Russia Detains 271 in St. Petersburg Security Raid

MOSCOW — Russian police and security officials in St. Petersburg detained 271 people, mostly migrants from Central Asia and the North Caucasus region, during a raid on Friday on Muslim prayer rooms at a central market. They said the raid was carried out to check residency permits and to eliminate networks of religious extremists planning terrorist attacks. A statement published Friday night...

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Do No Harm's Alana de la Garza Expecting Second Child

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 02/09/2013 at 02:30 PM ET Imeh Akpanudosen/WireImageThere’s another baby on the way for Alana De La Garza!The Do No Harm star, 36, and her husband Michael Roberts are expecting their second child — a daughter — in July, De La Garza confirms via Twitter.Before...

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After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four...

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State fires contractor on tech project

SACRAMENTO – The state has fired the contractor on one of its biggest and most troubled technology projects after deep problems...

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The Lede: Social Media Images From Tunisia, as an Opposition Leader Is Buried

Video from the Tunisian news site Jadal showed clashes on Friday in Tunis during the funeral of an opposition leader.Activists, bloggers and journalists in Tunisia posted a stream of images on social networks Friday, showing thousands of mourners packed into the largest cemetery in the capital, Tunis, for the funeral of Chokri Belaid, a leading opposition figure whose assassination two days ago triggered...

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Blizzard Forces Katie Holmes to Miss Her Own Fashion Show

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/08/2013 at 01:58 PM ET Kevin Mazur/WireImageKatie Holmes spent yesterday kicking off her heels with fashion editors in a New York City hotel suite to present the latest elegant collection for her Holmes & Yang fashion line. But today, the blizzard that’s battering the...

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Health officials: Worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread flu dropped again last week, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, spiking first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia...

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Bar trivia is more than just fun and games

The door to the bar in Palms swung open, and strains of the theme from "Rocky III" burst into the street: "It's the eye of the...

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The Lede: Video Broadcast on State Television Was Downloaded From U.S. Drone, Iran Says

Last Updated, 2:17 p.m. Iran’s state television broadcast Wednesday what it described as video recorded by the American surveillance drone that crash-landed about 140 miles from the country’s border with Afghanistan in late 2011.Video broadcast on Iranian state television, said to have been downloaded from an American surveillance drone that crash-landed in Iran in 2011.As The Associated Press reports...

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William & Kate Enjoying Private Mustique Babymoon

By Amanda Orr and Simon Perry 02/07/2013 at 02:10 PM EST The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (inset) visited Aurora House, Mustique IPHOTO; Inset: Splash News Online The The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are keeping a low profile on their "babymoon" to the idyllic island of Mustique.The couple...

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.Blacks were five times more likely than whites...

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Police on high alert after ex-LAPD cop's alleged serial shootings

Authorities across Southern California were on high alert Thursday morning as a massive manhunt was underway for an ex-Los Angeles police officer sought in connection with a double homicide and the shootings of three police officers, one of whom was killed.Local, state and federal authorities are involved in the search for Christoper Jordan Dorner, 33, who threatened "unconventional and...

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The Lede: Video of Protests Across Tunisia After an Opposition Leader Is Gunned Down

Video of a protest outside the interior ministry in Tunis on Wednesday from the blog Nawaat.As my colleagues Kareem Fahim and Gerry Mullany report, there were protests across Tunisia on Wednesday following the assassination of Chokri Belaid, a leader of the secular opposition.Video shot by activist bloggers for the independent Tunisian site Nawaat showed protesters rallying outside the interior ministry...

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Alex Morgan Channels Katy Perry's Sexy Album Cover Look

By Dahvi Shira 02/06/2013 at 02:40 PM EST Alex Morgan as Katy Perry Courtesy ESPN Sexy soccer star Alex Morgan's latest photo feature is a definite score!The athlete, 23, channels Katy Perry, 28, in ESPN magazine's Feb. 18 music issue, sporting the same pose and...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Woman drugged girl, use her in hard-core porn, police allege

This post has been corrected. Please see below for details.A North Hills woman who authorities allege plied a young girl with crack cocaine and photographed her having sex with an older man was indicted Tuesday on federal charges of producing child pornography and child sex trafficking. Letha Montemayor Tucker was named Tuesday in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand...

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Same-Sex Marriage Law Gains in Britain

Luke Macgregor/ReutersDemonstrators Martin Brown, left, and Archie Young were outside Parliament Tuesday in support of gay marriage in England. LONDON — The House of Commons overwhelmingly approved a law on Tuesday permitting same-sex marriage, a major gain for a bill that Prime Minister David Cameron has made a centerpiece of his drive to modernize his Conservative Party. The House of Commons...

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Kate and William on Mustique for Another Vacation

By Simon Perry 02/05/2013 at 02:30 PM EST Mustique, with the Duchess of Cambridge (inset) Getty; Inset: PA/Landov Royal mom-to-be Kate is on a winter escape, enjoying the sunshine of a Caribbean vacation. She and husband William are sunning themselves on the paradise island of Mustique. They...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Mystery after basketball coach, fiance murdered in parking lot

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.Family and friends had only praise for a Cal State Fullerton coach and her fiance Monday, a day after the recently engaged college sweethearts were found fatally shot in the parking structure of their condominium near UC Irvine.The bodies of Monica Quan, an assistant women's basketball coach, and Keith Lawrence, who worked as a...

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High-Level Feud Bares Tensions in Iran

TEHRAN — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escalated a bitter political fight this week with Iran’s most influential political family by disclosing secret film recordings of what he purported were fraudulent business deals. During a Sunday session of Parliament, broadcast on state radio, Mr. Ahmadinejad singled out the head of the Parliament, Ali Larijani, a political rival with strong links...

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Kim Richards: 'My Whole Life Today Is Amazing' Because I'm Sober

Kim Richards is in a good place. Following a stint in rehab about a year ago, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 48, tells PEOPLE, "It hasn't been easy, but my whole life today is amazing, and I owe it all to my sobriety." Part of what has contributed to her new outlook is her newly mended relationship with her sister, Kyle. "When I came home from treatment, I thought it was going to...

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Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens

CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the...

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Priest molested girl who wore Snow White costume, records show

More disturbing stories of priests' molestations of children -- and questionable actions by church leaders -- emerged in 12,000 pages of once-confidential personnel files. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles posted the documents on its website Thursday night, an hour after a Los Angeles judge ended 5-1/2 years of legal wrangling over the release of the files with an order compelling...

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Letter From Washington: A Rocky Road to Reforming Immigration

WASHINGTON — Immigration reform is having a “Kumbaya” moment, with support from the White House, a bipartisan contingent in Congress, business and labor. The Republicans are petrified after their dismal showing among the fastest-growing slices of the electorate, Hispanics and Asians; President Barack Obama wants to reward the loyalty of those voters. Business and labor, as well as many politicians,...

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