Boeing delivers first new jet to Iraq in decades

BAGHDAD (AP) — The first new Boeing Co. jetliner sold to Iraq in 30 years touched down in Baghdad on Saturday, signaling the country’s determination to rebuild its economy after decades of war and sanctions.Iraq is eager to improve its creaky aviation industry, which lags far behind that of its energy-rich neighbors. Boeing‘s delivery of the twin-aisle 777-200LR plane comes less than two weeks after...

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App of the Week: Manilla

App Name: ManillaPrice: FreeAvailable Platforms: Apple’s iOS ( iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone), AndroidWhat does this app do? Manilla provides a secure way for you manage and organize your bills on your mobile device, tablet or desktop. This finance app, of which an updated version for the iPhone 5 was released this week, allows you to link to your accounts, set up reminders to pay your bills, and keep...

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“Homeland” leads old favorites in Golden Globes TV race

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Cable shows got more Golden Globe nominations for television than traditional network programs on Thursday as HBO‘s political movie “Game Change” and Showtime‘s psychological thriller series “Homeland,” – one of last year’s big winners – led the race.“Homeland” led the TV drama category with four nominations including best drama, best actor for Damian Lewis and best actress...

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S.Africa’s Mandela had gall stones removed, recovering: govt

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Hope for Humans in the Race With Robots

The robots are coming. Resistance is futile. From car factories to microprocessor plants to fulfillment warehouses, a single robot can now handle tasks that once took hundreds of man-hours to complete. This relentless march of automation is causing economic upheaval. As time goes on, companies will become more productive and more efficient, but the amount of human labor required will decrease and...

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Apple falls on lower shipment forecasts, muted China debut

(Reuters) – Apple Inc shares fell 3.9 percent on Friday after the iPhone 5 debuted in China to a cool reception and two analysts cut shipment forecasts.Jefferies analyst Peter Misek trimmed his iPhone shipment estimates for the Jan-March quarter, saying that the technology company had started cutting orders to suppliers to balance excess inventory.Shares of Apple suppliers Jabil Circuit Inc, Qualcomm...

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TLC’s “Best Funeral Ever” runs Reality TV into the ground

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com – TLC, which brought the world “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and “Sister Wives,” has hit new depths: The new one-hour special “Best Funeral Ever” will follow dead people’s journey to the grave.The network announced Thursday that “Best Funeral Ever” will focus on the Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas, which prides itself on its unique theme funerals – or as Golden Gate calls...

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APNewsBreak: Texas cancer probe draws NCI scrutiny

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The federal National Cancer Institute says it’s taking a fresh look at a troubled $ 3 billion cancer-fighting effort already being scrutinized by prosecutors and lawmakers in Texas.The U.S. government’s cancer research agency confirmed Friday that upheaval within the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas caught its attention. NCI spokeswoman Aleea Farrakh Khan told...

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Boehner: White House willing to “slow-walk” up to “fiscal cliff”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner on Thursday again rejected President Barack Obama‘s demand for increased power to raise the U.S. debt and charged that the White House seems willing to “slow-walk our economy right up to the ‘fiscal cliff.’”The White House and Congress face a year-end deadline to avert the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes...

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Aides: Chavez in tough fight, may miss swearing-in

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Somber confidants of President Hugo Chavez say he is going through a difficult recovery after cancer surgery in Cuba, and one close ally is warning Venezuelans that their leader may not make it back for his swearing-in next month.Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said Wednesday night that Chavez was in “stable condition” and was with close relatives in Havana. Reading...

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Review: PlayStation icons join in ‘Battle Royale’

The holiday season is a good time to catch up with old friends. If you’re an Xbox fan, you’re probably getting reacquainted with galactic warrior Master Chief in his new adventure, “Halo 4.” If you’re a Nintendophile, you’re probably frolicking with Mario on your new Wii U.Sony, meanwhile, has expanded its holiday guest list to invite nearly two decades worth of characters to mix it up in “PlayStation...

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Media mogul and banker Allbritton dies at 87

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Joe Lewis Allbritton, a media mogul and owner of the scandal-plagued Riggs National Bank, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Houston. He was 87.Allbritton died of heart ailments, said Jerald Fritz, a senior vice president of Allbritton Communications.Allbritton’s media empire included newspapers throughout the U.S. Northeast and ABC network affiliates. Allbritton’s son, Robert,...

