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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Synacor partners with Zynga to bring social games to pay TV

(Reuters) – Synacor Inc, partly owned by Intel Corp, said it partnered with Zynga Inc to allow pay TV and broadband providers offer social games to their customers.Zynga shares rose about 3 percent to $ 2.30 in premarket trading, while Synacor shares were up about 5 percent at $ 6.60.Synacor said certain pay-TV subscribers will get in-game currency each month as part of their subscription that can...

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Lupus forces singer Toni Braxton into LA hospital

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Los Angeles.The R&B performer says in a Tweet on Friday that she’s been hospitalized because of “minor health issues” related to Lupus. A spokeswoman confirmed the hospitalization but had no other details. “But no worries!,” Braxton wrote to fans. “I will be out any day now.”The 45-year-old singer of “Un-break My Heart” revealed two...

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Venezuela’s Chavez to have another cancer operation

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday he would undergo another cancer operation in the coming days after doctors in Cuba found a third recurrence of malignant cells in his pelvic area.The news is a big blow for his supporters in South America’s biggest oil exporter, who elected him in October to a new six-year term in power. Chavez has twice said he was cured, and then...

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North Korea considers delaying rocket launch

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea may postpone the controversial launch of a long-range rocket that had been slated for liftoff as early as this week, state media said Sunday, as international pressure on Pyongyang to cancel the provocative move intensified.Scientists have been pushing forward with final preparations for the launch from a west coast site, slated to take place as early as Monday,...

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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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‘Borderlands 2,’ ‘Dishonored’ win at Spike VGAs

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The cartoony post-apocalyptic shoot-’em-up sequel “Borderlands 2″ and the stealthy first-person game “Dishonored” were among the early winners at the Spike Video Game Awards on Friday.“Borderlands 2″ was picked as best shooter and multiplayer game, while “Dishonored” was awarded with the best action-adventure game trophy at the gaming extravaganza.The ceremony honors outstanding...

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FDA panel opposes recommending painkiller, cites safety

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts voted against recommending Zogenix Inc’s Zohydro painkiller for FDA approval on Friday, citing concerns about the danger of addiction posed by the drug class known as opioids.But FDA officials said the regulatory agency could still approve the drug for sale in the United States by imposing restrictions to protect public...

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Court takes on same-sex marriage: What’s at stake

In a historic step that rivals other Supreme Court moves into the center of America’s cultural character, the justices on Friday agreed to consider the constitutionality of federal and state laws that deny marriage rights or marital benefits to same-sex couples. But the move carried with it the potential for stopping short of settling the core constitutional issue.The court’s orders Friday afternoon...

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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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Comedian Katt Williams a no-show at arraignment

SEATTLE (AP) — Comedian Katt Williams didn’t show up at an arraignment hearing in Seattle to face assault charges stemming from several run-ins with people and police last weekend.Williams’ attorney, Thomas McAllister, told the judge Thursday that his client was under the impression that he didn’t have to attend the hearing, citing information from a Seattle Times article. McAllister says Williams...

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Beyond mobile: Telcos hook up hospitals, cars and coffeemakers

BARCELONA (Reuters) – In Barcelona’s Hospital Del Mar, Telefonica is doing more than connecting phone lines – it is also developing a lucrative new business keeping patients’ hearts in good shape.A heart-monitoring program put in place by Telefonica is just one kind of machine-to-machine (M2M) technology that telecom operators are racing to develop for sectors including healthcare, automotive, transportation...

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Both sides hint at renewed 'fiscal cliff' talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With little to show after a month of posturing, the White House and Republicans in Congress dropped hints on Thursday that they had resumed low-level private talks on breaking the stalemate over the "fiscal cliff" but refused to divulge details. A day after a phone conversation between President Barack Obama and John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House...

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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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Grammys spread the love with 6 top nominees

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for lead nominee — Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.Auerbach received five nominations as a member of the Keys and also is up for producer of the year, earning a spot with the others at the top of the list as the Grammy’s primetime television...

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Pfizer breast cancer drug delays progression 18 months

(Reuters) – An experimental drug showed impressive effectiveness and safety in a mid-stage trial against a common form of advanced breast cancer, lifting Pfizer Inc shares nearly 2 percent.The favorable results prompted the drugmaker to plan large late-stage trials of the drug next year. If approved, the medicine could fetch multi-billion dollar sales, industry analysts said.The drug, called PD-0332991,...

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Syria loads chemical weapons, waits for green light

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends the "Friends of Syria" confernence in Paris. (AP)U.S. officials say the Syrian military has loaded active chemical weapons into bombs and is awaiting a final order from embattled President Bashar Assad to use the deadly weapons against its own people.NBC News reports that on Wednesday the Syrian military loaded sarin gas into aerial bombs that could...

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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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HTC, Apple ordered to show which patents were included in their settlement agreement

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Netflix to get Disney films in TV distribution deal

(Reuters) – Walt Disney gave a much needed boost to Netflix, becoming the first major Hollywood studio to use the video service to bypass premium channels like HBO that traditionally controlled the delivery of movies to TV subscribers.News of the deal, which enables Netflix to stream Disney‘s first-run movies to its subscribers, boosted Netflix shares by 14 percent.Liberty Media Corp, whose Starz...

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Chelsea’s hypotension drug fails to prove efficacy past week one

(Reuters) – Chelsea Therapeutics Inc said its experimental hypotension drug met the main goal of a study by significantly reducing dizziness in patients at week one, but results beyond that period were not statistically significant.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve the drug, Northera, in March, and asked for data that proved it was effective over two to three months.The company’s...

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100,000 protest at presidential palace

CAIRO (AP) — More than 100,000 Egyptians protested outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Tuesday, fueling tensions over Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi's seizure of nearly unrestricted powers and the adoption by his allies of a controversial draft constitution.The outpouring of anger across the Egyptian capital, the Mediterranean port of Alexandria and a string of other cities pointed to a prolonged...

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