Algeria Begins ‘Final Assault’ on Gas Field; 7 Hostages Reported Killed

BAMAKO, Mali — The hostage crisis in the Algerian desert appeared to be reaching a bloody conclusion Saturday as the official Algerian news agency reported that the army had launched a final assault on the gas field taken over by Islamist militants, killing 11 of them, but only after they had executed seven hostages. “In principle, it’s all over,” a senior Algerian government official said...

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Social media dispute resolution stumps some companies

(Reuters) – If HBO cuts out on you in the middle of the latest “Girls” episode, and you have Charter Communications Inc as your cable provider, don’t try tweeting your dismay to their customer service department. Nobody will hear your lament.Charter, the fourth largest cable provider in the U.S. with 5.2 million customers across 25 states, closed up its social-media based customer service team in...

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Rob Lowe Acquits Himself Nicely in Lifetime's Prosecuting Casey Anthony (Review)

TV Watch By PEOPLE TV Critic Tom Gliatto 01/19/2013 at 11:45 AM EST Rob Lowe in Prosecuting Casey Anthony Allen Fraser/Lifetime     When last we saw Rob Lowe in a Lifetime movie, he was playing murderer Drew Peterson with a sandy mustache that...

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Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate...

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Wall Street little changed; Intel drags, Morgan Stanley up

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Friday from a five-year high for the S&P 500 as a weak outlook from tech heavyweight Intel offset a better-than-expected quarterly profit at Morgan Stanley. Shares of Intel Corp slumped 6.3 percent to $21.25 a day after it forecast quarterly revenue below analysts' estimates and announced plans for increased capital spending amid slow...

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India Ink: Image of the Day: Jan. 18

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Why Won’t the NRA Say Anything About Its (Possibly Fake) New Video Game?

If this app is, in fact, an unlicensed kind of hoax using the NRA acronym without permission, you’d think the NRA might want to squash the brand association quickly. Despite the gun lobby’s slow response to the Newtown massacre, the NRA isn’t afraid of issuing cease and desists or suing President Obama, the District of Columbia, or the Department of Justice.RELATED:...

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Designers Create Dream Inauguration Dresses for Michelle Obama

Stylewatch Style News Now 01/17/2013 at 01:00 PM ET Courtesy L’Wren Scott; Inset: Cliff Owen/APIt’s a big week for Michelle Obama: she turns 49 today, joined Twitter this morning and will stand by as her husband is sworn in to his...

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Flu remains widespread in US; eases in some areas

Health officials say nine more deaths of children from the flu have been reported, bringing the total this flu season to 29.In a typical season, about 100 children die of the flu, so it is not known whether this year will be better or worse than usual.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says half of confirmed flu cases so far are in people 65 and older.This year's season is earlier than...

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Wall Street climbs, boosted by eBay results, rosy data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting a five-year intraday high, as investors were cheered by rosy economic data and better-than-expected results from online marketplace eBay . In encouraging signs for the labor and housing sectors, data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a five-year low last week,...

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