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 tough, hard-to-bridge positions, and...

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China's Xi warns party of corruption scourge

BEIJING (AP) — China's new leader Xi Jinping is highlighting corruption as a scourge that could bring down the Communist Party, though he has yet to offer any specific new proposals to stop it.In a weekend speech that was carried Monday by the official Xinhua News Agency, Xi told the new 25-member Politburo that the party must be vigilant against graft, noting that corruption in other countries in...

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Facebook takes another shot at settling privacy lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. judge said he would consider whether to preliminarily approve Facebook‘s second attempt to settle allegations the social networking company violated privacy rights.Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg rejected a proposed class action settlement over Facebook’s ‘Sponsored Stories’ advertising feature. But...

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Justin Bieber gets love at American Music Awards

Justin Bieber may be Canadian, but he was the all-American boy at Sunday night's American Music Awards.The pop singer dominated the awards show, winning three trophies, including artist of the year. His mom joined him onstage as he collected the award, beating out Rihanna, Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Drake."I wanted to thank you for always believing in me," Bieber said, looking to his mom.The 18-year-old...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Palestinian civilian toll climbs in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian civilian death toll mounted Monday as Israeli aircraft struck densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip in a campaign to quell militant rocket fire menacing nearly half of Israel's population.An overnight airstrike on two houses belonging to an extended clan in Gaza City killed two children and two adults, and injured 42 people, said Gaza heath official...

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Obama, on Asia trip, first pays visit to Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — President Barack Obama on Sunday launched a three-day Southeast Asia tour, hailing alliances with countries such as Thailand as cornerstones of the administration's deeper commitment to the Asia-Pacific region.While in Asia, however, Obama will be dividing his attention by monitoring the escalating conflict between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Obama has been in regular contact...

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Kansas robber recognizes victim from prison, gives wallet back

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Reuters) – A Kansas robber who helped seize a man’s cell phone and wallet at gunpoint recognized the victim as an ex-convict he had served time with and gave the possessions back, police said on Thursday.A Wichita, Kansas man reported that two young men approached him on the street late on Wednesday, one of them brandishing a large...

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Lady Gaga tweets some racy images before concert

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Lady Gaga's tweets were getting a lot of attention ahead of her Buenos Aires concert Friday night.The Grammy-winning entertainer has more than 30 million followers on Twitter and that's where she shared a link this week to a short video showing her doing a striptease and fooling around in a bathtub with two other women.She told her followers that it's a "surprise for...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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