Pakistan: U.S. drones kill 8 suspected militants

Updated 1:10 a.m. EST DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan Several missiles fired from American drones slammed into a compound near the Afghan border in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing eight suspected militants, Pakistan officials said. The two intelligence officials said the compound was located near the town of Mir Ali, in the North Waziristan tribal area. One of the officials said an al Qaeda operative...

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Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.At age 21, Hagel and...

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As Obama, Karzai meet, Afghan peace efforts show flickers of life

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will discuss matters of war, including future U.S. troop levels and Afghanistan's army, when they meet on Friday, but matters of peace may be the most delicate item on their long agenda. After nearly 10 months in limbo, tentative reconciliation efforts involving Taliban insurgents, the Karzai government...

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Indian guru blames Delhi rape victim, sparks outrage

NEW DELHI: A popular Indian spiritual guru sparked a backlash Tuesday after saying a 23-year-old student could have averted a murderous gang-rape by begging for mercy from her attackers.Self-styled godman Asharam, known to his followers as "Bapu" or father, told his devotees that blame for the assault on a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16 should not just rest with her attackers."This...

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Animatone Snug makes portable speakers cute and cuddly

Animatone in Priscilla Pink.(Credit:Donna Tam/CNET)It doesn't get any cuter than Priscilla Pink or Charlie Chimp when it come to speaker equipment for kids.Zagg -- which specializes in accessories for electronics -- introduced the Animatone Snug, a stuffed animal that doubles as a portable speaker, at CES 2013. The company decided to drop its BoostPlus speaker into a fluffy doll and add it to its...

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NFL Playoffs: Seahawks beat Redskins, 24-14

LANDOVER, Md. Russell Wilson raced ahead to throw the final block on Marshawn Lynch's fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown run, doing just enough to get in the way of the Washington Redskins safety near the goal line. Less than a minute later, Robert Griffin III's knee buckled as he tried to field a bad shotgun snap, the pain so bad that he didn't even try to recover the ball. The last rookie quarterback...

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Pastor Accused of Killing Wives Faces Trial

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for Pastor Arthur Schirmer, who is accused of killing his second wife and then staging a car accident to hide it.Schirmer, 64, also faces a second trial at a later date for the death of his first wife. He has said he is innocent of all charges.In 2008, the pastor and his wife, Betty, were involved in what appeared at the time to be...

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Assad "peace plan" greeted with scorn by foes

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected peace talks with his enemies on Sunday in a defiant speech that his opponents described as a renewed declaration of war. Although the speech was billed as the unveiling of a new peace plan, Assad offered no concessions and even appeared to harden many of his positions. He rallied Syrians for "a war to defend the nation" and...

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Basketball: Lawson shines as Nuggets down Lakers

LOS ANGELES: Ty Lawson posted a double-double of 21 points and 10 assists Sunday to help Denver hand the Los Angeles Lakers a third straight NBA defeat, 112-105.Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Nuggets, draining a big three-pointer with 13.8 seconds remaining to stretch Denver's lead to 108-102 after Lakers star Kobe Bryant had trimmed the deficit to three...

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Tegra 4, gaming dominate Nvidia's 2013 plans

LAS VEGAS--Nvidia has never been a timid company, and at CES 2013, the chipmaker stepped on the gas. Nvidia's aggressive plans for cloud gaming, its Tegra 4 quad core processor, and Nvidia Shield, its first proprietary gaming device, set a course for placing the company in the limelight this coming year.Shield: Portable gaming companionThe Android-based "Shield" is Nvidia's first attempt at selling...

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