Israel hits Hamas buildings, shoots down Tel Aviv-bound rocket

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza, and the “Iron Dome” defense system shot down a Tel Aviv-bound rocket on Saturday as Israel geared up for a possible ground invasion.Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, said Israeli missiles wrecked the office building of Prime Minister Ismail...

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Israel bombards Gaza Strip, shoots down rocket

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel destroyed the headquarters of Hamas' prime minister and blasted a sprawling network of smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, broadening a blistering four-day-old offensive against the Islamic militant group even as diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire appeared to be gaining steam.Hamas officials said a building used by Hamas for broadcasts...

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Wii U Will Launch With 24 Games This Sunday

Assassin’s Creed IIIA version of the latest chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga, a week after it was released on other console.Click here to view this gallery. [More from Mashable: Xbox Live Celebrates 10 Years of Connecting Gamers]Nintendo’s newest console is out this Sunday, and there are already people lining up...

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Liam Neeson in negotiations for crime thriller “The All Nighter”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Liam Neeson is in negotiations to star in the crime thriller “The All Nighter (AKA Run All Night)” a person familiar with the situation has told TheWrap.The story follows an aging hit man who, in order to protect his wife and son, must take on his former boss in a single night. He then winds up on the run from the mob and the...

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Saudi King has successful back operation: royal court

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia‘s King Abdullah has undergone successful back surgery at a hospital in the capital, Riyadh, to tighten a loose ligament, the royal court said in a statement carried by state media on Sunday.The stability of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and a key U.S. ally, is of global concern. The kingdom holds more than...

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Israel moves on reservists after rockets target cities

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli ministers were on Friday asked to endorse the call-up of up to 75,000 reservists after Palestinian militants nearly hit Jerusalem with a rocket for the first time in decades and fired at Tel Aviv for a second day.The rocket attacks were a challenge to Israel‘s Gaza offensive and came just hours after Egypt‘s prime minister,...

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Head vs. heart: Egypt's Gaza dilemma

The hostilities threatening to escalate into all-out war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza concern the two antagonists first and foremost, but the course the fighting takes is likely to be equally consequential for Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi – and for his relations with the United States.Egypt’s Islamist president finds himself pulled in competing directions by the head and the...

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TV, movie features on new Wii U delayed until Dec.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the entertainment features on Nintendo’s new Wii U won’t be available when the game machine goes on sale Sunday.Nintendo didn’t give a reason for the delay in Friday’s news release. In a statement, the company said it wanted the service “to be the best possible experience for all consumers.” Nintendo said it was still working to...

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New Variety owner Jay Penske slashes one-quarter staff

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Jay Penske, the new owner of Variety, laid off nearly a quarter of the company’s staff on Thursday.Between 20 and 25 employees from the struggling Hollywood trade’s circulation, database and conference departments were laid off. The editorial staff was not affected. Variety had about 120 employees before Thursday’s cuts. “Without...

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Five Republican governors reject state-run health markets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Five Republican governors rejected on Friday a major provision of President Barack Obama‘s healthcare reform law that calls on states to set up online health insurance markets where consumers can purchase private coverage at federally subsidized rates.That makes it likely that the federal government will establish its own markets,...

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France urges Mali to step up talks with rebels

PARIS (AP) — France‘s president called Thursday for stepped-up talks between Mali’s government and any leaders from its breakaway north “who reject terrorism,” even as African nations geared up for a possible military operation against Islamic extremists there.President Francois Hollande‘s comments suggested a growing openness to dialogue with the extremists,...

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Hamas aims rockets at Israeli heartland

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants targeted densely populated Tel Aviv in Israel's heartland with rockets for the first time Thursday, part of an unprecedented barrage that threatened to provoke an Israeli ground assault on Gaza. Three Israelis were killed in a separate rocket attack in southern Israel.Air raid sirens wailed and panicked residents ran for cover in Tel Aviv, Israel's...

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Sina’s profit beats on Weibo; co forecasts weak 4th-quarter revenue

(Reuters) – Chinese internet company Sina Corp eked out a profit in the third quarter that beat analysts’ estimates as strong advertising sales on its microblogging platform offset weaker website advertising but it forecast current-quarter revenue below expectations.Shares of the company fell 6 percent to $ 49.72 in extended trading. They closed at $...

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French mayor ends hunger strike after crisis aid

PARIS (Reuters) – A French mayor who went on hunger strike a week ago to demand emergency aid for his town ended his protest on Thursday and packed up the tent he had been sleeping in outside parliament after the government met his demands.“I regret that things came to that but it was necessary,” Stephane Gatignon, mayor of Sevran, a poor town on the outskirts...

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U.S. gives states another month to meet health exchange deadline

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Thursday gave states an extra month to say whether they plan to operate their own health insurance exchanges, after governors asked for more time in light of the November 6 election, which ensured the survival of Obama’s healthcare overhaul.For the second time in six days, U.S. Health and Human Services...

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Egypt recalls envoy to Israel after Gaza strike

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has recalled its ambassador to Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed the military commander of Gaza‘s ruling Hamas.In a statement read on state TV late Wednesday, spokesman Yasser Ali said that President Mohammed Morsi recalled the ambassador and asked the Arab League‘s Secretary General to convene an emergency ministerial meeting...

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Clinton-Lewinsky 'spinners' resurface

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It's a case of déjà vu in D.C.: some of the same high-profile, high-priced handlers who played supporting roles in the scandal over President Bill Clinton's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky have re-emerged in the sex scandal that has toppled one U.S. national security chief and threatens another. It is unclear what will be the roles of the expensive legal and crisis-management...

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Android 4.2 For Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus Now Available

When Google’s Nexus 10 tablet was unveiled recently, it was running Android 4.2, a new version which adds several features. That version is coming to your Nexus 7 or Galaxy Nexus device as well. Here’s what Android 4.2 brings, where to get it, and which Nexus devices are missing out.​New features in Android 4.2 Mashable’s...

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NBC names new “Today” show chiefs

(Reuters) – Comcast‘s NBC has appointed two executives to take charge of the “Today” show, a day after the television network announced that longtime producer Jim Bell would be leaving to take a larger role in the sports division.Don Nash, a broadcast producer who has worked on NBC’s morning show for 23 years, will become the executive producer, reporting...

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First Person: Key to Quitting Smoking — for Me at Least — Was Self-Hypnosis

Nov. 15 marks this year’s Great American Smokeout, when organizations across the country encourage smokers to quit the habit. Yahoo asked former smokers to offer to advice to those trying to stop smoking.FIRST PERSON | Why I ever started smoking cigarettes in the first place, I’ll never know. Maybe it was peer pressure, maybe I thought it was cool or maybe...

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General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend

PERTH, Australia (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged “inappropriate communications” with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an...

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