Morsi Urged to Retract Edict to Bypass Judges in Egypt

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesA demonstrator takes a breather during protests in downtown Cairo on Saturday. More Photos »CAIRO — The association of judges here called Saturday for courts across Egypt to suspend all but their most vital activities to protest an edict by President Mohamed Morsi granting himself unchecked power by setting his decrees above judicial review until the ratification...

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Russia blames technical error for brief YouTube blacklisting

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian officials offered assurances they were not seeking to block access to YouTube on Wednesday, saying a technical error caused the popular video-sharing website to appear briefly on a register of sites containing banned content.For about an hour, YouTube was listed on the newly-created register, which the government says is needed to fight child pornography but critics of President...

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Beyoncé & Amanda Seyfried Take on Fantasy Roles

By Julia Haskins 11/24/2012 at 04:15 PM EST Amanda Seyfried and Beyoncé Splash News Online; Mike Coppola/Getty Call it escapism or call it just plain fun, but a crop of upcoming big-screen experiences are full of fantasy for kids and adults alike. The animated...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Political wrangling to pinch market's nerves

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Volatility is the name of this game. With the S&P 500 above 1,400 following five days of gains, traders will be hard pressed not to cash in on the advance at the first sign of trouble during negotiations over tax hikes and spending cuts that resume next week in Washington. President Barack Obama and U.S. congressional leaders are expected to discuss...

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China Detains Former Journalist Who Reported on Deaths of 5 Children

BEIJING — A former journalist and his wife have been detained by security officers in China after he wrote online last week about five boys in Guizhou Province who died in a trash bin after taking shelter there from the cold, according to a lawyer and a friend of the ex-journalist. The lawyer, Li Fangping, said in a telephone interview that the ex-journalist, Li Yuanlong, who is not related...

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Sony at greater risk than Panasonic in electronics downturn: Fitch

TOKYO (Reuters) – Panasonic Corp has a better chance than rival Sony Corp of surviving Japan‘s consumer electronics slump because of its unglamorous but stable appliance business of washing machines and fridges, credit rating agency Fitch said Friday.Fitch cut Panasonic‘s rating by two notches to BB and Sony three notches to BB minus on Thursday, the first time one of the three major ratings agencies...

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Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi Turns 25

11/23/2012 at 04:00 PM EST Snooki and Lorenzo Courtesy of Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi Happy birthday Snooki!Nicole Polizzi turns 25 Friday, celebrating with her "favorite birthday gift" – son Lorenzo Dominic, 3 months. "Best birthday ever with my fiancé [Jionni LaValle]...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Wall Street ends higher in short session, led by techs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose for a fifth day during a holiday-shortened, thinly traded session on Friday as investors picked up recently beaten-down shares of large technology companies. Market participants were also encouraged by signs of progress in talks about releasing aid to debt-saddled Greece and piled into U.S. retail shares as Black Friday got the holiday shopping season...

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With Cease-Fire Joy in Gaza, Palestinian Factions Revive Unity Pledges

GAZA — A cease-fire that halted eight days of lethal conflict between Israel and Hamas brought jubilation to Gaza on Thursday as thousands of flag-waving residents poured into the streets and competing Palestinian factions sought to use the moment to revive their efforts to unify. In Israel, where the mood was more cynical and subdued, troops deployed to the border began pulling back. The...

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How Ethan Zohn Is Raising Money with His Mustache

Stylewatch Style News Now 11/21/2012 at 05:00 PM ET ');var brightcovevideoid = 1980115500001');var targetVideoWidth = 300;brightcove.createExperiences();/* iPhone, iPad, iPod */if ((navigator.userAgent.match('iPhone')) ||...

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Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.Up to one-third of breast cancers, or 50,000 to 70,000 cases a year, don't need treatment, the study suggests.It's the most detailed look yet at...

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Global shares gain as global economic outlook improves

LONDON (Reuters) - World share markets extended a week-long rally on Thursday as manufacturing surveys in China and the United States boosted confidence in global growth and euro zone data at least did not worsen the already weak outlook for that region. The euro hit a three high against the dollar on optimism that a funding deal for debt-crippled Greece will ultimately be agreed - and...

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Cease-Fire Between Israel and Hamas Takes Effect

CAIRO — Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire on Wednesday, the eighth day of lethal fighting over the Gaza Strip, in a deal completed under strong American and Egyptian diplomatic pressure that quieted an aerial battle of rockets and bombs and forestalled — for now — an escalation into an Israeli invasion. The cease-fire, which took effect at 9 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern), was formally...

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Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou Separate

People Exclusive 11/21/2012 at 04:15 PM EST Djimon Hounsou and Kimora Lee Simmons Shareif Ziyadat/Getty It's over for Djimon Hounsou and Kimora Lee Simmons."Djimon Hounsou and Kimora Lee Simmons have officially separated after 5½ years," the actor's rep tells...

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US abortions fall 5 pct, biggest drop in a decade

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. abortions fell 5 percent during the recession and its aftermath in the biggest one-year decrease in at least a decade, perhaps because women are more careful to use birth control when times are tough, researchers say.The decline, detailed on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, came in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Both...

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S&P 500 ends higher for fourth session in light volume

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks finished modestly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 up for a fourth session although trading volume was one of the year's lowest on the day ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Investors welcomed news that a ceasefire was declared to end the flare-up in violence between Israel and the Palestinians, though the lack of a deal to release emergency aid for...

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Clinton Arrives in Middle East as Egypt Says Truce in Gaza Is Close

JERUSALEM — Diplomatic efforts accelerated on Tuesday to end the lethal confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza on one of the most violent days yet in the conflict, as the United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East and Egypt’s president and his senior aides expressed confidence that a cease-fire was close. But by late evening there...

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Kelly Clarkson: I'm Not Engaged - But Am Waiting for That Ring

By Mike Fleeman 11/20/2012 at 03:30 PM EST Brandon Blackstock and Kelly Clarkson Rick Diamond/Getty As hints go, this one wasn't too subtle, seeing as Kelly Clarkson dropped it on national television.Appearing Tuesday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the pop star...

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make...

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Bernanke's "cliff" comments break two-day rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street halted its two-day rally on Tuesday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank lacks tools to cushion the economy from the impact of the "fiscal cliff." The day's biggest disappointment was Hewlett-Packard Co shares , which sank to a 10-year low after the computer and printer maker swung to a fourth-quarter loss and announced a...

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Hamas Leader Dares Israel to Invade Amid Gaza Airstrikes

GAZA CITY — The top leader of Hamas dared Israel on Monday to launch a ground invasion of Gaza and dismissed diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire in the six-day-old conflict, as the Israeli military conducted a new wave of deadly airstrikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave, including a second hit on a 15-story building that houses media outlets. A volley of rockets fired from Gaza into southern...

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