Congress won't act on gun control. But Obama and the states can

For starters, the president can and should close the "gun show loophole"It has now been nearly two weeks since the Newtown massacre once again cast an ugly shadow of gun violence over our country. In the ensuing fortnight, the pundits have been working overtime generating their ideas on "what to do" about guns.Their ideas aren't new: Ban assault weapons. Limit high-capacity magazines. Make access...

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Is it wrong to publish the names and addresses of gun owners?

A suburban New York newspaper plots a map of the names and addresses of gun owners, and many readers are up in armsAs the debate over gun control continues to rage in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings in Connecticut, a suburban New York newspaper fanned the flames by publishing a controversial interactive map listing the names and addresses of gun permit holders in Westchester and Rockland Counties....

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The 5 best fiction books of the year

1. Bring Up the Bodiesby Hilary Mantel (Holt, $28)In Hilary Mantel's hands, Thomas Cromwell has become "one of literature's most compelling characters," said Radhika Jones in Time. Henry VIII's chief adviser was both "loyal and scheming, generous and cruel" — traits Mantel brought to the fore in 2009's Wolf Hall, the first installment of her Cromwell trilogy. In the second, she "deepens her portrait...

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Did a rapidly changing climate make early humans smarter?

A new study points out that a constantly shifting environment may have forced us to get smart or die tryingThe question: Scientists are always on the hunt for clues in our evolutionary history that might help explain why we have such highly advanced brains. Some have pointed to the advent of cooked food as a tipping point, giving our brains the nutrients and proteins needed to grow. Others say it's...

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The 13 biggest pop culture moments of 2012

From the rise of an unexpected NBA superstar to the announcement of a royal baby, this was a year of smiles, shocks, and sheer Gangnamminess 1. Linsanity takes over the NBA When the New York Knicks picked up Jeremy Lin as a backup point guard in late 2011, he was widely regarded as a temporary Band-Aid designed to cover for injured players Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis. Shocking both fans and analysts,...

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Hug It Out: Public Charter and District Schools Given $25 Million to Get Along

If you need a loan, ask Bill and Melinda Gates. Or better yet, ask one of the seven cities that are splitting a new $25 million grant courtesy of the couple’s philanthropic foundation.The funds are going to promote cross collaboration between charter and district schools, which have previously operated in a strict and contentious independence from one another.The foundation announced the award this...

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Composición de un grupo de usuarios OpenNMS independiente; conferencia prevista para marzo 2013

Un grupo de usuarios OpenNMS ha creado la OpenNMS Foundation Europe como organización sin ánimo de lucro para promover la gestión de red en general y la plataforma de gestión de red OpenNMS en particular."La OpenNMS Foundation Europe acoge a todos aquellos usuarios de OpenNMS dentro de la comunidad OpenNMS, no solo a aquellos que contribuyen al código. Hemos integrado con éxito a aquellos que contribuyen...

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US designates Syria's Jabhat al-Nusra front a 'terrorist' group at lightning speed

The US State Department designated the Jabhat al-Nusra militia fighting Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria a foreign terrorist organization Monday.The speed with which the US government moved to designate a fairly new group that has never attacked US interests and is engaged in fighting a regime that successive administrations have demonized is evidence of the strange bedfellows and overlapping...

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Campaña en Facebook contra diputado costarricense gana premio internacional

an José, 11 dic (EFE).- Una campaña en la red social Facebook en contra de la designación del diputado cristiano Justo Orozco como presidente de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Congreso en Costa Rica, por sus posiciones en contra de la homosexualidad, ganó el premio Access Innovation Prize 2012.La agencia costarricense de publicidad en línea BigWebNoise, creadora de la campaña, en la que participaron...

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Samsung Galaxy Muse is like an iPod Shuffle that Syncs with Your Phone

In perhaps the most awkwardly titled tech press release ever, Samsung Mobile announced the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy Muse, a device which appears to have nothing to do with "CORRECTING and REPLACING and ADDING MULTIMEDIA" but everything to do with being a music player crossed with a smartphone accessory.​Say goodbye to iTunes?While most handheld music players (and smartphone or tablets with...

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donating $500 million in stock to Silicon Valley charity

 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday he is donating nearly $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity with the aim of funding health and education issues.Zuckerberg donated 18 million Facebook shares, valued at $498.8 million based on their Tuesday closing price. The beneficiary is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a non-profit that works with donors to allocate their gifts.This...

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Facebook CEO Zuckerberg donating $500M in stock

 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he is donating nearly $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity with the aim of funding health and education issues.Zuckerberg donated 18 million Facebook shares, valued at $498.8 million based on their Tuesday closing price. The beneficiary is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit that works with donors to allocate their gifts.This is...

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You Can Download Your Entire Twitter History Now

this last weekend, but Twitter has made it official in a blog post today: you can download all your tweets, from forever. The archiving feature still isn't available to all users, but it's on its way, says Twitter, which will roll out the option "over the coming weeks and months." So maybe not that soon for some of you. Only those who currently see that option under the "settings" section of the site...

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Facebook rejects German demand to allow fake names

 Facebook will fight a German privacy watchdog's demand to allow users to register with fake names, insisting Tuesday that its current practice fully complies with the law.The California-based social networking site has long required users to register with their real names — a policy that the data protection commissioner of Schleswig-Holstein state says is in breach of German law and European...

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Is Facebook the New Walmart?

