Chinese-American Faces Trial in China Over Business Dispute

BEIJING — As his family tells it, Vincent Wu is an industrious Chinese-American immigrant who sold his family’s suburban Los Angeles home to finance the construction of a shopping center in China he thought would allow him to retire early. To the police in Huizhou, a city in the southern province of Guangdong, Mr. Wu, 54, is a Mafia kingpin and illegal casino operator who dispatched his enemies through...

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Analysis: Apple’s swoon exposes risk lurking in mutual funds

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The nearly 28 percent decline in shares of Apple Inc since mid-September isn’t just painful to individual shareholders. It’s also being felt by investors who chased hot mutual funds that loaded up on Apple as the stock raced to a record $ 705 per share.Apple makes up 10 percent or more of assets in 117 out of the 1,119 funds that own its shares, according to data from Lipper,...

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Emily VanCamp: My Boyfriend Likes When I Take Off My Makeup

12/22/2012 at 12:15 PM EST Josh Bowman prefers his girlfriend Emily VanCamp to be au naturel."When I take off my makeup, that's my boyfriend's favorite," the Revenge star, 26, tells Women's Health in its January/February issue of her Revenge costar and real-life beau, 24. "And that, to me, is a symbol of a...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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18,000 abused rodents removed from home

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has released a graphic video showing conditions at a Riverside County animal dealer, prompting officials to embark on what they described as the largest rodent seizure in U.S. history. Animal control officials have euthanized the entire inventory of an animal dealer, including more than 600 reptiles and 18,000 rodents. Authorities raided Global...

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Cluster Bombs Used on Civilians in Syria

A cluster bomb attack on Dec. 12 in the town of Marea, Syria, killed 4 people and injured at least 23. Each bomb disperses bomblets that can cause destruction over hundreds of yards. In Marea, pieces of the finned bomblets and their dispensers were found throughout the town and even on its outskir...

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Nokia, RIM settle old disputes in new patent pact

HELSINKI (AP) — Nokia Corp. and Canadian smartphone rival Research In Motion have agreed on a new patent licensing pact which will end all existing litigation between the two struggling companies, the Finnish firm said Friday.The agreement includes a “one-time payment and on-going payments, all from RIM to Nokia,” Nokia said, but did not disclose “confidential” terms.Last month, Nokia sued the Blackberry...

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Kim Kardashian Gets Dramatic in Trailer for New Tyler Perry Movie (Video)

12/21/2012 at 12:40 PM EST She's doing what she does best: standing – pretty in pink – in skin-tight dress in the first few seconds of the new trailer for Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. Playing a character named Ava, Kim Kardashian, 32, is taking a stab at a dramatic role in...

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AP IMPACT: Big Pharma cashes in on HGH abuse

A federal crackdown on illicit foreign supplies of human growth hormone has failed to stop rampant misuse, and instead has driven record sales of the drug by some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, an Associated Press investigation shows.The crackdown, which began in 2006, reduced the illegal flow of unregulated supplies from China, India and Mexico.But since then, Big Pharma has been...

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18,000 'horrendously' abused rodents found inside business

Animal control officials have euthanized the entire inventory of an animal dealer in Lake Elsinore that were kept in “horrendous” conditions,  including more than 600 reptiles and 18,000 rodents. Authorities raided Global Captive Breeders after receiving information from a two-month undercover operation at the facility conducted by PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.VIDEO:...

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Putin Defends Position on Syria and Chastises U.S. on Libya

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday strongly defended Russia’s implacable opposition to military intervention in Syria and he sharply chastised the United States for its role in toppling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya, describing that outcome as a mistake that created chaos and ultimately led to the death of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens in Benghazi. Mr. Putin, responding...

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Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company internationally

According to Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Nintendo (NTDOY) 3DS sold 333,000 units in the week ending December 16, while Sony’s (SNE) PS Vita limped along at 13,000 units, the new Wii U did an okay 130,000 units and the PlayStation 3 managed to sell 46,000 units.  The utter hardware domination of the 3DS is reshaping the Japanese software market. Franchises that were thought to be fading have...

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Britney Spears: The 3 Most 'Amazing' Things About My Year

By Marisa Laudadio 12/20/2012 at 01:45 PM EST It was a very big year for Britney Spears, who's been named one of PEOPLE's 25 Most Intriguing People of 2012.For starters, Forbes put the pop star at the top of its list of the top-earning female musicians (with $58 million), and her new single with will.i.am, "Scream...

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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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Man molests boy at fast-food restaurant, police say

An Orange County man was convicted and sentenced Wednesday to three years in state prison for molesting an 8-year-old boy in the parking lot of a Santa Ana fast-food restaurant, prosecutors said.Pedro Castillo-Sanchez, 35, pleaded guilty to one felony count of lewd acts with a child under 14, with a sentencing enhancement of substantial sexual conduct with a child, according to a statement...

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State Department Rebukes Israel Over Settlement Activity

The State Department accused Israel on Tuesday of engaging in a “pattern of provocative action” over the country’s plans to proceed with new settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Victoria Nuland, a department spokeswoman, said settlement activity only put the goal of peace “further at risk” and urged both Israel and the Palestinians to halt all provocations and take...

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Shooting renews argument over video-game violence

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the days since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a shell-shocked nation has looked for reasons. The list of culprits include easy access to guns, a strained mental-health system and the “culture of violence” — the entertainment industry’s embrace of violence in movies, TV shows and, especially, video games.“The violence in the entertainment culture...

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It's a Boy for James Marsden

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 12/19/2012 at 01:30 PM ET Christopher Polk/Getty; Courtesy Rose Costa James Marsden is a father for the third time.Brazilian model Rose Costa delivered a son, William Luca Costa-Marsden, on Friday, Dec. 14 in Los Angeles, PEOPLE has learned.The 30 Rock star,...

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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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