NBC correspondent escapes Syria kidnapping

BEIRUT (AP) — More than a dozen heavily armed pro-regime gunmen kidnapped NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and several colleagues for five days inside Syria, threatening them with mock executions and keeping them bound and blindfolded until they escaped unharmed during a firefight between their captors and rebels, Engel said Tuesday.Speaking to NBC's "Today" show one day after the escape,...

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Classes resume in Newtown

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — With security stepped up and families still on edge in Newtown, students began returning to school Tuesday for the first time since last week's massacre, bringing a return of familiar routines — at least, for some — to a grief-stricken town as it buries 20 of its children.One 6-year-old boy's funeral was under way Tuesday morning, and two other 6-year-old boys were laid to rest...

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Bangladesh probe: Fire sabotage, owner negligent

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A Bangladesh government committee investigating the factory fire that killed 112 people last month says it was sabotage, but adds that no matter who set it, the owner of the factory bears responsibility for the deaths because he neglected worker safety.Mainuddin Khandaker, head of the four-member committee, submitted the report on Monday.Khandaker told The Associated Press...

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Clearwire accepts slightly sweeter bid from Sprint

(Reuters) – Clearwire Corp agreed to sell roughly half of the company for $ 2.2 billion to majority shareholder Sprint Nextel Corp, which would then have full ownership of spectrum that will help it offer high-speed wireless services.The $ 2.97-per-share deal is only 7 cents per share higher than a bid many minority shareholders said was too low days before. Clearwire shares tumbled 12.2 percent to...

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Lopez plays Santa for charity; talks about Rivera

NEW YORK (AP) — Jennifer Lopez says she doesn't look forward to getting gifts at Christmas — she looks forward to giving them."I love going and shopping for Christmas presents for everybody and making gifts for people and seeing their faces light up and surprising them; that's where I get my joy," the entertainer said last week.It's also why Lopez launched her "J. Lo's Christmas Gift" drive, asking...

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NRA member Sen. Manchin says Newtown shooting should open gun debate

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, an "A" rated member of the NRA, on Monday questioned the availability of assault weapons and suggested Friday's shooting in Newtown, Conn. has opened up the issue for debate.Manchin said past debates about assault weapons have been shut down over a fear of destroying Second Amendment rights. But the senator said last Friday's shooting changed all that. "The...

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Conservative LDP wins landslide in Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide election victory Sunday after three years in opposition, exit polls showed, signaling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with rival China.The victory means that the hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will get a second chance to lead the nation after a one-year stint...

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Springsteen, Gaga join Stones; Newtown noted

NEW YORK (AP) — Only at a Rolling Stones concert could appearances by Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga seem almost like afterthoughts.Those superstars and other top acts including the Black Keys and John Mayer jammed with the Stones on Saturday night, winding down a series of concerts celebrating the 50th year of rock's most enduring band (the occasion was also marked by a pay-per-view special).The...

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness."There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant...

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Portraits of Conn. victims show lives at their very start, ended in gunfire

Most died at the very start of their young lives, tiny victims taken in a way not fit for anyone regardless of age. Others found their life's work in sheltering little ones, teaching them, caring for them, treating them as their own. After the gunfire ended Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the trail of loss was more than many could bear: 20 children and six adults at the school, the gunman's...

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