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...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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,...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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....

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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...

Read More..