Israel Sticks to Tough Approach in Conflict With Hamas

TEL AVIV — With rockets landing on the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Friday and the Egyptian prime minister making a solidarity visit to Gaza, the accelerating conflict between Israel and Hamas — reminiscent in many ways of so many previous battles — has the makings of a new kind of Israeli-Palestinian face-off. The combination of longer-range and far deadlier rockets in the hands...

Read More..

Review: Nintendo Wii U blows up dual-screen gaming

When Nintendo first broached the idea of multiple-screen video games in 2004, many critics were skeptical that players could focus on two images at once. Yet the handheld DS, blending one touch-sensitive screen with a slightly larger video display, became a runaway hit.Turns out the portable DS may have just been a dress rehearsal for Nintendo‘s latest...

Read More..

It's a Girl for Chad Lowe

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 11/17/2012 at 12:20 AM ET Chelsea Lauren/WireImage It’s a girl for Chad Lowe.The Pretty Little Liars star and wife Kim welcomed their second daughter on Thursday, Nov. 15, the actor announced via Twitter.“It’s a girl!!! And she’s as beautiful as her mommy and [3½-year-old]...

Read More..

EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

Read More..

Wall Street Week Ahead: Going off "cliff" with a bungee cord

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The 1987 crash. The Y2K bug. The debt ceiling debacle of 2011. All these events, in the end, turned out to be buying opportunities for stocks. So will the "fiscal cliff," some investors say as they watch favorite stocks tumble during the political give-and-take happening in Washington. The first round of talks aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff" caused...

Read More..

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 »GAZA CITY — Egypt launched a remarkable diplomatic initiative on Friday after a night of ferocious Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and militant rocket fire toward Israel, sending its prime minister to show support for Palestinians in the beleaguered enclave and to try to end the hostilities. ...

Read More..

Miss America Contestant, 24, to Undergo Preventative Double Mastectomy

By Dahvi Shira 11/16/2012 at 07:30 AM EST Allyn Rose is more than just another pretty face.The Miss America contestant, who will represent Washington, D.C., in the Jan. 12 pageant live on ABC, lost her mom to breast cancer at age 16. Now, at only 24 years old, Rose has decided she will undergo a double mastectomy...

Read More..

Migration officials say cholera in Haiti on rise

GENEVA (AP) — The world's largest agency that deals with global migration says cholera is again on the rise in Haiti.The International Organization for Migration says Haitian officials have confirmed 3,593 cholera cases and another 837 suspected cases since Hurricane Sandy's passage.IOM spokesman Jumbe Omari Jumbe told reporters Friday in Geneva "the numbers are going up" particularly in camps around...

Read More..

Stock futures lower, on track for another down week

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Friday as investors continued to worry about the looming "fiscal cliff" debate, with Democrats and Republicans appearing to dig into their opposing positions. Concerns over the cliff -- large, automatic budget cuts and tax hikes that begin to take effect in the new year -- have pressured stocks ever since the November 6 presidential election....

Read More..

Attacks Resume After Israeli Assault Kills Hamas Leader

KIRYAT MALACHI, Israel — Israel and Hamas widened their increasingly deadly conflict over Gaza on Thursday, as a militant rocket killed three civilians when one struck an apartment block in this small southern town. The Israeli deaths are likely to intensify its military offensive on Gaza, now in its second day of airstrikes. The regional perils of the situation sharpened, meanwhile, as President...

Read More..

In Britain, spate of prosecutions for Twitter and Facebook tirades spark free-speech debate

LONDON – One teenager made offensive comments about a murdered child on Twitter. Another young man wrote on Facebook that British soldiers should “go to hell.” A third posted a picture of a burning paper poppy, symbol of remembrance of war dead.All were arrested, two convicted, and one jailed — and they’re not the only ones. In Britain, hundreds of people...

Read More..

Lisa Whelchel Has West Nile Virus

TV Watch Survivor By Steve Helling 11/15/2012 at 07:30 AM EST Lisa Whelchel Scott Kirkland/PictureGroup She has been plotting and scheming her way through Survivor: Philippines, but now Lisa Whelchel is facing another challenge: She is fighting the West Nile virus....

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Stock futures rise amid concerns over "fiscal cliff", Mideast

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged higher on Thursday, suggesting equities might stage a rebound from a series of weak sessions. Equities have had difficulty holding onto gains lately, as investors seek reasons to buy amid uncertainty over the "fiscal cliff" and unrest in the Middle East. Futures had also indicated gains Wednesday morning, but stocks turned lower midday and...

Read More..

France Grants Its Recognition to Syria Rebels as U.S. Waits

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 — Syrian authorities were reported on Wednesday to have ordered airstrikes for a third straight day close to the Turkish border, offering no immediate response to a French announcement that the...

Read More..

Software pioneer McAfee says framed for murder in Belize

BELIZE CITY (Reuters) – Computer security industry pioneer John McAfee says he has gone into hiding in Belize because he believes authorities there are trying to frame him for the murder of a neighbor, a crime he says he did not commit, according to Wired magazine.Belize police are searching for McAfee as “a person of interest” in a murder investigation. “You...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Stock futures rise, helped by Cisco results

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, indicating that equities would rebound after a series of weak sessions on strong results from Cisco. The S&P 500 has fallen 3.8 percent over the past five session, with most of those losses driven by uncertainty over looming U.S. "fiscal cliff" demand and persisting concerns over Europe. The index closed below its 200-day...

Read More..