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Fewer cancer patients pick CPR after video demo

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Dying cancer patients are less likely to want aggressive end-of-life care if they watch a short video about CPR than if they simply hear about it, according to a new study.“These are huge differences. You will die very differently if you watch the video than if you don’t,” said Dr. Angelo Volandes, the study’s lead author from Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital.“All...

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Stocks edge higher as Fed ends two-day meeting

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher, extending a winning streak, as investors awaited news on whether the Federal Reserve will announce more bond purchases to stimulate the U.S. economy. Wall Street also watched for developments from budget talks in Washington.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 10 points at 13,260 as of noon in New York. The Standard and Poor‘s 500 was up three points at 1,431....

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North Korea’s new leader burnishes credentials with rocket

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to its opponents.The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear...

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Facebook revises privacy controls in effort to make them more accessible, comprehensible

SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook is trying to make its privacy controls easier to find and understand in an effort to turn the world’s largest social network into a more discreet place.The fine-tuning announced Wednesday will include several revisions that will start rolling out to Facebook Inc.‘s more than 1 billion users in the next few weeks.The biggest change will be a new “privacy shortcuts” section...

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‘Lincoln,’ ‘Les Mis,’ ‘Playbook’ lead SAG awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Civil War saga “Lincoln,” the musical “Les Miserables” and the comic drama “Silver Linings Playbook” boosted their Academy Awards prospects Wednesday with four nominations apiece for the Screen Actors Guild Awards.All three films were nominated for overall performance by their casts. Also nominated for best ensemble cast were the Iran hostage-crisis thriller “Argo” and the British...

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Wall Street edges up with help from McDonald’s

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks were modestly higher on Monday, helped by stronger-than-expected sales from McDonald’s, but gains were constrained as investors awaited any sign of progress in talks to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.Developments in Europe also tempered sentiment after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said he would resign once the 2013 budget is approved. The move added to uncertainty...

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RIM teases BlackBerry 10 launch with image of first BB10 smartphone

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Black women battle obesity with dialogue, action

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nicole Ari Parker was motivated by frustration. For Star Jones, it was a matter of life or death. Toni Carey wanted a fresh start after a bad breakup.All three have launched individual campaigns that reflect an emerging priority for African-American women: finding creative ways to combat the obesity epidemic that threatens their longevity.African-American women have the highest obesity...

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Amgen buys Icelandic gene hunter Decode for $415 million

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. biotechnology group Amgen Inc has agreed to buy unlisted Decode Genetics, a pioneer in hunting down genes linked to disease, for $ 415 million in cash to boost its drive to develop better targeted drugs.Founded in 1996, Decode blazed a trail in personal genomics by trawling Iceland’s unique genetic heritage, which has changed little since the Vikings arrived more than 1,000...

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The Fiscal Cliff Isn’t the Problem

Early in Bill Bryson’s book A Walk in the Woods, the story of his ill-starred Appalachian Trail expedition, the author’s out-of-shape and impulsive hiking companion, Katz, decides his backpack is too heavy. So he starts throwing out the food they’d packed for the trip: rice, pepperoni, cheese, peanuts, Spam—he even discards coffee filters, which weigh next to nothing.Panic about the fiscal cliff is...

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Peru’s capital highly vulnerable to major quake

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The earthquake all but flattened colonial Lima, the shaking so violent that people tossed to the ground couldn’t get back up. Minutes later, a 50-foot (15-meter) wall of Pacific Ocean crashed into the adjacent port of Callao, killing all but 200 of its 5,000 inhabitants. Bodies washed ashore for weeks.Plenty of earthquakes have shaken Peru‘s capital in the 266 years since that fateful...

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Software guru McAfee did not have heart attack: lawyer

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Software pioneer John McAfee did not have a heart attack in Guatemala as originally thought, but is suffering from stress and hypertension, his lawyer Telesforo Guerra said on Thursday.“He never had a heart attack. Nothing like that,” Guerra said in Guatemala City. “I’m not a doctor. I’m just telling you what the doctors told me. He was suffering from stress, hypertension...

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