Anger at Australian radio station over royal hoax

LONDON (AP) — It started out as a joke, but ended in tragedy.The sudden death of a nurse who unwittingly accepted a prank call to a London hospital about Prince William‘s pregnant wife Kate has shocked Britain and Australia, and sparked an angry backlash Saturday from some who argue the DJs who carried out the hoax should be held responsible.At first, the call by two irreverent Australian DJs posing...

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Are Online Degrees as Valuable as Traditional College Diplomas?

Millennials are the first generation to grow up with constant technology and personal computers. That might explain why they see such a value in online education.A recent poll by Northeastern University showed that 18 to 29 year olds had a more negative view about attending college because of the high cost, and a more positive opinion about online classes than their older counterparts. The survey...

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TNT’s “Leverage” could end this month, producer warns

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – This could end up being a very un-merry Christmas for “Leverage” fans.Dean Devlin, executive producer of the TNT drama, penned an open letter to the show’s viewers on Thursday, telling them that he and fellow “Leverage” executive producer John Rogers crafted the show’s Season 5 finale – airing December 25 – as a series finale, because it just might be.TNT has not yet decided...

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Pfizer/Bristol drug cuts recurrence of blood clots – study

(Reuters) – A new blood clot preventer from Pfizer Inc and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co reduced the risk of recurrence of clots in veins and lungs and death by 80 percent with no increase in major bleeding in a study testing extended use of the drug.In the year-long trial of 2,486 patients who had been previously treated for the condition known as venous thromboembolism (VTE) the drug, apixaban, met the...

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Egypt terror leader possibly linked to Benghazi attack arrested

Dec 8, 2012 2:16pm Mohammad Hannon/AP PhotoThe leader of an Egyptian terrorist cell that planned attacks in Egypt and may be linked with the storming of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11 has been arrested by Egyptian intelligence officers, according to an official close to Egypt’s intelligence agency and a senior U.S. official.Mohammad Jamal Abdo Ahmed...

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Protesters surge around Egypt’s presidential palace

CAIRO (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters surged around the presidential palace on Friday and the opposition rejected President Mohamed Mursi‘s call for dialogue to end a crisis that has polarized the nation and sparked deadly clashes.The Islamist leader’s deputy said he could delay a December 15 referendum on a constitution that liberals opposed, although the concession only partly...

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iPad mini fails to draw crowds for China launch

Either Apple’s (AAPL) reservation-only system works better than anyone could have expected, or consumers in China have little interest in the company’s new iPad mini. Apple’s tiny tablet launched on schedule on Friday but according to IDG News Service, the turnout for Apple’s new slate was minimal. At Apple’s new flagship store in the well-trafficked Wangfujing district in Beijing, for example,...

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Nurse who took prank call about royal Kate found dead

LONDON (Reuters) – A nurse who answered a prank call at the London hospital that was treating Prince William‘s pregnant wife Kate for morning sickness has been found dead, the hospital said on Friday, in a suspected suicide.The death comes days after the King Edward VII hospital apologized for being duped by an Australian radio station and relaying details about Kate’s condition which made headlines...

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Supreme Court to hear “pay-for-delay” drug case

(Reuters) – The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether brand-name drug companies may pay money to generic drug rivals to keep their lower-priced products off the market, a practice estimated to cost consumers and the government billions of dollars each year.The arrangements, known as “pay-for-delay” or “reverse payments,” have for more than a decade vexed antitrust enforcers including the...

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High court to hear key gay-marriage cases

A same sex marriage supporter waves a gay pride flag outside the Supreme Court (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)The Supreme Court announced Friday that it will decide two major gay marriage cases next year that could have a sweeping effect on the rights of same-sex couples to wed. The cases, which likely won't be decided until June, mark the first time the justices will consider arguments for and against...

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Toronto mayor to stay in power pending appeal of ouster

TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford can stay in power pending an appeal of a conflict of interest ruling that ordered him out of his job as leader of Canada’s biggest city, a court ruled on Wednesday.Madam Justice Gladys Pardu of the Ontario Divisional Court suspended a previous court ruling that said Ford should be ousted. Ford’s appeal of that ruling is set to be heard on January 7, but a...

