Egypt Sends Prime Minister to Gaza in Show of Solidarity

Ilia Yefimovich/Getty ImagesSmoke rose over Gaza on Friday. Israel denied launching airstrikes. More Photos »JERUSALEM — After a night of ferocious airstrikes in Gaza and rocket fire toward Israel, Egypt on Friday launched a remarkable diplomatic initiative, sending its prime minister to show support for Palestinians in the beleaguered enclave, a move that prompted his Israeli counterpart to agree...

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The X Factor Reveals Its Top 12

TV Watch The X Factor 11/15/2012 at 11:00 PM EST Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell Double elimination time on The X Factor!The top 12 performed songs by divas the night before – and then faced a night of diva-worthy drama on Thursday's show. And it was a particularly...

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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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Banks seen shrinking for good as lay-offs near 160,000

LONDON (Reuters) - Major banks have announced some 160,000 job cuts since early last year and with more lay-offs to come as the industry restructures, many will leave the shrinking sector for good as redundancies outpace new hires by roughly two-to-one. A Reuters analysis of job cuts announced by 29 major banks showed the lay-offs were much bigger in Europe than in Asia or the United...

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BBC Failures Show Limits of Guidelines

LONDON — It was 2004, and the British Broadcasting Corporation was gripped by a crisis over journalistic standards that had led to Parliamentary hearings, public recrimination and the resignations of its two top officials. Vowing change, the corporation established elaborate bureaucratic procedures that placed more formal responsibility for delicate decisions in the hands not of individual managers,...

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RIM to offer free voice calls over Wi-Fi with BBM

TORONTO (AP) — BlackBerry users will soon be able to make free voice calls over a Wi-Fi network using the popular BBM messaging service.Research In Motion Ltd. announced Wednesday that it’s adding the feature to BBM. Users will be able to switch back and forth from a text chat to a voice call. A split-screen option will let them talk and text at the same...

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Hope Solo Weds Jerramy Stevens Amid Assault Allegations?

By Dahvi Shira 11/14/2012 at 06:35 PM EST Jerramy Stevens and Hope Solo NFL/Getty; Jeff Vinnick/Getty One day after former Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his fiancée, U.S. women's soccer team goalkeeper Hope...

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Booze calories nearly equal soda's for US adults

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans get too many calories from soda. But what about alcohol? It turns out adults get almost as many empty calories from booze as from soft drinks, a government study found.Soda and other sweetened drinks — the focus of obesity-fighting public health campaigns — are the source of about 6 percent of the calories adults consume, on average. Alcoholic beverages account for about...

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Stock index futures signal higher Wall Street open

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Thursday on bargain hunting, following losses in the previous session on concerns about the "fiscal cliff". * Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.1 to 0.3 percent, a day after U.S. stocks <.dji><.spx><.ixic> fell 1.3 to 1.5 percent. ...

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France Grants Its Recognition to Syria Rebels

Javier Manzano/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSmoke billowed from burning tires as a Syria rebel fired towards regime forces during clashes in the Al-Amariya district of Aleppo in Syria on Tuesday. PARIS — France announced Tuesday that it was recognizing the newly formed Syrian rebel coalition and would consider arming the group, seeking to inject momentum into a broad Western and Arab effort...

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The Voice Sends Two Contestants Home

TV Watch The Voice By Julia Haskins 11/13/2012 at 10:20 PM EST Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera Christopher Polk/Getty It was a great night for Teams Cee Lo and Adam on The Voice Tuesday. And though not everyone got good news on elimination night, there were plenty...

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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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Fed's Yellen backs holding rates near zero to 2016

BERKELEY, California (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that U.S. short-term interest rates may need to stay near zero until early 2016, a half year longer than Wall Street dealers expect, to forcefully lift employment. The central bank's No. 2 official, viewed as a front-runner to succeed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke when his term expires in January 2014,...

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