...

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Zynga CFO leaves for Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Zynga Inc‘s chief financial officer, David Wehner, will leave the company for an executive position at Facebook Inc, the gaming company announced Tuesday as it reshuffled its upper ranks.David Ko, chief mobile officer, has been elevated to become Zynga‘s new chief operations officer. Mark Vranesh,...

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Recipe: Bethenny Frankel's Nutty Snack

By Alison Schwartz 11/13/2012 at 05:30 PM EST Nutty granola Jason Pollini; Inset: Paul Zimmerman/Getty Bethenny Frankel can get a little nutty – when she's in the kitchen, that is.The reality star-turned-talk show host, 42, who teamed up with California Almonds...

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Report: FDA wanted to close Mass pharmacy in 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a decade ago, federal health inspectors wanted to shut down the pharmacy linked to a recent deadly meningitis outbreak until it cleaned up its operations, according to congressional investigators.About 440 people have been sickened by contaminated steroid shots distributed by New England Compounding Center, and more than 32 deaths have been reported since the outbreak began...

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Teen bitten 6 times by rattlesnakes while searching for cell signal

A 16-year-old El Cajon girl is lucky to be alive after being bitten at least six times by rattlesnakes. "On a scale from 1 to 10 the pain was 45," Vera Oliphant recalled. The young woman was visiting her uncle in Jamul, Calif., east of San Diego about two weeks ago when she decided to walk up a hill, searching for cell phone reception. "I heard them all over, I heard the rattles, then I ran,"...

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Ismail Khan, Powerful Afghan, Stokes Concern in Kabul

Bryan Denton for The New York TimesSupporters of Ismail Khan gathered outside Herat city on Nov. 1. HERAT, Afghanistan — One of the most powerful former mujahedeen commanders in Afghanistan, Ismail Khan, is calling on his followers to reorganize and defend the country as Western militaries withdraw, in a public demonstration of faltering confidence in the national government and the Western-built...

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Baby on the Way for Nick and JoAnna Garcia Swisher

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 11/12/2012 at 05:15 PM ET MediaPunch There’s a baby on the way for Nick and JoAnna Garcia Swisher!The Animal Practice star, 33, and her husband, a baseball free agent who most recently played for the New York Yankees, announced their news on Swisher’s Facebook page...

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British medical journal slams Roche on Tamiflu

LONDON (AP) — A leading British medical journal is asking the drug maker Roche to release all its data on Tamiflu, claiming there is no evidence the drug can actually stop the flu.The drug has been stockpiled by dozens of governments worldwide in case of a global flu outbreak and was widely used during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.On Monday, one of the researchers linked to the BMJ journal called for...

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Mother charges 'Modern Family' star had unlawful sex in home

Authorities are investigating an allegation by the mother of "Modern Family" star Ariel Winter that her daughter's 18-year-old boyfriend had unlawful sex with the 14-year-old actress, according to sources familiar with the investigation.The L.A. County Sheriff''s Department's Special Victims Unit also is separately examining whether Winter's mother, Chrisoula Workman, physically abused the...

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Changing of the Guard: Chinese Communist Party Faces Calls for Democracy

BEIJING — As the Communist Party’s 18th Congress approached, Li Weidong, a scholar of politics, made plans to observe a historic leadership battle in one of the world’s great nations. Instead of staying in Beijing to monitor China’s once-a-decade transfer of power, Mr. Li boarded a plane. “I’m going to the United States to study the elections,” Mr. Li said in a telephone interview...

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