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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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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Wall Street Week Ahead: A lump of coal for "Fiscal Cliff-mas"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street traders are going to have to pack their tablets and work computers in their holiday luggage after all. A traditionally quiet week could become hellish for traders as politicians in Washington are likely to fall short of an agreement to deal with $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in early next year. Many economists forecast that this...

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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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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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Wall Street sinks as "fiscal cliff" fears escalate

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid on Friday after a Republican plan to avoid the "fiscal cliff" failed to gain support on Thursday night, shrinking hopes that a deal would be reached before the new year. Trading was volatile as investors lost confidence in the prospect of a deal between the White House and Republicans. Lower volume ahead of the Christmas and New Year's holidays exaggerated...

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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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Wall Street advances on 'fiscal cliff' talks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged up in a thinly traded session on Thursday after Republican House Speaker John Boehner pledged to keep working on a solution to the "fiscal cliff" while still criticizing President Barack Obama's approach to budget talks. NYSE Euronext was the day's biggest gainer, surging 33.5 percent to $32.12 as the S&P 500's top percentage gainer, after IntercontinentalExchange...

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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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Wall St slips as "cliff" talks sour, but hopes remain

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as talks to avert a fiscal crisis by the end of the year turned sour following recent progress, even as the market's moderate decline points to expectations that a deal will be reached. President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans are struggling to come up with a deal to avoid early 2013 tax hikes and spending cuts that many economists...

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Sasol Betting Big on Gas-to-Liquid Plant in U.S.

OryxThe Oryx natural gas processing plant in Qatar, where Sasol is converting natural gas to diesel fuel. RAS LAFFAN INDUSTRIAL CITY, Qatar — The compact assembly of towers, tubes and tanks that make up the Oryx natural gas processing plant is almost lost in a vast petrochemical complex that rises here like a hazy mirage from a vast ocean of sand. A blog about energy and the environment. ...

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