7 hostages reported dead in 'final assault' on Algerian refinery

CAIRO — Algerian troops raided a remote natural gas refinery Saturday, killing 11 Islamic militants but not before extremists...

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AP Source: Lady Gaga to perform at inaugural ball

WASHINGTON (AP) — Watch out Beyonce (bee-AHN'-say) and Katy Perry. There's another diva set to perform during the inauguration festivities — Lady Gaga.A person familiar with the inauguration tells The Associated Press that the pop star will perform at Tuesday's ball for White House staffers. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because that person wasn't authorized to publicly reveal the information.The...

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Personal Health: That Loving Feeling Takes a Lot of Work

When people fall in love and decide to marry, the expectation is nearly always that love and marriage and the happiness they bring will last; as the vows say, till death do us part. Only the most cynical among us would think, walking down the aisle, that if things don’t work out, “We can always split.”But the divorce rate in the United States is half the marriage rate, and that does not bode well...

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Downtown L.A.'s edgy arts district is neighborhood in transition

When Gideon Kotzer set out to open a discount electronics store in the mid-1990s, he deliberately chose an old warehouse in...

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House leaders offer short-term debt increase

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – House Republicans announced Friday that they will vote next week to authorize a temporary extension of the...

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Anita Hill reflects on Senate hearings in 'Anita'

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Anita Hill made national headlines in 1991 when she testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her. At the time, "sexual harassment" wasn't part of popular vernacular. Hill was verbally attacked, and Thomas was confirmed.Now, more than 20 years later, director Freida Mock explores Hill's landmark testimony and the resulting social and political...

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Flu Season ‘Worse Than Average,’ Officials Say

This year’s flu season is shaping up to be “worse than average and particularly bad for the elderly,” Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the nation’s top federal disease-control official, said Friday. But the season appears to have peaked, added Dr. Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with new cases declining over most of the nation except for the far West. ...

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Honda recalls more than 748,000 vehicles for faulty airbag

Used Cars Dealer and private-party ads Make: Model: Price Range: to Search within: miles of ZIP ...

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'Dear Abby' advice columnist Pauline Phillips dies at 94

Pauline Friedman Phillips, who as Abigail Van Buren -- "Dear Abby" — for more than 40 years dispensed advice to newspaper readers...

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'Dear Abby' advice columnist dies at age 94

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pauline Friedman Phillips, who as Dear Abby dispensed snappy, sometimes saucy advice on love, marriage and meddling mothers-in-law to millions of newspaper readers around the world and opened the way for the likes of Dr. Ruth, Dr. Phil and Oprah, has died. She was 94.Phillips died Wednesday in Minneapolis after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, said Gene Willis, a publicist...

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Well: Life, Interrupted: Brotherly Love

Life, InterruptedSuleika Jaouad writes about her experiences as a young adult with cancer.There are a lot of things about having cancer in your 20s that feel absurd. One of those instances was when I found myself calling my brother Adam on Skype while he was studying abroad in Argentina to tell him that I had just been diagnosed with leukemia and that — no pressure — he was my only hope for a cure.Today,...

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More homeowners rise above water as prices gain

One of the most pernicious effects of the housing bust was the huge number of borrowers stuck in homes worth far less than those...

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Woman held captive in Nordstrom Rack raped 'multiple times'

Prosecutors said one of the five people charged in connection with the take-over robbery at a Nordstrom Rack department store...

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Obama calls for research on media in gun violence

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood and the video game industry received scant attention Wednesday when President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.The White House pressed most forcefully for a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines...

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Ask Well: Help for the Deskbound

One of the problems with office work is that many of us are using chairs that don’t fit our bodies very well or give adequate support to the back, said Jack Dennerlein, a professor at Northeastern’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences in Boston who specializes in ergonomics and safety. If you are experiencing back pain, you may be able to adjust your chair to increase its lumbar support. A good office...

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FTC says POM Wonderful juice ads were deceptive

The Federal Trade Commission has upheld a judge’s finding that the owners of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice made false claims...

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L.A. City Council drops $3-billion bond measure for this year

The Los Angeles City Council scrapped plans Tuesday for placing a $3-billion bond measure on the May 21 ballot, opting instead...

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'American Idol' returns betting big on new judges

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "American Idol" is facing a $36 million-plus question: Will that combined paycheck lavished on superstar judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban pay off in ratings?The newcomers have their work cut out for them whether they earn it with colorful feuding — ladies, you know who we're talking about — or by discovering a singer who can charm America.The talent show, a TV groundbreaker...

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Vital Signs: Nutrition: Vitamin D Doesn’t Reduce Knee Pain

About 27 million people in the United States have osteoarthritis, an incurable condition with few effective treatments beyond pain control. Some observational evidence suggests that vitamin D supplements might slow progression of the disease.But a two-year randomized placebo-controlled study found that vitamin D did not reduce knee pain or restore cartilage.In an article published in The Journal of...

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Stocks edge lower; Apple extends decline

Stocks edged lower on Wall Street Tuesday as tensions flared in Washington over increasing the country's borrowing limit. Treasury...

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An Anaheim woman demands respect for her neighborhood

Yesenia Rojas, vibrant in her purple shawl, sang with a voice so powerful it rose above the rest of the procession as they shuffled...

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Coroner releases new report on Natalie Wood death

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Some of the bruises found on Natalie Wood's body may have occurred before the actress drowned in the waters off Southern California more than 30 years ago, according to a newly released coroner's report on one of Hollywood's most mysterious deaths.The case took another twist Monday when officials released a 10-page addendum to Wood's 1981 autopsy that cites unexplained bruises and...

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Really?: The Claim: Hand Sanitizer Stops Norovirus Spread

Really?Anahad O’Connor tackles health myths.THE FACTSAs public health officials struggle to contain a series of viral outbreaks this winter, many people are reaching for bottles of hand sanitizer.Studies show that alcohol-based sanitizers, particularly those with 60 percent ethanol or more, can reduce microbial counts on contaminated hands and reduce the spread of some strains of the flu. But against...

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Ex-subprime bond trader accused of fraud faces extradition to U.S.

As the mortgage market collapsed in 2007, bond trader Kareem Serageldin had a tricky job – placing a value on more than $3 billion...

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Egyptian court orders new trial for Mubarak

CAIRO— ...

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Oscar snubs leave Globes with also-ran nominees

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Hollywood's junior prom for film honors features quite a different cast than the senior prom at next month's Academy Awards.Sunday night's Golden Globes are in a rare place this season, coming after the Oscar nominations, which were announced earlier than usual and threw out some shockers that have left the Globes show a little less relevant.Key Globe contenders lined...

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