America's go-to man in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province

TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan — A shy boy with filthy hands and a shabby tunic approached the great man, bowed and tried to kiss his...

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RIM shares climb as investors bet on new BlackBerry

TORONTO (Reuters) – Shares of Research In Motion rallied on Friday as investors positioned themselves ahead of the launch of its new make-or-break BlackBerry 10 smartphones at the end of the month.Morningstar analyst Brian Colello did not see any one news story driving the stock, which climbed steadily through much of the day. The new phones are to be formally unveiled on January 30.“The stock has...

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Sony Pictures executive: “Zero Dark Thirty” “does not advocate torture”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sony Pictures executive Amy Pascal lashed out on Friday at a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) who accused Osama bin Laden film “Zero Dark Thirty” of promoting torture and urged fellow Academy members not to vote for it in the Oscars race.In a strongly worded statement, Pascal said the “attempt to censure one of the great films of our time should...

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City Room: Cuomo Declares Public Health Emergency Over Flu Outbreak

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.There have been nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season, officials said. Last season, 4,400 positive laboratory tests were reported.“We are experiencing...

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Treasury Will Not Mint $1 Trillion Coin to Raise Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Saturday that it will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to head off an imminent battle with Congress over raising the government’s borrowing limit. “Neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve believes that the law can or should be used to facilitate the production of platinum coins for the purpose of avoiding an increase in...

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DWP will allow customers to sell back excess solar energy

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers for the first time will be able to sell back excess solar energy created...

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Evan Rachel Wood expecting first child with actor Jamie Bell

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Evan Rachel Wood said on Friday that she and her husband, British actor Jamie Bell, are expecting their first child.“Thanks for all your warm wishes,” Wood, 25, wrote on her Twitter account. “We are very happy. I’m gonna be a mama!”Moments earlier, Wood posted a picture of the pregnancy book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” on the social media site.It will be...

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Makers of Violent Video Games Marshal Support to Fend Off Regulation

WASHINGTON — With the Newtown, Conn., massacre spurring concern over violent video games, makers of popular games like Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat are rallying Congressional support to try to fend off their biggest regulatory threat in two decades. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesVice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. meeting Friday with video game industry executives, a response to last month's...

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Court Says Pfizer Can Be Sued by Man Who Took Generic

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a patient could sue a brand-name company for failing to warn about a drug’s risks even though he had taken a generic version of the product that the company did not make. Although the decision applies only to Alabama, it is likely to be closely read by lawyers with similar cases pending around the country whose clients have been barred from...

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Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park

Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending...

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Academy Launches Oscar App on Android, Amazon

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – The Academy launched its official Oscars app on Android and Amazon on Thursday, expanding its initiative to direct fans’ attention from the television to the second screen.The app, already available on the iPad and iPhone, was made available for free on the Google Play store and the Amazon app store, the Academy said. According to iTunes, the iPad app was updated earlier...

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Adele to join in Hollywood’s Golden Globe party

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop star Adele is set to attend the Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills on Sunday in what will be her first public appearance since giving birth to a boy in October.Golden Globe organizers said the 24-year-old British singer would be attending as a nominee, rather than a performer. Her “Skyfall” theme song for the latest James Bond movie is in the running for best original...

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Personal Health: Keeping Firearms Away From Children

I doubt that our forebears who ratified the Second Amendment in 1791 ever imagined how carelessly and callously firearms would be used centuries later. Witness the senseless slaughter of 20 innocent children and 6 adults last month in Newtown, Conn. As a mother of two and grandmother of four, I can’t imagine a more painful loss.If you are as concerned as I am about the safety of your children and...

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Electronic Records Systems Have Not Reduced Health Costs, Report Says

The conversion to electronic health records has failed so far to produce the hoped-for savings in health care costs and has had mixed results, at best, in improving efficiency and patient care, according to a new analysis by the influential RAND Corporation. Jim Wilson/The New York TimesDr. Alvin Rajkomar tracks patient data on a Samsung Galaxy Note. A new report questions whether electronic...

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Baseball writers pitch a Hall of Fame shutout

Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa have been denied entry to baseball's Hall of Fame with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades. (Jan. 9) ...

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‘Smart’ potty or dumb idea? Wacky gadgets at CES

LAS VEGAS (AP) — From the iPotty for toddlers to the 1,600-pound mechanical spider and the host of glitch-ridden “smart” TVs, the International CES show is a forum for gadget makers to take big — and bizarre — chances.Many of the prototypes introduced at the annual gadget show over the years have failed in the marketplace. But the innovators who shop their wares here are fearless when it comes to...

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“Homeland,” “Girls” win Directors Guild TV nominations

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The directors of hit television dramas “Homeland” and “Mad Men” were among those nominated for Directors Guild of America (DGA) awards on Wednesday.They were joined by Lena Dunham for her coming-of-age HBO series “Girls” and actor Bryan Cranston for ABC’s “Modern Family” in the comedy category.AMC’s “Breaking Bad” director Rian Johnson and Greg Mottola, director of HBO’s “The...

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Pap Test May Prove Useful at Detecting More Types of Cancer, Study Suggests

The Pap test, which has prevented countless deaths from cervical cancer, may eventually help to detect cancers of the uterus and ovaries as well, a new study suggests. For the first time, researchers have found genetic material from uterine or ovarian cancers in Pap smears, meaning that it may become possible to detect three diseases with just one routine test. But the research is...

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Chinese Firm Buys an American Solar Technology Start-Up

Alexander F. Yuan/Associated PressThe chief of MiaSole, John Carrington, left, at the announcement of the company's purchase by Hanergy Holding Group, for which Zhou Jiesan is an executive. Just a few years ago, Silicon Valley investors were pouring money into solar technologies and talking about how they would bring the same kind of innovation to green energy that they had to the computer chip. ...

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U.S. Supreme Court hands L.A. County a victory in water lawsuit

Los Angeles County got a reprieve in an ongoing dispute over who is responsible for pollution from storm water when the U.S....

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U.S. Franciscan friars go digital, accept prayer requests via text

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The largest group of Franciscan friars in the United States is offering the faithful a new way to pray in the digital age by accepting prayer requests via text messages.The Friars of Holy Name Province, who staff 40 parishes and have colleges, soup kitchens and food centers along the eastern seaboard, as well as groups in Peru and Tokyo, are among a few religious groups offering...

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