“Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik tweets pre-Thanksgiving divorce plans

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Things are bound to be a little tense around the dinner table at Mayim Bialik‘s house this Thanksgiving.Bialik is divorcing her husband of nine years, Mike Stone, the “Big Bang Theory” star announced via her twitter account Wednesday.The actress, 36, tweeted a link to a blog post about the split with the message, “I’m beating the tabloids to it and posting this Divorce...

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Germany rejects Swiss tax deal

23 November 2012 Last updated at 11:29 ETGermany’s upper house of parliament has rejected a deal with Switzerland to tax German assets held in Swiss bank accounts.The deal would have allowed Germans with undeclared assets in Switzerland to avoid punishment by making a one-off payment of between 21% and 41% of the value of their assets.The deal had been negotiated in April and was due to take effect...

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Police mull action over false Twitter abuse claims

LONDON (Reuters) – Britons who posted remarks on Twitter and in blogs wrongly identifying a senior Conservative politician as a child sex abuser might face prosecution after police said on Wednesday they were looking to see if any crimes had been committed.Lord Alistair McAlpine, an ally of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was widely named on social media sites as being the unidentified politician...

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McCartney joins lineup for UK soccer disaster song

LONDON (Reuters) – Former Beatle Paul McCartney has joined the lineup for a Christmas single raising money for the families of those who died in the 1989 Hillsborough soccer stadium tragedy in northern England, organizers said on Thursday.Already committed to the song are artists including Robbie Williams, ex-Spice Girl Melanie C, Frankie Goes to Hollywood‘s Holly Johnson and Gerry Marsden of Gerry...

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Laws don’t curb pricey prostate cancer treatments

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Laws meant to prevent the overuse of expensive healthcare services don’t stop doctors from using pricey prostate cancer treatments, according to two new studies.Researchers found doctors used robots and special radiation to treat prostate cancer regardless of whether their area had laws requiring government approval before money is spent on healthcare facilities and new...

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Arsenal in £150m Emirates deal

23 November 2012 Last updated at 07:47 ETArsenal football club have signed a new £150m deal with Emirates airline, extending its shirt sponsorship to 2019.The naming rights to the Emirates Stadium in north London were also extended to 2028 as part of the deal.In total, the agreement brings in £30m a season for Arsenal in terms of shirt and stadium sponsorship.The new contract is one of the biggest...

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Beijing’s S. China Sea rivals protest passport map

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has enraged several neighbors with a few dashes on a map, printed in its newly revised passports that show it staking its claim on the entire South China Sea and even Taiwan.Inside the passports, an outline of China printed in the upper left corner includes Taiwan and the sea, hemmed in by the dashes. The change highlights China’s longstanding claim on the South China Sea...

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RIM shares play catch-up on the Nasdaq; trim gains in Toronto

TORONTO (Reuters) – Research In Motion‘s U.S.-listed shares played catch-up on Friday, surging more than 13 percent after the Thanksgiving holiday to match some of the gains the stock posted Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.RIM’s Toronto-listed shares surged more than 17 percent on Thursday, after National Bank analyst Kris Thompson boosted his price target on RIM to $ 15 from $ 12. Thompson...

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Ex-’Price is Right’ model gets $8.5M in damages

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The producers of “The Price is Right” owe a former model on the show more than $ 7.7 million in punitive damages for discriminating against her after a pregnancy, a jury determined Wednesday.The judgment came one day after the panel determined the game show’s producers discriminated against Brandi Cochran. They awarded her nearly $...

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Serious About Free Markets? Prove It

On Friday the Republican Study Committee, a policy shop for congressional Republicans, published a memo on how to fix copyright law. By Saturday afternoon the group’s executive director had pulled the memo, which had evidently failed to approach the subject with “all facts and viewpoints in hand.” This is Washington’s way of saying that an interest group...

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Former Ivory Coast leader’s wife wanted by ICC

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court unsealed an indictment Thursday against former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo‘s wife on charges including murder, rape and persecution. It was the first time in the court’s 10-year history it has charged a woman.The world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal said the arrest warrant was...

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is Good, But No iPad Killer [REVIEW]

Unboxing the Kindle Fire HD 8.9Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: Apple Now Owns the iMessage Name] Amazon expands its tablet sights with the bigger, more powerful Kindle Fire HD 8.9. Can it compete against Apple‘s iPad?If there’s one company that deserves credit for reigniting the iPad competitor market,...

