The Lede Blog: Frank Video of Mass Sexual Assault in Cairo Is Released by Anti-Harassment Activists

Egyptian activists released a brutally frank video on Friday, using images recorded during the mass sexual assault of a woman last week in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to urge volunteers to join their campaign against attacks during demonstrations.The video, created by the filmmakers Aida Elkashef and Salam Yousry, uses disturbing overhead images of a crowd of men swarming around a woman being assaulted...

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The Next PlayStation: 5 Lessons I Hope Sony’s Learned

From wishful thinking to shockingly sudden all-but-certainty, Sony‘s next game system may be here at last (I’ll try to avoid calling it things Sony hasn’t, like “PlayStation 4″ or “Orbis”), apparently head-faking Microsoft to debut earlier than expected at what’ll no doubt be a media circus in New York (and online) come Feb. 20.The event invite cleared my inbox last night accompanied by, well,...

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Jim Nabors on Life as a Newlywed and Macadamia Nut Farmer

By Monica Rizzo 02/02/2013 at 05:00 PM EST When actor Jim Nabors married Stan Cadwallader, his partner of 38 years last month, he wasn't trying to make a political statement about gay marriage. He just wanted to marry the man he calls "best friend." "We've been together a long time and we just thought,...

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"Great Rotation"- A Wall Street fairy tale?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's current jubilant narrative is that a rush into stocks by small investors has sparked a "great rotation" out of bonds and into equities that will power the bull market to new heights. That sounds good, but there's a snag: The evidence for this is a few weeks of bullish fund flows that are hardly unusual for January. Late-stage bull markets...

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New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful.Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out...

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The Lede Blog: Video and Images of New Clashes in Cairo

As our colleagues Kareem Fahim and David Kirkpatrick report, Egyptian protesters clashed with riot police officers outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday night.Protesters hurled rocks and launched fireworks over the building’s outer wall, setting fire to a guard tower and drawing a robust response from security forces, who protesters said fired tear gas, rubber bullets and birdshot, causing...

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Apple edges out Samsung for mobile phone sales lead in fourth quarter

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc became the top mobile phone seller for the first time in the lucrative U.S. market during the fourth quarter of 2012, outshining arch rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, a report by Strategy Analytics showed.Apple‘s share of the U.S. mobile phone market, including feature phones and smartphones, jumped to 34 percent from 26 percent, while Samsung’s share grew to 32.3...

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Obama offers faith groups new birth control rule

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a wave of lawsuits over what government can tell religious groups to do, the Obama administration on Friday proposed a compromise for faith-based nonprofits that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans.Some of the lawsuits appear headed for the Supreme Court, threatening another divisive legal battle over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul...

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Wall Street surges to five-year highs; Dow ends above 14,000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose to five-year highs on Friday, with the Dow closing above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007, after jobs and manufacturing data showed the economy's recovery remains on track. The S&P touched its highest since December 2007 after a 5 percent gain in January, which was its best start to a year since 1997. The index is now just about 60 points...

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Hagel Offers Endorsement of U.S. Military Might

Tough Questions for Hagel at Hearing: Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense, had some sharp exchanges with Senator John McCain.WASHINGTON — Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, came under sharp and sometimes angry questioning Thursday on a wide range of issues from fellow Republicans at his Senate confirmation hearing, including from his old...

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OpenStack at Linux.conf.au 2013

I’m writing this blog post from Canberra Australia, while attending the Linux.conf.au (LCA) open source conference. Among the people who do these sorts of things, LCA has a well deserved reputation as one of the very best open source conferences in the world.Geeks from across Australia and New Zealand, and from across the rest of the world, come together for a week in January (summer in this part...

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Style Rx: Can Mariah Carey's Midriff Mistake Be Fixed?

Stylewatch Style News Now 01/31/2013 at 04:15 PM ET Dave Spencer/Splash News OnlineWho: Mariah CareyWhere: Enjoying the unseasonably warm weather in N.Y.C. WednesdayDiagnosis: All symptoms indicate that Carey has taken Throwback...

