North Korea's new leader burnishes credentials with rocket

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to its opponents. The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver...

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New Yorkers live longer than other Americans: mayor

NEW YORK: New Yorkers are living longer than Americans overall, and the margin is increasing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday as he praised his administration's health policies.A New Yorker born in 2010 has a life expectancy of 80.9 years, 2.2 years longer than the national life expectancy of 78.7 years at the time.Since 2001, New Yorkers' life expectancy has increased by three years,...

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U.N. proposal renews concerns of Internet powergrab

A scene from this week's summit in Dubai: from left, Houlin Zhao, ITU deputy secretary general, Hamadoun Toure, ITU secretary general, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU strategic planning and membership(Credit:ITU)A United Nations agency has used a summit in Dubai to renew its efforts to gain more control over how the Internet is managed.The International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. agency, has circulated...

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Chicago gang violence shows no signs of stopping

(CBS News) CHICAGO - There is a war going on -- not overseas, but right here on the streets of America. A gang war has taken over parts of Chicago. Over the weekend, 14 people were shot. Two were killed. So far this year, there have been more than 2,364 shootings and 487 homicides. CBS News National Correspondent Dean Reynolds rode along with Commander Leo Schmitz of Chicago Police Department's...

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Woman Gets Life for Lottery Winner's Murder

DeeDee Moore, the Tampa woman accused of swindling and then killing lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, was found guilty today of first degree murder and other charges, after she declined to take the stand and the defense rested without calling a single witness.In addition to the murder charge, Moore was also found guilty of possessing and discharging a firearm resulting in...

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Unknown attackers fire at Cairo protesters, nine hurt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Nine people were hurt when unknown attackers fired at protesters camping at Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Tuesday, according to witnesses and Egyptian media, as opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Mursi's plans to vote on a new constitution geared up for a day of street demonstrations. Police cars surrounded the square, the first time they had appeared...

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Family & friends key to resilient marriages: survey

SINGAPORE: Family, friends and religious advisors are often the primary informal sources of help for couples facing marital issues, according to a study commissioned by Marriage Central which aims to identify resilience factors that can mitigate marriage crises.Children are an important reason for couples to continue their relationship.Those who have prior positive interactions with counsellors,...

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Patent trolls now behind most patent infringement lawsuits

Patent trolls are for the first time behind the majority of patent infringement lawsuits filed in the United States, according to a study conducted by a patent law professor in California.About 62 percent of all patent lawsuits filed this year up to December 1 were brought by patent assertion entities (PAEs), which are created to extract licensing fees from other companies rather than make products...

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Boehner and Obama meet on "fiscal cliff"

President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, met at the White House Sunday for their first face-to-face meeting on the "fiscal cliff" in weeks, indicating that negotiations are continuing despite a public stalemate over the requirements for a deal. The two have spoken over the phone as recently as Wednesday but on Friday, Boehner held a news conference to announce that "no progress"...

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Fiscal Cliff Talks: Boehner, Obama Meet Face-to-Face

For the first time in more than three weeks, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met face-to-face today at the White House to talk about avoiding the fiscal cliff.White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest would offer no details saying only, "The lines of communication remain open."Erskine Bowles, the co-creator of a debt reducing plan, who was pessimistic...

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