Italy's Monti to lead centrist coalition in February polls

ROME: Italy's caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti said Friday that he will contest February elections at the head of a centrist coalition, driving a wedge between centre-left and centre-right parties."I agree to assume the role of head of the coalition, and I will commit myself to guaranteeing the success of this operation," Monti said after meeting for four hours with representatives...

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Westinghouse to show 110-inch 4K TV at CES

Soon, current 84-inch 4K TVs like the Sony XBR-84X900 (above) will be eclipsed in size by the likes of Westinghouse.(Credit:Sony)Even if you believe that 4K TVs are stupid, like we do, that won't stop manufacturers from churning out numerous examples of the shiny new, higher-resolution TVs at the Consumer Electronics Show next month. Tied for the biggest we've heard of so far is the 110-inch 4KLED...

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Report: FAMU ignored rules before hazing death

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The findings from a year-long investigation show that Florida A&M University officials failed to follow state laws and regulations on hazing.A 32-page report released Friday concludes that the school lacked internal controls to prevent or detect hazing.The report comes from the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system. It ordered the investigation...

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'Mom' Loses Russian Girl Weeks From Adoption

After a roller coaster week, Kendra Skaggs sat down to vent on her blog. She had used that space to document her 13 month journey of adopting a young girl named Polina from Russia. But now, with that dream just weeks away from fulfillment, she described her frustration, fear and anger as she watched it being snatched away."I have no control. I'm on the other side of the world...

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Syria opposition leader rejects Moscow invitation

ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's opposition leader has rejected an invitation from Russia for peace talks, dealing another blow to international hopes that diplomacy can be resurrected to end a 21-month civil war. Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's main international protector, said on Friday it had sent an invitation for a visit to Moaz Alkhatib, whose six-week-old...

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Football: Forest hire former Villa boss McLeish

LONDON: Nottingham Forest's Kuwaiti owners appointed former Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish as their new manager on Thursday just 24 hours after sacking Sean O'Driscoll.Forest chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi insisted he wanted a manager with Premier League experience when he made the surprise decision to dismiss O'Driscoll following the Championship team's 4-2 win over Leeds on Wednesday.And Al...

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Toshiba has a Lytro-like camera for smartphones -- report

Toshiba is building Lytro-like camera technology that lets users refocus photographs.(Credit:Lytro)Toshiba is in the process of upping its smartphone camera game. The device-maker is creating Lytro-like camera technology for mobile devices that should be released before the end of 2013, according to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun (h/t Engadget). Much like Lytro's light-field camera, Toshiba's...

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Free gun training offered to 200 Utah teachers

(CBS/AP) SALT LAKE CITY - Gun rights advocates plan to offer gun training for 200 Utah teachers Thursday, saying that classroom teachers could stop school shootings by carrying concealed weapons. The Utah Shooting Sports Council said it would waive its $50 fee for concealed-weapons training for the teachers. Instruction featuring plastic guns is set to begin at noon Thursday inside a conference...

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At Cliff's Edge, Reid Decries Boehner's 'Dictatorship'

With only five days left before the federal government goes over the fiscal cliff, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shattered any pretense of cooperation with Republicans in a scathing speech that targeted House Republicans and particularly Speaker John Boehner.Reid, D-Nev., spoke on the floor of the Senate as President Obama returned to Washington early from an Hawaiian vacation...

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Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign into law a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans. In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care...

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'Thunderbirds' creator Gerry Anderson dies aged 83

LONDON: Gerry Anderson, the British director and creator of the cult sci-fi animation series "Thunderbirds", died on Wednesday aged 83, his son announced.Anderson had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease since 2010 and his health had deteriorated in the past six months, causing him to be moved into a care home in October, Jamie Anderson said.The animator created "Joe 90", "Stingray"...

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Samsung plans to ship half a billion handsets in 2013

Samsung has big plans for 2013.(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)This year has been a big year for Samsung, and it looks like the good times will continue well into 2013.According to The Korea Times, the phone manufacturer expects itself to ship over half a billion handsets -- or 510 million to be exact -- next year.In 2012 alone, Samsung shipped an estimated 420 million devices. If we go by next year's projections,...

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Starbucks cups have a message for Congress

NEW YORK Starbucks is using its coffee cups to jump into the political fray in Washington. The world's biggest coffee chain is asking employees at cafes in the Washington, D.C. area to scribble the words "Come Together" on cups for drink orders on Thursday and Friday. CEO Howard Schultz says the words are intended as a message to lawmakers about the damage being caused by the divisive negotiations...

