S.Africa’s Mandela had gall stones removed, recovering: govt

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Top Canada court upholds anti-terrorism law in unanimous ruling

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada‘s Supreme Court on Friday upheld an anti-terrorism law enacted after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, ruling unanimously that those who choose to engage in terrorism must “pay a very heavy price.”The law’s constitutionality was challenged by Mohammad Momin Khawaja, convicted in Canada of terrorism for involvement with a British group that had plotted...

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RIM shows how BlackBerry 10 touch screen keys could rival its traditional keyboards [video]

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Evidence found at shooter’s home may point to motive, police say

Conn. State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance at Saturday morning's news conference. (Jason Sickles/Yahoo News)NEWTOWN, CT - Evidence recovered at gunman Adam Lanza's home may provide a motive for the massacre that left 26 dead at an elementary school, police said on Saturday.State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance declined to provide specifics about the evidence but said, "we're hopeful it will paint...

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“Bennifer” buried as Ben Affleck’s star soars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It has taken 10 years of hard work and indie movies, but Ben Affleck finally has moved past his “Bennifer” nightmare.Affleck, 40, once a tabloid staple who risked becoming a laughingstock during his romance with Jennifer Lopez and their movie flop “Gigli,” is back on top in Hollywood, winning accolades for his work both in front of and behind the camera.Fifteen years after...

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APNewsBreak: Texas cancer probe draws NCI scrutiny

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The federal National Cancer Institute says it’s taking a fresh look at a troubled $ 3 billion cancer-fighting effort already being scrutinized by prosecutors and lawmakers in Texas.The U.S. government’s cancer research agency confirmed Friday that upheaval within the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas caught its attention. NCI spokeswoman Aleea Farrakh Khan told...

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UPDATE 3-Cricket-Hughes shines as Australia reach 299-4

* Hughes falls just short of century* Clarke and Hussey combine for 101* Welegedera takes 3-99 (Adds quotes)HOBART, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Phil Hughes made a solid 86 on his return to test cricket before Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey took up the running and steered Australia to 299 for four at close of play on the first day of the first test against Sri Lanka on Friday.Hughes was the only batsmen to...

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Home invasion victim gets help over Xbox headset

NORTH APOLLO, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man used his Xbox headphones to call for help after being bound with duct tape and menaced with a gun during a home invasion.Investigators say the 22-year-old suburban Pittsburgh man was playing video games in an upstairs bedroom when he heard his front door open. The man initially thought it was a family member but saw an armed man wearing a ski...

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Two gunmen at Conn., school shooting, one dead

A shooting involving two gunmen erupted at a Connecticut elementary school this morning, prompting the town of Newtown to lock down all of its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today.State Police confirm that one shooter is dead. A second gunman is apparently at large, sources told ABC News.The shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, about 12 miles...

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Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps signs new first look deal with Fox

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Fox has signed a new three-year first look deal with director/producer Shawn Levy‘s 21 Laps, the production company behind “Night at the Museum” and “The Watch,” the companies announced on Wednesday.21 Laps is already based at Fox, having supplied the studio with several comedy titles over the past few years. While its most recent, “The Watch,” disappointed at the box office,...

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Fewer cancer patients pick CPR after video demo

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Dying cancer patients are less likely to want aggressive end-of-life care if they watch a short video about CPR than if they simply hear about it, according to a new study.“These are huge differences. You will die very differently if you watch the video than if you don’t,” said Dr. Angelo Volandes, the study’s lead author from Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital.“All...

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Aides: Chavez in tough fight, may miss swearing-in

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Somber confidants of President Hugo Chavez say he is going through a difficult recovery after cancer surgery in Cuba, and one close ally is warning Venezuelans that their leader may not make it back for his swearing-in next month.Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said Wednesday night that Chavez was in “stable condition” and was with close relatives in Havana. Reading...

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Lidl Christmas dinner offer goes viral on Twitter

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Discount retailer Lidl faces a 200,000-euro ($ 260,000) Christmas dinner bill after an offer of chicken vol-au-vents and ice cream cake for the poor went viral.The supermarket launched a Twitter campaign in Belgium on Monday, saying it would hand out five four-course Christmas dinners to food banks for each tweet on a hash tag.Lidl had expected to hand out about 1,000 of the 20-euro...

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GOP advisor: 'Let the fiscal cliff happen'

As politicians, businessmen and ordinary citizens brace for spending cuts and tax hikes in the new year, a long-term Republican advisor says the U.S. should take the "fiscal cliff" plunge."Let the fiscal cliff happen and reduce the deficit very substantially as a consequence,"says Bruce Bartlett, author of The Benefit and Burden: Tax Reform--Why We Need It and What It Will Take. The combination of...

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Britney Spears, Taylor Swift are top-earning women in music

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pop star Britney Spears edged past Taylor Swift to claim the title of top-earning woman in music after bringing in an estimated $ 58 million from her album, endorsements and a perfume in the past year, Forbes said on Wednesday.Country-pop singer Swift, 22, was a close second with an estimated $ 57 million paycheck thanks to her tour – which made more than $ 1 million each night...