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Facebook might buy Microsoft’s Atlas Ad platform to compete with Google

Is Facebook (FB) preparing to compete with Google (GOOG) in online advertising? According to AllThingsD and BusinessInsider’s sources Facebook might be taking steps to build its own advertising network for online websites. AllThingsD says that rather than build a new advertising network from scratch, Facebook could just buy Microsoft’s (MSFT) Atlas Solutions platform “that...

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Kristen Wiig may join “Anchorman: The Legend Continues”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Kristen Wiig is being eyed for a role in “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” for Paramount Pictures, a person familiar with the negotiations has told TheWrap.Wiig would play opposite Steve Carell, as a love interest in the sequel. The script is still being written, and no cast beyond the principals has been set.Adam McKay is directing the feature, which is being produced...

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Why are People so Interested in the DSM-5?

There is a lot of internet buzz about the approval by the American Psychiatric Association‘s (APA) board of trustees of its fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5.)The APA press release notes “the trustees’ action marks the end of the manual’s comprehensive revision process, which has spanned over a decade and included contributions from more than 1,500 experts...

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Pelosi slams House GOP for taking break amid debt talks

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi today ripped House Republicans for scheduling a five-day break amid the " fiscal cliff" debate, asking why the chamber is not in session "trying to build confidence" and "find common ground" with only 26 days left until a mix of steep tax hikes and spending cuts take effect."Here we are, Thursday in December. The talk around here is what's going on at the...

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Death toll from Philippine typhoon nears 300

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — Stunned parents searching for missing children examined a row of mud-stained bodies covered with banana leaves while survivors dried their soaked belongings on roadsides Wednesday, a day after a powerful typhoon killed nearly 300 people in the southern Philippines.Officials fear more bodies may be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas that were isolated by landslides,...

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Kathie Lee Gifford’s “Scandalous” musical to close after three weeks

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – So much for Kathie Lee Gifford‘s career as a playwright. The former “Live!” co-host’s Broadway musical “Scandalous: The Life and Times of Aimee Semple McPherson,” is shuttering a little after three weeks after it opened.The musical, which opened November 15, will have its final performance December 9 at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York.Gifford wrote the book and lyrics...

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Asthma symptoms may vary during menstrual cycle

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Some women may have more or fewer asthma symptoms, such as coughing and wheezing, depending on their time of the month, a new study suggests.Researchers said spikes and dips in estrogen and other hormones likely affect the lungs and other physiological responses involved in breathing. However, it’s still unclear whether the findings could improve doctors’ treatment of women...

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White House preps Plan B if debt talks fail

White House press secretary Jay Carney (Charles Dharapak/AP)President Barack Obama's budget office is preparing for the possibility that "fiscal cliff" talks will fail, triggering painful automatic cuts to domestic and defense programs that he and his Republican foes officially want to avoid. White House press secretary Jay Carney described the planning as an abundance of caution, not pessimism about...

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WestJet embraces tech to woo business travelers

TORONTO (Reuters) – WestJet Airlines Ltd will use technological innovation, including a new Internet ticket booking system, to help it transform from a no-frills carrier to a lower-cost full-service airline courting lucrative corporate travelers, its chief executive said on Monday.Canada’s second-biggest airline plans to launch a series of technology systems, most notably the new online booking engine,...

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Google updates Gmail for iOS to support multiple accounts, deliver autocomplete suggestions

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Disney, Netflix sign exclusive TV distribution deal

(Reuters) – Walt Disney Co agreed to give Netflix exclusive TV distribution rights to its movies, becoming the first major studio to stream its movies to TV viewers via Netflix instead of distributing them to HBO, Showtime or other premium TV channels.The agreement begins in 2016, after Disney‘s current deal with Liberty Media’s pay-TV channel Starz expires.The deal gives Netflix streaming rights...

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Baxter to buy Sweden’s Gambro for $4 billion

(Reuters) – Baxter International Inc said on Tuesday that it would buy privately held Swedish kidney dialysis product company Gambro AB for about $ 4 billion, a tie up that would put it in the No. 2 position in the dialysis market.Baxter, whose shares were down more than 1 percent in afternoon trading, will finance the acquisition with debt and cash. The deal, which is expected to close in the first...

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Conservative Republicans booted from House budget panel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two of the most conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have been kicked off the House Budget Committee, a rare move that could make it easier for the panel to advance a deal with Democrats to cut fiscal deficits. Representatives Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Justin Amash of Michigan - both favorites of the anti-tax Tea Party movement - are among those Republicans...

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