Clinton heads to Mideast amid Gaza crisis

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Efforts to end a week-old convulsion of Israeli-Palestinian violence drew in the world's top diplomats on Tuesday, with President Barack Obama dispatching his secretary of state to the region on an emergency mission and the U.N. chief appealing from Cairo for an immediate cease-fire.Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers have staked out tough, hard-to-bridge positions,...

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Canada pledges again to balance budget by 2015

OTTAWA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Canadian government on Friday reiterated its intention to balance its budget by 2015, three days after projecting there would be deficits until 2016-17.In separate appearances in Quebec City and New York, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty were at pains to say they still intended to end the red...

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Wii U Launch Day: Everything You Need to Know

For Nintendo fans, the big day has arrived. Nintendo‘s newest console, the Wii U, began selling at midnight on Sunday morning across the United States.[More from Mashable: Meet the Super Fan Who Waited in Line for a Month for a Wii U [VIDEO]] The Wii U boasts high definition graphics and an innovative, new tablet controller...

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Celtic sparkle catches rapper Snoop Dogg’s eye

(Reuters) – U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg says he would be ready to splash his cash and invest in Scottish soccer champions Celtic.The 41-year-old, who is as well known for his love of sport as he is his music and drugs busts, fell further in love with the Glasgow club after watching highlights of Celtic‘s heroic 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League...

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One in 20 youth has used steroids to bulk up: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – About five percent of middle and high school students have used anabolic steroids to put on muscle, according to a new study from Minnesota.In addition to steroid use, more than one-third of boys and one-fifth of girls in the study said they had used protein powder or shakes to gain muscle mass, and between five and 10 percent...

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Palestinian civilian toll climbs in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip on Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 94 and devastating several homes belonging to one clan as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel.Escalating its bombing campaign, Israel on Sunday began attacking homes of activists in Hamas, the Islamic...

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Israel, Gaza fighting rages on as Egypt seeks truce

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel bombed Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip from air and sea for a fifth straight day on Sunday, preparing for a possible ground invasion though Egypt saw “some indications” of a truce ahead.Militant rocket fire into Israel subsided during the night but resumed in the morning with three rockets fired at the nearby...

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“Simpsons” actor Hank Azaria sues Craig Bierko over character right

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Hank Azaria, who provides the voices for a host of characters on “The Simpsons,” including Moe Szyslak and Chief Wiggum, is suing over the rights to one of his characters.Azaria and his How to Pictures, Inc. filed suit Wednesday against “Leap Year” actor Craig Bierko in U.S. District Court in Central California on Wednesday,...

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Questions of Blame Linger 34 Years After Jonestown

From the age of 13, Leslie Wagner Wilson had been indoctrinated in the California-based Peoples Temple, led by the charismatic Jim Jones, whose mission was to foster racial harmony and help the poor.But on Nov. 18, 1978, she and a handful of church members fought their way through thick jungle in the South American country of Guyana, escaping a utopian...

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Israel, Egypt talk Gaza ceasefire as strikes widen

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli envoy held talks with Egyptian officials Sunday on a ceasefire in his country's offensive on Gaza as Israel widened the range of its targets, striking more than a dozen homes of Hamas militants and two media officials. Seven civilians were killed, including five children, in the conflict's highest one-day civilian toll yet, according to security officials and...

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