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Weather Death Toll Up to 6 as Storm Churns North

A killer Christmas storm is churning its way north leaving hundreds of thousands without power and snarling travel plans for people trying to get home after the holiday.Six people have died, mostly in weather related car crashes, as the South was hammered by as many as 34 tornadoes and a lethal coating of sleet and snow that spread from the South into the Midwest.Over 280,000...

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Syria to discuss Brahimi peace proposals with Russia

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a senior diplomat to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss proposals to end the conflict convulsing his country made by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Syrian and Lebanese sources said. Brahimi, who saw Assad on Monday and is planning to hold a series of meetings with Syrian officials and dissidents in Damascus this week, is trying...

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Netanyahu launches re-election bid centred on Iran

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday put Iran at the top of his re-election campaign, pledging that halting Tehran's nuclear programme would be his first priority as premier."Who do (Israeli voters) think is the most suitable candidate to deal with the Iranian threat? With the missile threat? With the threat of terror?" he asked supporters in Jerusalem in a speech...

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Netflix outage mars Christmas Eve

Netflix's video streaming service suffered a Christmas Eve outage on "many but not all devices" across the Americas, according to the company.The outage continued into Christmas morning for some customers. The company tweeted on its Netflix US account at 8:45 a.m. PT today that the service was "back to normal streaming levels."Netflix first started responding to tweets about disrupted service before...

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Messy, dangerous Christmas weather turns deadly

Updated 2:05 p.m. EST NEW ORLEANS Freezing rain and sleet made for a sloppy Christmas morning trek in parts of the nation's midsection on Tuesday, while residents along the Gulf Coast braced for thunderstorms, high winds and tornadoes. Icy roads already were blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma, where authorities warned would-be travelers to stay home. Fog blanketed highways, including arteries...

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Egypt approves new constitution drafted by Mursi allies

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a constitution drafted by President Mohamed Mursi's allies, results announced on Tuesday showed, proving that liberals, leftists and Christians have been powerless to halt the march of Islamists in power. Final elections commission figures showed the constitution adopted with 63.8 percent of the vote in the referendum held over...

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Syria's Assad meets envoy as regime suffers blow

DAMASCUS: Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi held "constructive" talks in Syria on Monday with President Bashar al-Assad, as jihadists seized an area populated by the embattled leader's Alawite community.The opposition National Coalition, meanwhile, accused Damascus of committing a "massacre" of dozens of civilians in the bombing of a bakery -- an allegation fended off by the Assad regime.As...

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Old vs. new tech -- and old tech wins by a landslide

3D printing of a standard LP's grooves isn't possible with today's technology. (Credit:Steve Guttenberg/CNET)The LP was invented in 1948, and judging by the sales surge over the past few years LPs won't be going away anytime soon. Amanda Ghassaei's "3D Printed Record" project demonstrated vinyl's continuing relevance in the 21st century. Years ago when I saw an early demonstration of 3D printing,...

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4 Firefighters Shot, 2 Killed in NY 'Trap'

A man who served nearly 17 years in jail for killing his grandmother set a house and car on fire this morning in upstate New York and then began shooting at emergency personnel who showed up, killing two firefighters, police said.In all, William Spengler, 62, shot four firefighters, killing two and severely injuring two more after setting his "trap," police said.An off-duty...

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Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said. The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such...

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US gun advocates seek deportation of Piers Morgan

WASHINGTON: US gun rights advocates have signed a White House petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported for allegedly attacking the Second Amendment rights of ordinary Americans.The outspoken former British tabloid editor has launched something of a personal crusade for greater gun control measures in the wake of the December 14 massacre at Sandy Hook elementary...

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Love low-fi? 3D-print your own vinyl records

I can't bear to part with my record collection. It's got gems like Steely Dan's "The Royal Scam" that sound better on a turntable and amplifier than on MP3. Maybe analog sound can feel better because we're analog creatures. Whatever the reason, vinyl's recent popularity has led to events like Record Store Day and DIY projects like Amanda Ghassaei's 3D-printed records.An editorial staffer at Instructables.com,...

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Holiday travel collision in Ohio kills 4

CINCINNATI Police say a minivan carrying a family leaving a Christmas party went the wrong way on a southwestern Ohio highway and hit another minivan whose driver and family were going to see grandparents for the holidays. Three adults and a 7-year-old child were killed, said Ohio State Patrol Sgt. Stan Jordan. Two other children were critically injured. Joshua Nkansah, 40, of Fairfield was driving...

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NRA Chief LaPierre: 'Call Me Crazy'

National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre fired back at his critics today, defending his proposal to put armed guards in every school in the country as a way to prevent future tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that took the lives of 20 children and six adults."If it's crazy to call for armed officers in our schools to protect our children, then call...

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