George H.W. Bush hospitalized for bronchitis

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ISPs Delay Monitoring of Illicit File-Sharing

The nation’s major internet service providers are delaying an initiative backed by the Obama administration and pushed by Hollywood and record labels to disrupt and possibly terminate internet access for online copyright scofflaws.The announcement Wednesday by Jill Lesser, executive director of the Center for Copyright Information — the name of the group behind the program — marks the second...

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Womens’ stories dominate 2013 Sundance film lineup

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Sundance Film Festival, the top U.S. film festival for independent cinema, on Wednesday unveiled its lineup for 2013, with films centered on female characters dominating the American fiction film competition.The 113 feature length movies, including both narrative films and documentaries, cover a range of topics, but more than half of those chosen for the U.S. dramatic competition...

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Hypothermia and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Cases Soar in New York After Hurricane Sandy

The number of cold-exposure cases in New York City tripled in the weeks after Hurricane Sandy struck compared with the same period in previous years, the health department reported in an alert to thousands of doctors and other health care providers on Wednesday. And even though power and heat have been restored to most of the city, there are still thousands of people living in the cold, the...

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U.S. Growth Revised Up, but Year-End Slowdown Is Feared

Even as the government said that the United States economy grew faster than first estimated in the third quarter, economists warned that the rate of expansion could slow sharply before the end of the year as worries mount about the fiscal impasse in Washington. Nam Y. Huh/Associated PressAn employee on the assembly line this month at Generac Power Systems in Whitewater, Wis., a maker...

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Norquist: GOP concern over tax pledge just 'impure thoughts'

Grover Norquist on Wednesday rebuffed claims that his anti-tax crusade is losing steam, calling statements from prominent Republicans...

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Video: Robotic Speakers Track Listeners as Music by The xx Plays

English indie band The xx has more than a few songs above love, and yet so much of the group’s sound can make you feel oddly lonely — like flying solo at a party full of couples. That makes it the perfect soundtrack for Missing, a new art exhibit that incorporates the band’s music into a room full of robotic speakers that pivot to follow listeners as they move through the room. Missing is...

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Sculptor Gormley wants us to get inside his head

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s foremost living sculptor Antony Gormley wants us to get inside his head with his latest work “Model”, a 100-tonne steel maze of cubes and squares, dark corners and splashes of light on show at the White Cube gallery in London.The giant grey-black work, based on a human form lying down, is entered via the right “foot”, and combines the fun of an adventure playground with...

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Well: Ignoring the Science on Mammograms

Last week The New England Journal of Medicine published a study with the potential to change both medical practice and public consciousness about mammograms.Published on Thanksgiving Day, the research examined more than 30 years of United States health statistics to determine, through observation, if screening mammography has reduced breast cancer deaths. The researchers found that, as expected, the...

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President Obama Asks Congress to Keep Tax Cuts for Middle Class

Doug Mills/The New York TimesPresident Obama spoke on Wednesday at an event at the White House with people who would see their taxes go up next year if Congress does not extend tax cuts for the middle class. WASHINGTON — President Obama called again on Congress on Wednesday to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all income under $250,000 and leave a broader restructuring of the tax code to next year, as...

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Yasser Arafat's grave dug up in poisoning probe

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Forensic experts from Switzerland, France and Russia on Tuesday took 20 samples each from the remains...

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New Nuclear Engine Could Power Deep-Space Exploration

Researchers have tested a small prototype of a nuclear-reactor engine design that could one day power deep-space exploration probes.The proposed design is based on a Stirling engine – an engine first invented in the 19th century that uses hot pressurized gas to push a piston. It would use a 50-pound nuclear uranium battery to generate heat that is then carried to eight Stirling engines to...

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Disney Channel to debut ‘Sofia the First’ Jan. 11

NEW YORK (AP) — Disney says its animated children‘s series “Sofia the First” will premiere Jan. 11 on the Disney Channel and Disney Junior networks.Created for kids ages 2 to 7, “Sofia the First” is about a young girl who becomes a princess and learns that honesty, loyalty and compassion are what makes a person royal.Sofia is voiced by “Modern Family” actress Ariel Winter, and her mother is played...

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Amid Hurricane Sandy, a Race to Get a Liver Transplant

It was the best possible news, at the worst possible time. The phone call from the hospital brought the message that Dolores and Vin Dreeland had long hoped for, ever since their daughter Natalia, 4, had been put on the waiting list for a liver transplant. The time had come. They bundled her into the car for the 50-mile trip from their home in Long Valley, N.J., to NewYork-Presbyterian...

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Dark Warnings About Future of Internet Access

PARIS — Every time an Internet user watches “Gangnam Style” on YouTube, packets of digital data course through the global telecommunications system, converging on an iPhone, a tablet or a laptop. Having missed out on most of the lucrative revenue that the explosion of digital content has generated for Internet companies, telecommunications providers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and...

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Congress returns as 'fiscal cliff' talks slow

WASHINGTON – Congress returned in a lame duck session with no signs of quick compromise to prevent a tax hike for most Americans...

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Active Auto Safety Gets in Your Face

Cars are getting smarter and beginning to react on their own, but the gray matter manning the helm is still the vehicle’s Achilles heal. So to really get inside a driver’s head, automakers are going through their faces, analyzing expressions and muscle movements to determine whether the person at the wheel is too distracted, too tired or even too angry to safely control their ride.In...

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Beyonce documentary premiering on HBO in February

NEW YORK (AP) — Beyonce is getting personal.HBO announced Monday that a documentary about the Grammy-winning singer will debut Feb. 16, 2013. Beyonce is directing the film, which will include footage she shot herself with her laptop.The network said the documentary will include “video that provides raw, unprecedented access to the private entertainment icon and high-voltage performances.” It will...

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Hospitals Face Pressure From Medicare to Avert Readmissions

After years of gently prodding hospitals to make sure discharged patients do not need to return, the federal government is now using its financial muscle to discourage readmissions. Medicare last month began levying financial penalties against 2,217 hospitals it says have had too many readmissions. Of those hospitals, 307 will receive the maximum punishment, a 1 percent reduction in Medicare’s...

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DealBook: Mortgage Interest Deduction Is Now Seen as Vulnerable

A tax break that has long been untouchable could soon be in for some serious manhandling.Many home buyers deduct their mortgage interest when assessing their tax bill, a perk that has helped bolster the income of millions of families — and the broader housing market.But as President Obama and Congress try to hash out a deal to reduce the budget deficit, the mortgage interest deduction looks vulnerable....

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