Stephen Colbert joins US presidents at wax museum

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Colbert is taking his place among the presidents at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Washington and will be featured in a new media gallery.Colbert visited the museum Friday to unveil a wax figure created to represent him. The museum says Colbert donated his own clothes to dress the figure in a suit, tie, cuff links and lapel...

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To Get Rich in China Is Not So Glorious

In the course of a U.S. presidential campaign, the American public is bombarded with surveys asking voters to rank the relative importance of various issues, and whether they think the country is overall on the right track. Not so in China, where another leadership transition has just concluded, with the 18th Party Congress choosing Xi Jinping to succeed...

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Israel hits Hamas buildings, shoots down Tel Aviv-bound rocket

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza, and the “Iron Dome” defense system shot down a Tel Aviv-bound rocket on Saturday as Israel geared up for a possible ground invasion.Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, said Israeli missiles wrecked the office building of Prime Minister Ismail...

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Apple, Samsung allowed to add products in U.S. patent lawsuit

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge allowed Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to pursue claims the iPhone5 infringes its patents on Thursday, while also allowing Apple Inc to add claims that the Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy S III and the Jelly Bean operating system violate its patents.The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal in San Jose, California, was the latest...

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Scott Dadich Named Top Editor at Wired

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Scott Dadich has been named editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, it was announced Friday by Condé Nast editorial director Tom Wallace.The appointment marks a homecoming for Dadich, who served as Wired’s creative director from 2006 to 2010. He replaces Chris Anderson as the publication’s top editor. Since...

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Banks criticised over CPP sales

16 November 2012 Last updated at 19:00 ETBy Bob Howard Moneybox Banks must share the blame for mis-sold card protection, after a regulator fined the firm CPP £10.5m, says an influential MP.John Mann, who sits on the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, said most policies were sold when bank customers rang up to...

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Israel moves on reservists after rockets target cities

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli ministers were on Friday asked to endorse the call-up of up to 75,000 reservists after Palestinian militants nearly hit Jerusalem with a rocket for the first time in decades and fired at Tel Aviv for a second day.The rocket attacks were a challenge to Israel‘s Gaza offensive and came just hours after Egypt‘s prime minister,...

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News Summary: UK court overturns Facebook demotion

PUNISHED: Britain‘s High Court ruled Friday that a man had been unfairly stripped of a management position and demoted for saying in a Facebook post that he was opposed to gay marriage.COURT RULING: The court said the Trafford Housing Trust breached Adrian Smith‘s contract and a judge added that Smith had not done anything wrong. Smith had written on Facebook...

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Psy, Drake, Gotye join American Music Awards birthday bash

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The American Music Awards rings in its 40th year on Sunday, with top nominees like Rihanna and Nicki Minaj battling for the top trophies and Stevie Wonder leading a tribute to the show’s late founder, Dick Clark.Variety is the key to this year’s three-hour ceremony from Los Angeles, with performers including Canadian pop star Justin...

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“Exposure” to U.S. may raise immigrants’ obesity risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study finds that the longer immigrants from Mexico, and their U.S.-born offspring, spend in the United States, the greater their odds of becoming obese.Compared to similar individuals living in Mexico, researchers found the grandchildren of immigrants to the U.S. from Mexico were three times more likely to be obese adults. “We...

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U.S. says to take steps to fill FHA capital hole, avoid bailout

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Thursday it planned to take steps to fill a capital hole at the Federal Housing Administration to lessen the need for a taxpayer bailout.The Department of Housing and Urban Development said an independent actuary had found that the mortgage insurance agency’s capital reserve ratio – a gauge of its...

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France urges Mali to step up talks with rebels

PARIS (AP) — France‘s president called Thursday for stepped-up talks between Mali’s government and any leaders from its breakaway north “who reject terrorism,” even as African nations geared up for a possible military operation against Islamic extremists there.President Francois Hollande‘s comments suggested a growing openness to dialogue with the extremists,...

