Russian Acquittal Escalates Human Rights Feud With U.S.

MOSCOW — A judge issued an acquittal on Friday of the only official to have gone to trial in Russia in the case of Sergei L. Magnitsky, a lawyer whose death in prison three years ago inspired the United States Congress to pass a law addressing human rights abuses in Russia. The official, Dr. Dmitry Kratov, the former head of the medical service at Butyrka Prison, where Mr. Magnitsky had been...

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Shark Tank Bursts in Mall in China, Caught on Video

People Pets 12/28/2012 at 01:55 PM EST A 33-ton tank housing sharks, turtles and fish shattered in a Shanghai shopping mall, sending a torrent of water that injured more than a dozen shoppers and employees in a dramatic moment caught on video. The tank burst Dec. 19 at the Orient Shopping Center, hurtling huge...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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'Terminator' actor arrested for lewd conduct at adult movie store

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Putin to Sign Ban on U.S. Adoptions of Russian Children

MOSCOW President Vladimir V. Putin said on Thursday that he would sign into law a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by American citizens, retaliating against an American law that punishes Russians accused of violating human rights and dealing a potentially grave setback to bilateral relations. Mr. Putin announced his decision at a meeting with senior government officials, including...

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Apple CEO’s pay takes big hit vs. record 2011 package

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook’s 2012 compensation package of just over $ 4 million is a huge cut on paper for the top executive of the most valuable U.S. corporation, after a 2011 package fattened by more than $ 376 million in long-term stock awards.Cook received the largest single pay package awarded to a company CEO in about a decade when he replaced Apple‘s legendary co-founder, Steve...

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What Did Neve Campbell Name Her Son?

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 12/27/2012 at 02:00 PM ET Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagicNeve Campbell is no stranger in the sea of unusual names.So when it came to her now 5-month-old son, the actress, wanting him to follow in her footsteps, skipped the mundane monikers.“We looked through a lot of books...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Numerous women sexually assaulted by taxi driver, police say

Manhattan Beach Police released the photo of a taxi driver suspected of sexually assaulting multiple women in the South Bay region. Torrance resident Sameh Shenouda, 38, was arrested in November on charges of sexually assaulting a woman in August, according to Manhattan Beach Det. Michael Rosenberger. “The victim did not initially report the crime until she saw a news report of a similar...

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Lübeck Journal: Museum Seeks to Update Thomas Mann for Age of Texting

Gordon Welters for The New York TimesAs the Buddenbrookhaus, a museum about Thomas Mann, prepares to grow, it aims to make a formidable writer more accessible. LÜBECK, Germany — The latest sensation from the literary lion Thomas Mann is more than a century old and runs over 500 characters, not pages, long. In one of a trove of 81 recently discovered postcards, Mr. Mann rhapsodized to his...

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Netflix blames Amazon for Christmas Eve outage

NEW YORK (Reuters) – An outage at one of Amazon‘s web service centers hit users of Netflix Inc‘s streaming video service on Christmas Eve and was not fully resolved until Christmas Day, a spokesman for the movie rental company said on Tuesday.The outage impacted Netflix subscribers across Canada, Latin America and the United States, and affected various devices that enable users to stream movies and...

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Jessica Simpson Stopping Weight Watchers Diet While Pregnant

By Maggie Coughlan 12/26/2012 at 02:30 PM EST Following Jessica Simpson's Christmas day confirmation of her pregnancy, Weight Watchers has extended their congratulations to the spokeswoman."What an amazing year you've had!" the organization Tweeted following the Fashion Star judge's announcement on Tuesday. Simpson...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Ashton Kutcher-Demi Moore divorce: Who gets the money?

A year after the couple announced their split, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore's divorce case is moving into the Los Angeles court system.Legal experts said they timing of the filing suggests the couple wants to wrap up the case by the end of the year.In the divorce papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court earlier this month, Kutcher cited irreconcilable differences. He did not seek...

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Murderous Policewoman Leaves an Afghan Trail of Mystery

KABUL, Afghanistan — Sergeant Nargis went to work Monday with murder on her mind. By the end of the morning, she would succeed, becoming responsible for this year’s 62nd insider killing, in which Afghan security forces have killed American or other coalition personnel. Such killings have greatly increased this year, but Sergeant Nargis’s killing of an American police adviser, Joseph Griffin,...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Demi Moore-Ashton Kutcher divorce could get ugly

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.Ashton Kutcher's move to file for divorce from Demi Moore last week more than a year after they announced their split could be a matter of money or taxes, a veteran divorce attorney said.In the divorce papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Kutcher cited irreconcilable differences. He did not seek any spousal...

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Gaza Cease-Fire Expands Fishing Area, but Risks Remain

Relaxed Rules Restore Old Opportunities: As a part of last month's cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel, Gazans can now fish 6 miles off the coast, doubling the previous limit.GAZA CITY — Khader Bakr, a 19-year-old fisherman, was thrilled to hear that he could now fish up to six nautical miles from the coast, up from the three-mile limit Israel had had in place since 2009. The change was...

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Linnea Johansson Blogs About Her A-List Clients' Holiday Party Food & Drink Tips

By Linnea Johansson 12/24/2012 at 02:00 PM EST Party planner Linnea Johansson (standing) Adrian Mueller - Fabrik Studios Celebrity event planner and chef Linnea Johansson knows how to throw a party. She's worked with such A-list stars as Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Husband sets wife on fire during fight with child nearby, police say

A Fresno man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and domestic violence after he allegedly set his common-law wife on fire Sunday afternoon, authorities said.The 21-year-old man apparently "became emotional" while discussing his relationship with the woman in a car in southeast Fresno, police Sgt. Steve Crawford told the Fresno Bee. The man allegedly threw gasoline on the woman and...

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As Egypt Constitution Passes, New Fights Lie Ahead

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesEgyptian women walk into a polling station. Millions went to the polls to pass judgment on an Islamist-backed constitution, whose passage represented an important milestone in Egypt’s chaotic two-year transition to democracy. More Photos »CAIRO — An Islamist-backed constitution was approved on Saturday, propelling Egypt’s deeply divided political factions...

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Top Comments: Mashable Readers React to Instagram’s Terms of Service

Monday, Dec. 17: Instagram Updates TOSReaders had varying reactions to Instagram‘s updates. Some felt that they were fair: If you don’t like the terms of service, argued some users, you have the option not to use the service. Others were far more outraged.Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: Why xkcd Is Wrong About Instagram]This week, the top comments on Mashable brought into focus...

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