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Canada not changing tests for meat exports to Russia

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Canada is not developing new tests for the feed additive ractopamine in beef and pork exports to Russia, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday, but is leaving shippers to take their own steps to satisfy the new Russian requirement for zero residue.The Canada Pork International marketing group said on Friday that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has provided...

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Australian prank call radio to donate profits to nurse’s family

CANBERRA (Reuters) – The Australian radio station behind a prank call to a British hospital will donate its advertising revenue until the end of the year to a fund for the family of the nurse who apparently took her own life after the stunt, the company said on Tuesday.Southern Cross Austereo, parent company of Sydney radio station 2Day FM, said it would donate all advertising revenue, with a minimum...

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WebMD to cut 14 percent of workforce to reduce expenses

(Reuters) – Health information website WebMD Health Corp said it will cut around 250 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, to reduce costs.The company, which had about 1700 employees according to Thomson Reuters data, said it would take a charge of about $ 6 million to $ 8 million in the fourth quarter, primarily on severance and other restructuring-related costs.WebMD, which is a popular and long-trusted...

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Thousands protest Mich. right-to-work law

LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) - More than 12,000 workers from throughout Michigan and the U.S. Midwest crowded into the state Capitol and marched outside in freezing temperatures on Tuesday as the legislature began debating a "right-to-work" law restricting unions in a stronghold of organized labor. Michigan State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk said the Capitol building was closed to visitors when...

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World Chefs: Keller shares memories, spotlight in latest book

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Thomas Keller, one of America‘s most respected chefs, shares the food memories of his childhood and his time in France in his new book “Bouchon Bakery,” which is also the name of his chain of pastry shops in the United States.Keller is the only American chef who owns two three-Michelin-star restaurants – Per Se in New York City and The French Laundry in the Napa Valley wine region...

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Amgen buys Icelandic gene hunter Decode for $415 million

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. biotechnology group Amgen Inc has agreed to buy unlisted Decode Genetics, a pioneer in hunting down genes linked to disease, for $ 415 million in cash to boost its drive to develop better targeted drugs.Founded in 1996, Decode blazed a trail in personal genomics by trawling Iceland’s unique genetic heritage, which has changed little since the Vikings arrived more than 1,000...

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McAfee wants to return to US, ‘normal life’

BACALAR, Mexico (AP) — Software company founder John McAfee said Sunday he wants to return to the United States and “settle down to whatever normal life” he can.In a live-stream Internet broadcast from the Guatemalan detention center where he is fighting a government order that he be returned to Belize, the 67-year-old said “I simply would like to live comfortably day by day, fish, swim, enjoy my...

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SEAL Team Six member dies in rescue of American doctor

One of the Special Operations troops involved in the raid to free an American doctor from the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan died of his wounds today.A U.S. official confirmed the service member killed in the raid was a member of SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011."I was deeply saddened to learn that a U.S. service member was killed in the operation, and I...

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Springsteen, Lady Gaga join Stones concert in NJ

NEW YORK (AP) — Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga and The Black Keys will join the Rolling Stones on Saturday for the final concert marking the band’s 50th anniversary.The concert will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.The band said Monday the concert will be telecast live on pay-per-view.The Stones have played in London and New York on their “50 and Counting” tour. They will also play in...

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Health workers march in Spain’s capital against cuts, reforms

MADRID (Reuters) – Thousands of health workers, on strike since last month, marched on Sunday in Madrid to protest against budget cuts and plans from the Spanish capital’s regional government to privatize the management of public hospitals and medical centers.It was the third time doctors, nurses and health workers have rallied since the local authorities put forward a plan in October to place six...

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Peru’s capital highly vulnerable to major quake

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The earthquake all but flattened colonial Lima, the shaking so violent that people tossed to the ground couldn’t get back up. Minutes later, a 50-foot (15-meter) wall of Pacific Ocean crashed into the adjacent port of Callao, killing all but 200 of its 5,000 inhabitants. Bodies washed ashore for weeks.Plenty of earthquakes have shaken Peru‘s capital in the 266 years since that fateful...

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MiFi With Touchscreen is a Road Warrior’s Dream

Meet the Novatel MiFi Liberate: the first mobile access point with a touchscreen, letting you configure it without connecting it to a computer.If you’re not familiar with mobile access points, these handy gadgets allow you to hook up to the Internet via cellular networks. It’s useful, often essential, if you’re in an area that has no Wi-Fi. If you’re in range of a cellular tower, this MiFi Liberate...

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More Egypt protests called after Morsi concession

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's liberal opposition called for more protests Sunday, seeking to keep up the momentum of its street campaign after the president made a partial concession overnight but refused its main demand he rescind a draft constitution going to a referendum on Dec. 15.President Mohammed Morsi met one of the opposition's demands, annulling his Nov. 22 decrees that gave him near unrestricted...

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Comedian Katt Williams arrested near Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Comedian Katt Williams has been arrested in northern California on a felony warrant related to a police chase.The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/UNq5QW ) that Williams was arrested Friday night in Dunnigan, about 25 miles north of Sacramento, by Yolo County deputies.The paper says he was released from the county jail Saturday after posting bail.The sheriff’s department...

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