Aaron Swartz, co-founder of Reddit and online activist, dies

NEW YORK— ...

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Biden seeks video game industry input on guns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Looking for broader remedies to gun violence, Vice President Joe Biden is reaching out to the video game industry for ideas as the White House seeks to assemble proposals in response to last month’s massacre at a Connecticut elementary school.Biden is scheduled to meet with video game representatives Friday as the White House explores cultural factors that may contribute to violent...

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Globe-nominated foreign filmmakers discuss craft

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The makers of three Golden Globe- and Oscar-nominated foreign films shared the secrets of their craft — and admiration for one another — at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's 10th annual Foreign Film Symposium.Oscar-nominated Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallstrom moderated the panel featuring "Kon-Tiki" directors Espen Sandberg and Joachim Roenning of Norway, "A Royal Affair"...

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‘Bodega Clinicas’ Draw Interest of Health Officials

HUNTINGTON PARK, Calif. — The “bodega clinicas” that line the bustling commercial streets of immigrant neighborhoods around Los Angeles are wedged between money order kiosks and pawnshops. These storefront offices, staffed with Spanish-speaking medical providers, treat ailments for cash: a doctor’s visit is $20 to $40; a cardiology exam is $120; and at one bustling clinic, a colonoscopy is advertised...

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Madonna's Beverly Hills mansion materializes for sale

Hot Property columnist Lauren Beale talks with real estate agent Kofi Nartey of the Agency in Beverly Hills. As a sign she may...

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Obama moves up deadline for Afghans to take lead security role

WASHINGTON -- President Obama on Friday said he is moving up the deadline for Afghan forces to take the lead in securing their...

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Factbox: Video game industry meets with Biden gun task force

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Representatives from the companies that make “first-person shooter” games such as “Call of Duty,” “Medal of Honor” and “Grand Theft Auto” met with Vice President Joe Biden on Friday as the Obama administration looks for ways to curb U.S. gun violence.Biden is heading a task force formed after a gunman shot dead 20 children and six adults last month at a Connecticut elementary...

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Kimmel says he expects to run 3rd in late night

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel says he expects to settle in as the third-rated talk show host in late-night television, even as early ratings suggest he's very competitive in his new time slot.ABC's funny man is finishing his first week in a new 11:35 p.m. time slot, competing directly with Jay Leno on NBC and David Letterman on CBS.Kimmel said on Friday that "Jimmy Kimmel Live" has scheduled Matt...

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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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Stocks mixed; S&P 500 eases below 5-year high

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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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Source: Britney Spears out of 'X Factor'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears is out of "The X Factor" after a season in which the pop star failed to deliver a ratings boost for the singing contest, a person familiar with the show's plans said Thursday.Creator Simon Cowell and fellow producers are discussing replacements for Spears and another panelist, record producer Antonio "L.A." Reid, said the person, who lacked authority to comment publicly...

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Flu Widespread, Leading a Range of Winter’s Ills

It is not your imagination — more people you know are sick this winter, even people who have had flu shots. The country is in the grip of three emerging flu or flulike epidemics: an early start to the annual flu season with an unusually aggressive virus, a surge in a new type of norovirus, and the worst whooping cough outbreak in 60 years. And these are all developing amid the normal winter...

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Warner wins appeal in Superman case against co-creator's daughter

In a legal victory that cements the studio's ownership of Superman as it goes forward with a slate of movie about the Man of...

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L.A. County sheriff's area homicides fall; serious crime up overall

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Men and Women of (Limited) Letters: Must-Follow Twitter Accounts of 2013

Scientific American editors voted in recent weeks on the 20 most informative Twitter accounts to stay abreast of the latest ideas, issues and developments in science and technology. We weeded through hundreds of lists and feeds to select the most brilliant and engaging, as well as the quirkiest of the bunch.Our picks are often witty, sometimes eccentric and occasionally silly, but each brings valuable...

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Dark Horse, Wood start new 'Star Wars' comic

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — There's excitement brewing for fans of the original "Star Wars" trilogy.Writer Brian Wood and Dark Horse Comics began a new monthly series Wednesday that focuses on Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo and Chewbacca, along with R2D2 and C3P0, as they seek to establish a foothold for the rebellion in the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction.Wood, whose previous comics...

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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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