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McCartney, Houston, Dylan lead Grammy Hall of Fame inductees

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Music by Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Elton John and late singers Whitney Houston and James Brown will be inducted into the 2013 Grammy Hall of Fame, The Recording Academy said on Wednesday.Paul McCartney & Wings‘ 1973 album “Band on the Run,” long credited with reigniting McCartney’s career following the Beatles’ split in 1970,...

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Deere has downbeat 2013 outlook, and shares fall

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tractor maker Deere & Co. is taking a cautious view of 2013, as drought and economic uncertainty hold back spending in some of the world’s biggest farm economies.Also, its most recent quarterly profit missed analysts’ expectations. Deere shares fell $ 3.16, or 3.7 percent, to close at $ 82.83 Wednesday. Deere...

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Ivory Coast: New prime minister named

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — President Alassane Ouattara has tapped Foreign Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan to serve as prime minister in a new government one week after the surprise dissolution of cabinet.The appointment of Duncan, a member of the PDCI party of former President Henri Konan Bedie, was announced at a press conference Wednesday by Amadou Gon...

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6 actually useful smartphone apps to get you through Black Friday

Gracefully navigate the shopping madness by doing a little prep work on your iPhone or Android before you leave the houseAh, the holidays! Big-box stores compete with online behemoths for customers, while customers compete with each other to get the best Black Friday savings. And, in a new digital twist, Black-Friday-focused apps are competing with...

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Camembert to clocks: Dali’s genius on show in Paris

PARIS (Reuters) – The broadest-ever retrospective of Salvador Dali, opening in Paris this week, seeks to move beyond the shameless self-promotion that the 20th century Surrealist was often derided for and stress his indelible influence on artists today.Once dubbed “Avida Dollars” for his love of money, Dali is regarded by some as little more than a marketing...

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FDA approves first-of-a-kind seasonal flu vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved the first seasonal flu vaccine made using animal cell technology, rather than the half-century egg method.The FDA approved Novartis‘ Flucelvax to prevent influenza in people 18 years and older. The new method has been promoted by U.S. health officials...

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Payday loan firms warned by OFT

20 November 2012 Last updated at 06:43 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. David Fisher, Office of Fair Trading: “The industry as a whole certainly needs to raise its game”The payday loan industry has been warned to improve the way it lends money...

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News Summary: India outrage over Facebook arrests

WHAT HAPPENED: As India‘s financial capital shut down for the weekend funeral of a powerful politician linked to waves of mob violence, a woman posted on Facebook that the closures in Mumbai were “due to fear, not due to respect.” A friend of hers hit the “like” button. For that, both women were arrested.THE RATIONALE: The arrests were seen as a move by...

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Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat and cane fetch over $60,000 at auction

NEW YORK (Reuters) – One of Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hats and a cane, the staple of Hollywood silent-era comedy, were auctioned for $ 62,500 on Sunday, said auction house Bonhams.Chaplin’s hat and cane, which fetched more than the initial estimate of $ 40,000-60,000, are synonymous with his “Little Tramp” character in films such as “City Lights” and...

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday. The draft guidelines from the...

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U.S. ITC will review Apple, Samsung patent decision

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. International Trade Commission will review a judge’s decision which found that Apple did not violate patents owned by Samsung Electronics in making the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad.An administrative law judge at the ITC had said in a preliminary ruling in September that Apple was innocent of violating the patents. The ITC,...

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Turbulence on Cuba-Italy flight leaves 30 bruised

ROME (AP) — An airliner flying from Havana to Milan abruptly plunged some 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) when it hit unusually strong turbulence over the Atlantic on Monday, terrifying passengers and leaving some 30 people aboard with bruises and scrapes, airline officials said.The flight continued to Milan’s Malpensa airport after the plane’s captain determined...

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Google should not be accused of “unfair” acts: lawmakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two lawmakers urged the Federal Trade Commission on Monday to steer clear of expanding its authority as it investigates allegations search engine company Google violated antitrust law.The two California Democrats in the House of Representatives, who count Google as a major campaign contributor, asked the FTC not to accuse the company...

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