Syrian rebels fight for strategic town in Hama province

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels began to push into a strategic town in Syria's central Hama province on Thursday and laid siege to at least one town dominated by President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect, activists said. The operation risks inflaming already raw sectarian tensions as the 21-month-old revolt against four decades of Assad family rule - during which the president's Alawite sect...

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Investors shed shares of Blackberry maker

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Blackberry maker Research in Motion slumped more than 16 percent Friday with future revenue coming into question and a declining number of subscribers.RIM’s stock jumped initially Thursday when the Canadian company released better-than-expected third-quarter results and a stronger cash position.Shares reversed course during a conference call later, when executives said that...

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Michael Ealy Quietly Married Longtime Girlfriend in October

12/20/2012 at 11:00 AM EST Khatira Rafiqzada and Michael Ealy Courtesy Michael Ealy Belated congratulations!Actor Michael Ealy married longtime girlfriend Khatira Rafiqzada ... back in October, his rep tells PEOPLE. Ealy, 39, and Khatira Rafiqzada, 31, wed in...

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AP IMPACT: Steroids loom in major-college football

WASHINGTON (AP) — With steroids easy to buy, testing weak and punishments inconsistent, college football players are packing on significant weight — 30 pounds or more in a single year, sometimes — without drawing much attention from their schools or the NCAA in a sport that earns tens of billions of dollars for teams.Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid...

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Wall Street ticks lower on "fiscal cliff" stalemate

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged slightly lower on Thursday as investors fretted that a deal on the U.S. budget wouldn't come as soon as they had hoped after President Barack Obama threatened to veto a controversial Republican plan. The market barely reacted to a round of strong data, including on gross domestic product growth and housing, suggesting talks to avert the "fiscal cliff,"...

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Syrian rebels fight for strategic town in Hama province

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels thrust into a strategic town in Syria's central Hama province on Thursday, activists said, pursuing a string of territorial gains to help cut army supply lines and cement a foothold in the capital Damascus to the south. They have made a series of advances across the country, seizing several military installations and more heavy weaponry, hardening the threat...

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Little Big Town, LeAnn Rimes to Duet with X Factor Finalists

TV Watch The X Factor By Andrea Billups 12/19/2012 at 10:40 AM EST from left: Fifth Harmony, Tate Stevens and Carly Rose Sonenclar Ray Mickshaw/FOX It's down to the wire for this season's The X Factor as teen sensation Carly Rose Sonenclar, country crooner Tate...

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Experts: Kids are resilient in coping with trauma

WASHINGTON (AP) — They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts.Last week's school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They're at risk for lingering...

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Wall Street steadies after two-day rally; Oracle gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as investors found scant reason to continue buying following the best two-day rally for the S&P in a month. The Nasdaq notched slight gains, helped by technology shares following strong results at Oracle Corp . The S&P added 2.3 percent over the past two sessions, the first time it has notched two straight...

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Park wins South Korea presidency, to be first woman leader

SEOUL (Reuters) - The daughter of a former military ruler won South Korea's presidential election on Wednesday and will become the country's first female leader, saying she would work to heal a divided society. The 60-year old conservative, Park Geun-hye, will return to the presidential palace in Seoul where she served as her father's first lady in the 1970s, after her mother was assassinated...

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