It’s hard to keep up with the ways we are being duped daily, living in a fast-paced society of convenience, unlimited social sharing and a desire to get more for less. Numbed from the sheer quantity of what we take in, we forget that for every action, is a reaction.Danish philosopher, theologian, poet and social critic Søren Aabye Kierkegaard summed it up when he said “As a result of knowing and being...

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Taliban not demanding Afghan power monopoly

 Taliban representatives at a conference did not insist on total power in Afghanistan and pledged to grant rights to women that the militant Islamist group itself brutally suppressed in the past, according to a Taliban statement received Sunday. The pledges emerged from a rare meeting last week involving Taliban and Kabul government representatives. The less strident substance and tone came...

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Police say Afghan policewoman kills US adviser

An Afghan policewoman killed an American adviser at the Kabul police headquarters on Monday, a senior Afghan police official said. Kabul's Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin said it has not been determined whether the killing was intentional or accidental and that an investigation is under way. He declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the killing or give more details. It was also not...

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Police shut down roads to stop India rape protests

 Authorities shut down roads in the heart of India's capital on Monday to put an end to a week of demonstrations against the brutal gang-rape of a woman on a moving bus. Thousands of armed police and paramilitary troops blocked roads in central New Delhi to prevent protesters from marching to the presidential palace. A small group of demonstrators gathered at a venue about a kilometer (less...

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser, police say

 An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt. Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the capital and shot the adviser with a pistol as he came out of...

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul

An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt. Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the capital and shot the adviser with a pistol as he came out of a small...

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Off Fiscal Cliff, Obama Goes Golfing

Taking a break from the fiscal cliff negotiations, President Obama is spending the first day of his holiday vacation golfing with friends and aides, including longtime pal Bobby Titcomb, who was arrested last year on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute.After arriving in Hawaii late last night, the president spent this morning at his family's vacation residence along the shores of Kailua, a quiet...

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Reid urges quick appointment of Inouye successor

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is asking Hawaii's governor to act before the end of the year to fill the Senate vacancy created by the death of Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.Reid says he's asked Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie to appoint Inouye's successor "with due haste." Reid says he wants to ensure Hawaii is fully represented "in the pivotal decisions" the Senate will be making.Inouye died of respiratory...

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Early signs show Egypt's new constitution passing

Early indications showed Egyptians approved an Islamist-drafted constitution after Saturday's final round of voting in a referendum despite opposition criticism of the measure as divisive.An official from the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, which backs Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, said that after nearly 4 million votes had been counted there was a majority of 74 percent in favor of the...

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Obama starts Hawaiian vacation, leaving Washington on ice

Taking what promised to be a very brief Christmas break from the ongoing struggle to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, President Barack Obama relaxed with his family on Saturday at a beach retreat in Hawaii.Congress was to return to Washington next Thursday and Obama has pledged to work with lawmakers to strike a deal to avoid the economic shock from tax and spending measures...

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Italy dissolves parliament, Monti mulls future

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's head of state dissolved parliament on Saturday and opened the way to a February election, with doubts growing over whether outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti will participate in what promises to be a bitter campaign.Monti resigned on Friday a couple of months ahead of the end of his term of office, after his technocrat government lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right...

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Analysis: Mortgage demand too much for U.S. banks, who respond slowly

(Reuters) - Big U.S. banks are hiring mortgage bankers to meet a surge in demand for home loans and refinancings, but they are still struggling to process applications, which could undermine the Federal Reserve's attempts to stimulate the economy.Since the Fed announced its plan in September to buy up to $40 billion of mortgages a month, consumer mortgage rates have fallen more slowly and by less...

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US rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.41 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. mortgage rates rose only slightly this week and continued to hover near record lows, a trend that has helped boost home sales and refinancing.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage edged up to 3.41 percent, from 3.37 last week. Three weeks ago, the rate touched 3.36 percent. That's the lowest level on records dating to 1971.The...

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US home sales rise 2.1 percent in October

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes rose solidly in October, helped by improvement in the job market and record-low mortgage rates.The increase along with a jump in homebuilder confidence this month suggests the housing market continues to recover.The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million....

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News Summary: US home sales rise 2.1 pct. in Oct.

SALES RISE: U.S. sales of previously occupied homes rose moderately in October, helped by improvement in the job market and record-low mortgage rates. Sales rose 2.1 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million according to the National Association of Realtors.INVENTORIES: A decline in housing inventory is helping push prices higher. There were only 2.14 million homes available...

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DrugRisk Announces Alternative to Mirena IUD May Be Available Soon

The Drug Risk Resource Center is the Web’s largest source for information on medical device research, side effects and legal news. Visit http://www.DrugRisk.comOrlando, FL (PRWEB) December 19, 2012Earlier this month, Bayer announced it would enter the European market with a new plastic contraceptive implant that can provide birth control for up to three years. The Jaydess device, which was recently...

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US Drug Watchdog Now Urges Yaz Yasmin Birth Control Pill Users Who Suffered a Stroke, Blood Clots, or a Heart Attack to Call the Johnson Law Group for a Legal Review

The US Drug Watchdog is urging any woman who used the birth control pills called Yaz, Yasmin, or their generic version Ocella, and then developed severe side effects occurred, such a pulmonary embolism, a heart attack, a stroke, or other severe medical conditions to please contact the Johnson Law Group immediately at 1-800-996-9900. http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com/(PRWEB) December 19, 2012The US Drug...

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