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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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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Rolling Stones hit NY for 50th anniversary gig

NEW YORK (AP) — It sure didn't feel like a farewell.The Rolling Stones — average age 68, if you're counting — were in rollicking form as they rocked the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for 2½ hours Saturday night, their first U.S. show on a mini-tour marking a mind-boggling 50 years as a rock band.And though every time the Stones tour, the inevitable questions arise as to whether it's "The Last Time,"...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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North Korea considers delaying controversial 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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Polarizing Indian politician seeks another win

DHOLKA, India (AP) — For thousands of voters in this dusty little town, nothing is impossible for Narendra Modi, the man they believe has worked magic to reinvent the economic landscape of his part of India. But still they gasp when the curtains open and Modi — suddenly, magically — appears in front of them.Except he doesn't.Modi was actually in a studio far away and had pulled off a technological...

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Viral rapper PSY apologizes for anti-US protests

South Korean rapper and Internet sensation PSY is apologizing to Americans for participating in anti-U.S. protests several years ago.Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a statement Friday after reports surfaced that he had participated in concerts protesting the U.S. military presence in South Korea during the early stages of the Iraq war.At a 2004 concert, the "Gangnam Style" rapper performs...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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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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Images: Snow may have slowed NKorea launch prep

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — New satellite images indicate that snow may have slowed North Korea's rocket launch preparations, but that Pyongyang could still be ready for liftoff starting Monday.South Korean media reports this week quoted unnamed officials in Seoul as saying North Korea had mounted all three stages of the Unha rocket on the launch pad by Wednesday. But snow may have prevented Pyongyang...

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Apple, Samsung spar in court, ruling to come

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) – Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics squared off again in court on Thursday, as the iPhone maker tried to convince a U.S. district judge to ban sales of a number of the South Korean company’s devices and defended its $ 1.05 billion jury award.Apple scored a sweeping legal victory in August at the conclusion of its landmark case against its arch-foe, when a U.S. jury found...

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AP Interview: Jackson, cast discuss 'The Hobbit'

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Many fans are eagerly anticipating a return to the fictional world of Middle-earth with next week's general release of the first movie in "The Hobbit" trilogy. Director Peter Jackson and the film's stars speak to The Associated Press about making "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey":— Jackson on shooting at 48 frames per second instead of the standard 24: "We've seen...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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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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Rare tornado kills 3 in New Zealand's largest city

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An unusually destructive tornado swept through neighborhoods around New Zealand's largest city Thursday, killing three people and forcing 250 more to evacuate damaged and powerless homes.The small tornado hit Hobsonville and Whenuapai, western suburbs of Auckland, during a midday storm that also uprooted trees, damaged buildings and caused flooding that closed roads.Authorities...

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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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Study could spur wider use of prenatal gene tests

A new study sets the stage for wider use of gene testing in early pregnancy. Scanning the genes of a fetus reveals far more about potential health risks than current prenatal testing does, say researchers who compared both methods in thousands of pregnancies nationwide.A surprisingly high number — 6 percent — of certain fetuses declared normal by conventional testing were found to have genetic abnormalities...

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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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More than 200 dead in Philippine typhoon

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say the death toll from a powerful typhoon that sparked flash floods and landslides in the country's south has risen to more than 200 people.A government spokeswoman, Fe Maestre, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that at least 151 people died in the worst-hit province of Compostela Valley. That included 66 villagers and soldiers who perished...

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

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David Mamet, Kathie Lee Gifford suffer losses

NEW YORK (AP) — David Mamet's new play "The Anarchist" and Katie Lee Gifford's "Scandalous" will both end their Broadway runs much earlier than their creators wanted.Producers said Tuesday night that Mamet's play starring Patti LuPone and Debra Winger portraying an inmate and warden respectively will close Dec. 16 after just 23 previews and 17 performances.Producers of "Scandalous," a musical about...

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Study: Drug coverage to vary under health law

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study says basic prescription drug coverage could vary dramatically from state to state under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.That's because states get to set benefits for private health plans that will be offered starting in 2014 through new insurance exchanges.The study out Tuesday from the market analysis firm Avalere Health found that some states will require...

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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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