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Hedgehog Alert! Prickly pets can carry salmonella

NEW YORK (AP) — Add those cute little hedgehogs to the list of pets that can make you sick.In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died in January. The illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health officials on Thursday...

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Israeli Jets Attack Inside Target in Syria

JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes carried out a strike deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday, American officials reported, saying they believed the target was a convoy carrying sophisticated antiaircraft weaponry on the outskirts of Damascus that was intended for the Hezbollah Shiite militia in Lebanon. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Israelis had notified the...

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Mary O'Connor's Life Inside the Playboy Mansion

For four decades, Hugh Hefner's longtime secretary was a constant source of companionship for the Playboy founder and his bunnies Credit: Elayne Lodge Updated: Wednesday Jan 30, 2013 | 02:05 PM EST By: Dahvi Shira Subscribe Now ...

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Wall Street ends lower after Fed statement

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said in its latest statement that economic growth had stalled but indicated the pullback was likely temporary. Stocks were flat for most of the session prior to the Fed statement at the end of a two-day policy meeting. The Fed repeated its pledge to keep purchasing securities until employment improves substantially....

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APNewsBreak: EPA moves to ban some rodent poisons

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is moving to ban the sale of a dozen rat and mouse poisons sold under the popular D-Con brand in an effort to protect children and pets.The agency said Wednesday it hopes to reduce the thousands of accidental exposures that occur every year from rodent-control products. Children and pets are at risk for exposure because the products typically...

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Senate Approves Kerry for Secretary of State

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Senator John Kerry as secretary of state, filling a key job in President Obama’s second-term national security team. The nomination was approved by a vote of 94 to 3. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Republicans of Texas, and Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, opposed the nomination. Mr. Kerry voted “present.” Mr. Kerry,...

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Survey shows strong consumer interest in BlackBerry 10, but few are willing to buy just yet

The good news for RIM (RIMM): Lots of people are interested in checking out its upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. The bad news: Few are willing to commit to buying a BlackBerry 10 device at the moment. According to a new online survey of more than 1,100 Americans commissioned by mobile application specialist BiTE interactive and conducted by reputable pollster YouGov, 47% of Americans find “at least...

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Randy Houser and Son Bond over Bedtime Routine

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 01/28/2013 at 03:00 PM ET Courtesy Randy HouserIt’s been a big week for singer Randy Houser: Within days of releasing his new album How Country Feels, the title track is already steady at the top of the charts.But the country crooner isn’t the only one putting his...

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Soldier with new arms determined to be independent

BALTIMORE (AP) — After weeks of round-the-clock medical care, Brendan Marrocco insisted on wheeling himself into the room, using an elbow from one of his new transplanted arms to turn the wheels of his wheelchair.Then the former soldier pushed his hair aside, using the thumb of his new left hand.Such simple tasks would go unnoticed in most patients. But for Marrocco, who lost all four limbs while...

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Wall Street advances as defensive stocks extend rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Tuesday, led by defensive sectors, in a sign the cash piles recently moving into the market are being put to use by cautious investors to pick up more gains. The S&P 500 is on track to post its best monthly performance since October 2011 and its best January since 1997 as investors poured $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded...

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IHT Rendezvous: Regulating the British Press

LONDON — News doesn’t just travel fast here. It happens fast, too. And once it has happened, new news overtakes the old: the dogs bark, as the old Middle Eastern adage has it, but the caravan moves on.So it has seemed in the almost two months since the publication of the bulky Leveson Report into the culture and behavior of the British press. The land has been swamped by a procession of other front-page...

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TSX little changed, RIM positioning offsets banks

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada‘s main stock index finished little changed on Monday, as gains in the financial group were partially offset by Research In Motion Ltd shares, which sagged ahead of its critical BlackBerry 10 launch this week.The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> was down 0.72 of a point at 12,815.91. Half of the index’s 10 key sectors climbed higher.</.gsptse>(Reporting...

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