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Xbox Live Celebrates 10 Years of Connecting Gamers

Thursday marks the tenth anniversary of Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online gaming platform for the Xbox and the Xbox 360.[More from Mashable: Steve Ballmer Hints at Microsoft Building More Hardware] For the last decade, Xbox Live has offered both a marketplace and online play space for gamers. It started in 2002 on Microsoft‘s...

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BAFTA Shifts Corporate Sponsors for Film Awards

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – You can’t buy awards, but when it comes to the BAFTAs you can certainly sponsor them.The British Academy of Film and Television is switching up its corporate partners for its annual film awards ceremony. That means it’s out with telecom company Orange, and in with broadband network EE. The...

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To Quit Smoking, Go Where the Cigarettes Aren’t

Nov. 15 marks this year’s Great American Smokeout, when organizations across the country encourage smokers to quit the habit. Yahoo asked former smokers to offer to advice to those trying to stop smoking.FIRST PERSON | If you can find a place where nicotine is unattainable, go there, and stay for at least one month. That is the easiest way to quit smoking....

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Airport capacity ‘costs UK £14bn’

14 November 2012 Last updated at 19:02 ETA lack of capacity at Heathrow is costing the UK economy £14bn a year in lost trade, according to a report published by the airport. That figure could rise to £26bn a year by 2030, the report said.Heathrow bosses are keen to see a third runway built at the west London airport,...

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Egypt recalls envoy to Israel after Gaza strike

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has recalled its ambassador to Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed the military commander of Gaza‘s ruling Hamas.In a statement read on state TV late Wednesday, spokesman Yasser Ali said that President Mohammed Morsi recalled the ambassador and asked the Arab League‘s Secretary General to convene an emergency ministerial meeting...

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Verizon says 1.4 million customers back on its fiber optic network

(Reuters) – Verizon Communications said fiber optic services have been restored to more than 1.4 million customers hurt by Hurricane Sandy.The provider of telephone, Internet and television services said on November 1 that it may take another two weeks to restore telecommunication services for its customers after flooding and power outages knocked out...

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Petraeus enlisted for cameo in ‘Call of Duty’ game

LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Petraeus has landed on his feet with a new gig in “Call of Duty: Black Ops II.”The retired Army general who stepped down as CIA director last week amid a scandal surrounding his extramarital affair pops up in the highly anticipated Activision Blizzard Inc. first-person shooter game released Tuesday. A...

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Asia stocks up after successful Greek bond auction

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets edged higher Wednesday as the threat of an imminent meltdown in debt-swamped Greece receded.Greece held a sale of short-term treasury bills Tuesday that will help it make a crucial debt repayment at the end of the week. Without the sale, Athens would have found it impossible to repay the €5 billion ($ 6.4 billion) treasury...

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General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend

PERTH, Australia (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged “inappropriate communications” with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an...

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RIM to release new BlackBerrys soon after Jan. 30

TORONTO (AP) — Research In Motion Ltd. will release its much-delayed BlackBerry 10 smartphones “not too long” after a launch event on Jan. 30, a senior executive said Tuesday.Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear said the company is still fine-tuning the new phones. The new phones are seen as critical to RIM‘s survival...

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Belize wants to quiz anti-computer virus guru McAfee in murder probe

BELIZE CITY (Reuters) – Police in Belize want to question U.S. anti-computer virus software pioneer John McAfee in connection with the murder of a neighbor he had been quarrelling with, but they say he remains a person of interest at this time and is not a suspect.McAfee, who invented the anti-virus software that bears his name, has homes and businesses...

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U2′s Bono to urge U.S. politicians not to cut aid programs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Irish rocker and anti-poverty campaigner Bono will appeal to Democrats and Republicans during a visit to Washington this week to spare U.S. development assistance programs from cuts as Congress tries to avert the looming “fiscal cliff” of tax hikes and spending reductions early next year.The U2 lead singer’s visit comes as the Obama...

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Concussions and stricter rules taking their toll

MIAMI (Reuters) – Three teams begin preparation for games this weekend unsure if their starting quarterback will be cleared to play as the league’s stricter concussion rules start to bite.The NFL has been concerned about the health implications from concussions and brain injuries and introduced a clearly defined series of steps that teams have to follow...

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