Russian Protest Leader Put Under House Arrest

MOSCOW — A Moscow district court ordered Sergei Udaltsov, a prominent opposition leader, to be placed under house arrest on Saturday, in one of the most assertive legal measures to date against a leader of the anti-Kremlin protests that began more than a year ago. Mr. Udaltsov, the leader of the radical socialist Left Front movement, faces a charge of conspiracy to incite mass disorder, under...

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Mama June's Weight Loss Wows Readers, While Kate's Baby Bump Draws Love

By Andrea Billups 02/09/2013 at 01:35 PM EST Mama June (left) and mama-to-be Kate Pacific Coast News; TOP STAR PICTURES What's on the minds of PEOPLE readers this week? We love seeing your responses, and as always, you weighed in with plenty of angry, sad and...

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After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four...

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State fires contractor on tech project

SACRAMENTO – The state has fired the contractor on one of its biggest and most troubled technology projects after deep problems...

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China Denies Directing Radar at Japanese Military

HONG KONG — China on Friday denied Japanese accusations that its ships directed a radar capable of aiding weapon strikes at a Japanese naval vessel and helicopter near disputed islands recently, then lobbed its own accusation: that Japan was trying to fan tensions. The latest exchange underscored the depth of a festering discord between the two countries, and trading partners, over the territorial...

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Britney Spears Gets Another Dog

People Pets 02/08/2013 at 01:40 PM EST Britney Spears and her new dog Courtesy Britney Spears It's a furbaby one more time for Britney Spears. After bringing home pooch Hannah in November, Spears introduced her newest furry family member on her Facebook page Friday. "Say...

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Health officials: Worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say the worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread flu dropped again last week. By some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks. Deaths from the flu or pneumonia have been dropping for two weeks.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the latest flu numbers on Friday.This flu...

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Bar trivia is more than just fun and games

The door to the bar in Palms swung open, and strains of the theme from "Rocky III" burst into the street: "It's the eye of the...

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The Lede: Video Broadcast on State Television Was Downloaded From U.S. Drone, Iran Says

As The Associated Press reports from Tehran, late Wednesday Iran’s state television broadcast what it described as video recorded by the American surveillance drone that crash-landed about 140 miles from the country’s border with Afghanistan in late 2011.Video broadcast by Iranian state television Wednesday included what was described as footage recorded by an American surveillance drone that crash-landed...

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Shirley MacLaine's Only Daughter Pens a Shocking New Tell-All

Seeing her mom, Shirley MacLaine, play a saucy septuagenarian on Downton Abbey, Sachi Parker couldn't help but smile."She was true to form," Parker says of MacLaine, 78, whose zinger-slinging turn as Lady Grantham's American mom shook up the big house this season. "It certainly hit home." Hearing about Parker's relationship with MacLaine makes it easy to understand why. Raised mostly by her...

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.Blacks were five times more likely than whites...

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Police on high alert after ex-LAPD cop's alleged serial shootings

Authorities across Southern California were on high alert Thursday morning as a massive manhunt was underway for an ex-Los Angeles police officer sought in connection with a double homicide and the shootings of three police officers, one of whom was killed.Local, state and federal authorities are involved in the search for Christoper Jordan Dorner, 33, who threatened "unconventional and...

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Clashes Erupt in Damascus, Shattering Lull, as Prospects for Talks Dim

Goran Tomasevic/ReutersA building in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka was hit by a mortar shell fired by the Syrian Army on Wednesday. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian insurgents attacked military checkpoints and other targets in parts of central Damascus on Wednesday, antigovernment activist groups reported. The fighting shattered a lull there as prospects for any talks between the antagonists appeared to...

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Harley Pasternak Blogs About the Surprising Ways Alcohol Can Hurt Your Diet

Celebrity Blog By Harley Pasternak 02/06/2013 at 02:00 PM EST Harley Pasternak Courtesy Harley Pasternak Last week, country singer Tim McGraw made a splash when PEOPLE magazine featured an article about his complete physique transformation.What I found most interesting...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Woman drugged girl, use her in hard-core porn, police allege

This post has been corrected. Please see below for details.A North Hills woman who authorities allege plied a young girl with crack cocaine and photographed her having sex with an older man was indicted Tuesday on federal charges of producing child pornography and child sex trafficking. Letha Montemayor Tucker was named Tuesday in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand...

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The Lede Blog: North Korean Propaganda Video Uses 'Call of Duty' and 'We Are the World' to Imagine a Brighter World, Without Manhattan

When aliens strike, the climate goes berserk, the Russians invade, an asteroid threatens the Earth, New York City is often the first place to be destroyed. Hollywood has long used the city’s skyline to demonstrate what destruction looks like in action movies and video games. It seems as if North Korea, in seeking to show how an assault on America would play out, also has Manhattan squarely in its...

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Tim McGraw Visits The Ellen DeGeneres Show - Sans Underwear!

By Maggie Coughlan 02/05/2013 at 01:45 PM EST TMI, Tim McGraw!Ellen DeGeneres has been known to hand out underwear with her show's name on it to her famous guests. And McGraw, who makes an appearance on Tuesday's episode, is seen wearing them in a photo taken while he was out for a jog. "Are you wearing them...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Mystery after basketball coach, fiance murdered in parking lot

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.Family and friends had only praise for a Cal State Fullerton coach and her fiance Monday, a day after the recently engaged college sweethearts were found fatally shot in the parking structure of their condominium near UC Irvine.The bodies of Monica Quan, an assistant women's basketball coach, and Keith Lawrence, who worked as a...

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Europol Investigation Shows Fixing Is Suspected in 680 Soccer Matches

Soccer is known throughout much of the world as the beautiful game. But the sport’s ugliest side — the scourge of match-fixing — will not go away. With next summer’s World Cup in Brazil drawing closer, a European police intelligence agency said Monday that a 19-month investigation revealed widespread occurrences of match-fixing in recent years, with nearly 700 games globally deemed suspicious....

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BlackBerry shares jump after Bernstein upgrades stock

TORONTO (Reuters) – Shares of BlackBerry rose more than 8 percent in on Monday after Bernstein Research said it was upgrading the stock to “outperform” after last week’s launch of the company’s new line of BlackBerry 10 smartphones.The brokerage firm, which has not had an “outperform” rating on the stock for more than three years, also lifted its price target to $ 22 from $ 12, saying it has grown...

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Baby Girl on the Way for Kathryn Fiore

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 02/04/2013 at 01:00 PM ET Courtesy Katheryn Fiore Cue the lullaby: The Wedding Band is prepping for its littlest fan yet.Actress Kathryn Fiore, 33, and her husband, actor Gabriel Tigerman, 32, are expecting a daughter in late May, her rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.“We...

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APNewsBreak: Catholic hospital acknowledges error

DENVER (AP) — A Catholic hospital on Monday acknowledged it was "morally wrong" for its attorneys to argue in court that a fetus is not a human being under Colorado law.The admission comes after executives of Catholic Healthcare Initiatives met with Colorado's Roman Catholic bishops to discuss its defense in a wrongful death lawsuit filed after a mother and her unborn twins died in the emergency room...

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Priest molested girl who wore Snow White costume, records show

More disturbing stories of priests' molestations of children -- and questionable actions by church leaders -- emerged in 12,000 pages of once-confidential personnel files. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles posted the documents on its website Thursday night, an hour after a Los Angeles judge ended 5-1/2 years of legal wrangling over the release of the files with an order compelling...

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