Jan
26

Terrorists Knocked Off Twitter After Threats

The Twitter account belonging to a self-identified spokesperson for an al Qaeda-allied terrorist organization has been suspended.The account, which began in late 2011 and is believed to belong to a representative of al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist organization, is currently out of service, days after it threatened the lives of Kenyan hostages, according to a report by The Associated Press.Representatives...
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Lena Dunham says “Girls” season 3 starts shooting in March

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – HBO has yet to announce whether “Girls” has been renewed for a third season, but that’s okay, because Lena Dunham may have done it for them.The writer, director and star of the critically-acclaimed comedy told Alec Baldwin during his WNYC podcast, “Here’s the Thing,” that she is preparing to start shooting the next season in March.“I just finished season two,” the Golden...
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40 Years After Roe v. Wade, Thousands March to Oppose Abortion

Drew Angerer/The New York TimesPro-life activists made their way down Constitution Avenue toward the Supreme Court during the March for Life in Washington on Friday. WASHINGTON — Three days after the 40th anniversary of the decision in Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, tens of thousands of abortion opponents from around the country came to the National Mall on Friday...
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2012 stock report: Pains and gains

If you invested heavily in Illinois companies that provide consulting services, you had little reason to celebrate in 2012.While...
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Jan
25

Soccer coach suspended in Maine West hazing case

Another soccer coach linked to hazing allegations on athletic teams at Maine West High School has been suspended without pay...
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New PlayStation 4 details emerge: 8-core AMD ‘Bulldozer’ CPU, redesigned controller and more

2013 is a huge year for gamers. Nintendo (NTDOY) just launched the Wii U ahead of the holidays and both Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) are expected to issue next-generation consoles before the year is through. We’ve seen plenty of rumors about both systems over the past few months, and the latest comes from Kotaku and focuses on Sony’s PlayStation 4.[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 said to be overhyped,...
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Damon ‘hijacks’ Kimmel’s ABC show

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Damon had his revenge.The butt of a long-running joke on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the actor opened Thursday night’s show as a kidnapper who tied Kimmel to a chair with duct tape and gagged him with his own tie.“There’s a new host in town and his initials are M.D.,” Damon said. “That’s right, the doctor is in.”For years, Kimmel has joked at the end of his show that he ran out...
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The New Old Age Blog: Time to Recognize Mild Cognitive Disorder?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published and periodically updated by the American Psychiatric Association, is one of those documents few laypeople ever read, but many of us are affected by.It can make it easier or harder to get an insurance company or Medicare to cover treatments, for example. It factors into a variety of legal and governmental decisions.And on a personal...
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NTSB: Dreamliner grounding indefinite

Boeing 787 Dreamliners will remain flightless birds for some time, it appears.Federal investigators said Thursday they are still early in their probe of a Dreamliner...
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Jan
24

Bulls rally to beat Pistons 85-82

As the United Center rocked and the Bulls celebrated Marco Belinelli's go-ahead, three-point play with 7.5 seconds left, Joakim...
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Siri was supposed to be a key feature on Verizon’s DROID lineup until Apple swooped in

Since the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple (AAPL) has touted its intelligent voice assistant Siri as a key feature of the iOS ecosystem. The startup company behind the app originally launched Siri as standalone program on the App Store and had plans to release Android and BlackBerry versions in the future. Siri was quickly acquired by Apple, however, and plans to expand the app were cancelled.[More...
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Broadway’s “Spider-Man” producers, Taymor, near settlement, again

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The producers of “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” and Julie Taymor, the musical’s ousted director, are once again ready to settle their long-running court case, a court filing showed on Wednesday.“We anticipate notifying the Court within the next week that a final settlement agreement has been executed,” attorney Charles T. Spada, who represents Taymor, wrote in a January 22 letter...
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Well: Long Term Effects on Life Expectancy From Smoking

It is often said that smoking takes years off your life, and now a new study shows just how many: Longtime smokers can expect to lose about 10 years of life expectancy.But amid those grim findings was some good news for former smokers. Those who quit before they turn 35 can gain most if not all of that decade back, and even those who wait until middle age to kick the habit can add about five years...
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U. of I. to launch tech research center in Chicago

Plans to launch a University of Illinois-affiliated technology research center in Chicago will be unveiled Thursday — the latest...
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Jan
23

Massive blaze engulfs vacant Bridgeport warehouse

One-third of the Chicago Fire Department's on-duty personnel responded to a 5-11 alarm fire that engulfed a warehouse building,...
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FTC study taking aim at online marketing of booze and kids

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans this summer to recommend ways that the alcoholic beverage industry can better protect underage viewers from seeing its advertisements online.Distillers, brewers and wineries pour millions of dollars into brand promotion on Twitter, Facebook and other social media, and industry critics contend they are not doing enough to prevent young...
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Did she or didn’t she? Beyonce causes lip-synching stir

(Reuters) – Never mind President Barack Obama’s inauguration address or what Michelle Obama was wearing at the ball.Was Beyonce lip-synching the U.S. national anthem on Monday, or wasn’t she?The Grammy-winning singer remained silent on Tuesday amid a media storm over whether she was lip-synching, singing over her own pre-recorded track, or performing live when she delivered a flawless version of “The...
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The New Old Age Blog: Study Links Cognitive Deficits, Hearing Loss

There’s another reason to be concerned about hearing loss — one of the most common health conditions in older adults and one of the most widely undertreated. A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that elderly people with compromised hearing are at risk of developing cognitive deficits — problems with memory and thinking — sooner than those whose hearing is intact.The study...
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Prosecutors: Peregrine Financial fraud loss exceeds $215M

Peregrine Financial Group's former chief executive stole more than $215 million from customers of his now-defunct futures brokerage...
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Jan
22

Body of cyanide-poisoned lottery winner is reburied

Mohammed Zaman on the exhumation of his brother-in-law, poisoned lottery winner Urooj Khan. (Posted on: Jan. 21, 2013.) The body...
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No sympathy for Armstrong on social media

LONDON (Reuters) – Lance Armstrong’s televised doping confession has done nothing to restore his shattered reputation, a study of responses posted to the Twitter social media site showed.“What was particularly noticeable in our analysis of the Armstrong revelation was the sheer lack of sympathy out there,” said Charlie Dundas of sports market research company Repucom.“The tone of the discussion around...
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Michelle Obama again picks designer Wu for inaugural gown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It was one of the biggest questions of Monday’s inaugural celebrations: not what would President Barack Obama say, but what would his wife, Michelle Obama, wear?The first lady cemented her reputation as an international style trend-setter with her choice of a Jason Wu red sleeveless ball gown in the evening, and a striking business-style blue navy coat and dress for the ceremonial...
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