Two council members assail LAFD over response times

The Los Angeles Fire Department, which has been embroiled in a months-long controversy over response-time data, has failed to...

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Israel's Rocket-Hunting Ace Got His Start Playing <em>Warcraft</em>

War has once again erupted between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces, with the Gaza-based militant group launching hundreds of rockets and missiles at Israeli towns. But many of these projectiles never made it to their targets, thanks to the new Iron Dome missile defense system that’s arguably become this conflict’s most important technological difference-maker. This article, first published...

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“Sister” Director Tackles Taboo of Switzerland’s Class Divide With Her Oscar Contender

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Director Ursula Meier can hardly believe that her film “Sister” – which depicts tenements, poverty and a seemingly rigid class system in lovely Switzerland – has made it over the Alps to Hollywood for Academy consideration.“It shows a not-very-usual aspect of Switzerland,” Meier told the audience at a showing of “Sister” Thursday...

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Well: Meatless Main Dishes for a Holiday Table

Most vegetarian diners are happy to fill their plates with delicious sides and salads, but if you want to make them feel special, consider one of these main course vegetarian dishes from Martha Rose Shulman. All of them are inspired by Greek cooking, which has a rich tradition of vegetarian meals.I know that Greek food is not exactly what comes to mind when you hear the word “Thanksgiving,” yet why...

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Drug Shortages Are Becoming Persistent in U.S.

Paul Davis, the chief of a rural ambulance squad in southern Ohio, was down to his last vial of morphine earlier this fall when a woman with a broken leg needed a ride to the hospital. The trip was 30 minutes, and the patient was in pain. But because of a nationwide shortage, his morphine supply had dwindled from four doses to just one, presenting Mr. Davis with a stark quandary. Should...

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Obama, Hill leaders optimistic on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON -- Emerging from a closed meeting with President Obama at the White House on Friday, the administration and congressional...

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Honda's Mighty Morphin' Micro-Car Transforms to Your Whims

Electrically driven micro-cars haven’t quite caught on yet. Smart has the ForTwo Electric Drive, an overpriced two-seater that’s even more impractical than its gas-powered sibling. Toyota has the iQ EV, an electric version that will only be released in extremely limited quantities, despite Toyota’s lofty goals to the contrary. And now Honda is coming out with its...

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Film defrocks church hierarchy over handling of sex abuse

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Four deaf Wisconsin men were some of the first to seek justice after suffering childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, and a new documentary about the Catholic Church‘s poor handling of such cases stemming from the Vatican seeks to make their voices heard.“Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God” explores the impact...

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Change Rattles Leading Health-Funding Agency

Major changes erupted at one of the world’s leading health-funding agencies Thursday as it hired a new director, dismissed the inspector general who had clashed with a previous director and announced a new approach to making grants. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesDr. Mark Dybul, who led the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in 2007. Dr. Mark Dybul, the...

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Wealth Matters: Advisers Caution Against Hasty Decisions in Advance of Tax Changes

WITH all the ominous talk of tax increases and a “fiscal cliff” if President Obama and Congressional leaders can’t agree on a plan to avert automatic tax increases on Dec. 31, some investors may be tempted to act soon to take advantage of the current tax rates. But financial advisers say that in their rush to doing something this year, investors may end up with regrets. “Any time you...

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BP guilty of criminal misconduct, negligence in gulf oil spill

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Listen: The Music of a Human Brain

Researchers have turned human mental activity into music, and it sounds uncannily like free-form jazz piano.The new brain-to-sound method translates a brain’s electrical fluctuations to pitch and blood flows to intensity. With more sophisticated scores and trained ears, a mind might be heard as a cognitive symphony.“We hope the on-going progresses of the brain signals-based music will properly...

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Springsteen, McCartney, Kanye set for Sandy show

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and Kanye West will hit the stage at a Superstorm Sandy benefit concert next month at Madison Square Garden.MSG announced Thursday that Billy Joel, The Who, Alicia Keys and Jon Bon Jovi will also perform at the Dec. 12 show, dubbed “12-12-12.” More performers will be announced at...

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Hospital Death in Ireland Renews Fight Over Abortion

DUBLIN — The death of a woman who was reportedly denied a potentially lifesaving abortion even while she was having a miscarriage has revived debate over Ireland’s almost total ban on abortions. The woman, Savita Halappanavar, 31, a dentist who lived near Galway, was 17 weeks pregnant when she sought treatment at University Hospital Galway on Oct. 21, complaining of severe back pain. ...

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BP to Admit Crimes and Pay $4.5 Billion in Gulf Settlement

BP, the British oil company, said Thursday that it would pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments to the government and plead guilty to 14 criminal charges in connection with the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago. US Coast Guard, via Associated PressThe explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that was connected to a well owned by BP...

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Three pilots flying to safety meeting die in plane crash

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Microsoft Previews Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7

Microsoft has delivered a new preview release of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7, bringing the company’s next-gen web browser to its previous-gen operating system. If you’d like to try out IE 10 on Windows 7, head on over to the IE 10 downloads page and grab a copy for Windows 7 (requires SP1).This release is still technically a preview, but given that...

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Wakeman reworks rock epic Journey to Centre of Earth

LONDON (Reuters) – The story behind the upcoming re-issue of Rick Wakeman‘s 1974 concept album “Journey to the Center of the Earth” sounds almost as unlikely as the Jules Verne tale that inspired it.Progressive rock veteran Wakeman had presumed the original orchestration to his chart-topping disc was lost for good when his record company MAM, where the...

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F.D.A. Asking for More Control Over Drug Compounding

WASHINGTON — The commissioner of the federal Food and Drug Administration will recommend changes in the regulatory landscape for compounding pharmacies, placing those that produce drugs on a large scale in a new category that would give the agency greater powers to police them. The commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, will tell the House Committee on Energy and Commerce during a hearing on...

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Samuel Adams Brewer Counsels Small Businesses

Gretchen Ertl for The New York TimesJim Koch, who started brewing Samuel Adams Boston Lager at his house in 1984, and Carlene O'Garro, who runs a cake business, participate in a program in which big businesses help small ones. Carlene O’Garro’s cake business was barely a month old when she arrived at the Samuel Adams brewery in South Boston recently to meet with business counselors, but she brought...

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