White House Presses for Drone Rule Book

WASHINGTON — Facing the possibility that President Obama might not win a second term, his administration accelerated work in the weeks before the election to develop explicit rules for the targeted killing of terrorists by unmanned drones, so that a new president would inherit clear standards and procedures, according to two administration officials. The matter may have lost some urgency...

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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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Protests Erupt After Egypt’s Leader Seizes New Power

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesEgyptians in central Cairo ran from tear gas during clashes with the police on Friday. Protesters took to the streets in several cities. More Photos »CAIRO — Protests erupted across Egypt on Friday, as opponents of President Mohamed Morsi clashed with his supporters over a presidential edict that gave him unchecked authority and polarized an already divided...

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What Made Jessica Biel Want to Steal a Girdle?

Stylewatch Style News Now 11/21/2012 at 11:00 AM ET Suzanne TennerHer wedding gown was dreamy, pink and modern, but while filming Hitchcock, Jessica Biel found herself taken with her character’s muted — and binding — mid-century...

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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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Shoppers welcome early start to "Black Friday"

NEW YORK/BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota (Reuters) - Retailers declared their experiment with earlier store openings to kick off the holiday shopping season a success on Friday, with those new hours expected to be a Thanksgiving night staple for more retailers next year. Stores such as Target Corp opened hours before midnight on Thursday to try to capture a bigger piece of the retail pie. The move seemed...

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

Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesAfter the Cease-Fire: Palestinians and Israelis returned to a semblance of normal life after eight days of lethal conflict between Israel and Hamas.GAZA — Palestinians erupted in triumphant celebrations here on Thursday, vowing new unity among rival factions and a renewed commitment to the tactic of resistance, while Israel’s leaders sought to soberly sell the achievements...

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Jake Owen Welcomes a Daughter

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 11/22/2012 at 08:30 PM ET Courtesy Jake Owen It’s a Thanksgiving baby!Jake Owen and his wife Lacey welcomed their first child, daughter Olive Pearl Owen, on Thursday, Nov. 22 in Nashville, Tenn., his rep confirms to PEOPLE.Pearl, as she will be called after...

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Asia shares set for best week in 2 months as outlook improves

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares ambled higher on Friday and were on course for a weekly gain of more than 2 percent, their best in two months, after manufacturing surveys from China and the United States raised hopes that the global growth outlook is improving at last. The euro was also enjoying a positive week, despite data on Thursday pointing to the euro zone sliding into its deepest...

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Cease-Fire Between Israel and Hamas Takes Effect

CAIRO — Under intense Egyptian and American pressure, Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas halted eight days of bloody conflict on Wednesday, averting a full-scale Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip without resolving the underlying disputes. With Israeli forces still massed on the Gaza border, a tentative calm descended after the announcement of the agreement. The success...

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Mayim Bialik and Michael Stone Divorcing

By Mike Fleeman 11/21/2012 at 05:00 PM EST After "much consideration and soul-searching," Mayim Bialik announced Wednesday that she and husband Michael Stone are divorcing after nine years of marriage.The Big Bang Theory star, who has sons Miles, 7, and Fred, 4, with Stone, cites "irreconcilable differences"...

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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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Asian shares rise on firm China, U.S. factory data

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Thursday as a survey showed China's manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 13 months in November, adding to optimism after firm U.S. factory data that the global growth slowdown may have turned a corner. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> extended early gains to rise 0.8 percent to a one-week...

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Toll Rises as U.S. Pushes for Israel-Hamas Truce

JERUSALEM — Efforts to agree on a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas intensified Tuesday, but the struggle to achieve even a brief pause in the fighting emphasized the obstacles to finding any lasting solution. Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesAn attack destroyed the suspected home of a Hamas official in Gaza City. The death toll from a week of fighting exceeded 130 in Gaza and rose to...

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The Voice: Top Eight Contestants Revealed

TV Watch By Julia Haskins 11/20/2012 at 10:05 PM EST From left: Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and host Carson Daly Mark Seliger/NBC Following what Blake Shelton called the "best episode of The Voice we've ever had", spirited group...

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription...

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Asian shares steady, refocusing on U.S. fiscal cliff

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares steadied on Wednesday, after a two days of gains, as investors refocused on the risk of a U.S. fiscal crisis following Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks that the budget impasse was already damaging growth. U.S. stocks halted a two-day rally on Tuesday, while European shares edged higher on expectations euro zone finance ministers will approve...

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Hamas Strengthens as Palestinian Authority Weakens

RAMALLAH, West Bank — In the daily demonstrations here of solidarity with Gaza, a mix of sympathy and anguish, there is something else: growing identification with the Islamist fighters of Hamas and derision for the Palestinian Authority, which Washington considers the only viable partner for peace with Israel. “Strike a blow on Tel Aviv!” proclaimed the lyrics of a new hit song blasting...

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Intel CEO Paul Otellini to retire in surprise move

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Intel CEO Paul Otellini dropped a bombshell on the company’s board of directors last week, telling them in private that he plans to retire from the world’s largest maker of microprocessors in May. Otellini‘s move comes at a time when Intel faces a shaky economy and a mobile gadget craze that is eating away at demand for its PC chips...

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