Egypt extends voting on Islamist-drafted charter

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt extended voting by four hours on Saturday in the second and decisive round of a referendum that was expected to approve the country's new Islamist-drafted constitution after weeks of protests and violence. Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Mursi, who was elected in June, say the charter is vital to move Egypt towards democracy, nearly two years after an...

Read More..

50-km run to raise funds for boxer's medical bills

SINGAPORE: Well wishers who are raising funds to help pay for the medical bills of young mixed martial arts boxer Shahril Salim have so far raised S$18,000.But with medical bills expected to reach S$380,000, families and friends of Shahril are holding a 50-kilometre run to raise more money.It has been two months since Shahril collapsed during training, shortly before his debut as a professional...

Read More..

A made-in-the-U.S., audiophile-grade turntable for $150?

The U-Turn Audio Orbit turntable(Credit:Jon Hyatt)Great audio can be expensive, but Ben Carter's ambitious Kickstarter project aims to make a serious dent in the price of quality turntables. A $150 pledge secures an Orbit belt-drive turntable, fitted with an Ortofon phono cartridge. As I write this blog, and just a few days after the Kickstarter project was launched, Carter has already passed the...

Read More..

New details emerge on Newtown gunman

NEWTOWN, Conn. He was the awkward, peculiar kid who wore the same clothes to school every day.He rarely spoke and even gave a school presentation entirely by computer, never uttering a word.Play VideoNewtown residents react to the NRA's response to school shootingHe liked tinkering with computers and other gadgets, and seemed to enjoy playing a violent video game, choosing a military-style assault...

Read More..

'Fiscal Cliff' Leaves Boehner a Wounded Speaker

John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback that his own fractious Republican troops dealt him in their "fiscal cliff" struggle against President Barack Obama.There's plenty of internal grumbling about the Ohio Republican, especially among conservatives, and lots of buzzing about whether his leadership post is in jeopardy. But it's uncertain whether...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Obama vows action after online guns petitions

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Friday vowed to take action to stop gun violence in response to online petitions signed by more than 400,000 people after last week's elementary school massacre."In the days since the heartbreaking tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, hundreds of thousands of you, from all 50 states, signed petitions asking us to take serious steps to address the epidemic...

Read More..

Get a free DVD ripper, video converter, and ringtone maker

It's been a fun series of freebies this week! Free seasons of TV shows (now expired, alas), free movies from Vudu, a free membership to ShopRunner -- and today, to top it all off, some free software.Before I tell you about it, I'm going to ask that you please read the instructions as I've outlined them below, as these giveaways always seem to trip up some readers. There's nothing complicated here,...

Read More..

"Plan B" is dead; what's next for "fiscal cliff"?

House Speaker John Boehner's big idea for a backup "Plan B" exploded Thursday night when, after days of wrangling with his own troops, he realized he didn't have enough votes to pass the tax cut part of his plan.  With four days until Christmas and 11 until the effects of the "fiscal cliff" begin the big question today is: what happens now?Obama and Boehner to talk?Boehner sent House Republicans...

Read More..

1 Week Later: Moment of Silence at Sandy Hook

Incessant rain and a dreary morning failed to keep onlookers away from a moment-of-silence memorial in Newtown, Conn., to pay their respects to the 26 people who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.Officials scheduled the event to recognize victims of the massacre that began at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 14, when gunman Adam Lanza shot his way into Sandy Hook elementary and launched...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Third quarter US growth revised up to 3.1%

WASHINGTON: The US economy grew 3.1 percent in the third quarter, faster than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Thursday.Gross domestic product growth in the July-September period was revised upward from prior estimates of 2.7 percent and 2.0 percent, the department said.The higher figure reflects upward revisions to consumer spending, exports and government outlays, and...

Read More..

Online holiday shoppers spend $35 billion so far this season

Online spending for the first 46 days of the holiday season hit $35 billion, according to data out yesterday from ComScore.Covering November 1 through December 16, the surge in sales represents a 13 percent jump over the same period last year. Last week set a record with spending surpassing $7 billion for the first time ever.Green Monday (a term coined by eBay to refer to the second Monday in December)...

Read More..

New York Stock Exchange to be sold

NEW YORK The New York Stock Exchange (NYX) is being sold to a rival exchange for about $8 billion, ending more than two centuries of independence for the iconic Big Board. The buyer, IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE), an upstart exchange based in Atlanta, made clear Thursday that little would change for the iconic trading floor in Manhattan's financial district if regulators approve the deal....

Read More..

Schools Threatened Nationwide After Sandy Hook

Schools across the country, already on edge following last week's massacre of 20 students and six adults at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school have been further unnerved following a series of copycat threats, sometimes yielding arrests and caches of deadly weapons.From California to Connecticut, police in the past five days have arrested more than a dozen individuals in Indiana,...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

US Vice President Joe Biden to head panel on gun violence

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Wednesday will appoint Vice President Joe Biden to head a government panel to formulate a response to gun violence after last week's school massacre, US media reported.The New York Times and the Washington Post cited White House officials as saying that Obama would formally name Biden to head the panel at a press conference later Wednesday morning.The...

Read More..

Nintendo TVii comes to Wii U on December 20

The Nintendo Wii U GamePad plays a central role in TVii's functionality.(Credit:CNET)Nintendo TVii, the feature that could transform the new Wii U into a full-fledged entertainment box in the living room, is coming to the console tomorrow.At that time, TVii will be made available in the U.S. and Canada, Nintendo announced today. The feature allowsWii U owners to access all of the programming in their...

Read More..

Robert Bork, failed high court nominee, dies at 85

Updated at 10:30 a.m. ET ARLINGTON, Va. Robert H. Bork, who stepped in to fire the Watergate prosecutor at Richard Nixon's behest and whose failed 1980s nomination to the Supreme Court helped draw the modern boundaries of cultural fights over abortion, civil rights and other issues, has died. He was 85. Son Robert H. Bork Jr. told The Associated Press his father died Wednesday at Virginia Hospital...

Read More..

Newtown Parents Committed to Staying Put

The people of Newtown, Conn., and the surrounding towns are filled with fear and doubt in light of the rampage that turned their worlds upside down. Despite the uncertainty, however, there is one thing parents are adamant about: They're not going anywhere."I know it's an awful thing, but this town and the towns surrounding it, it's a big community where people come together...

Read More..

Egypt prosecutor's resignation angers Brotherhood

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor resigned under pressure from his opponents in the judiciary, dealing a blow to President Mohamed Mursi and drawing an angry response on Tuesday from the Islamist leader's supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood. Seeking to keep pressure on Mursi, the main opposition coalition will hold new protests against an Islamist-backed draft constitution...

Read More..

Squash: David hurtles into world squash quarter-finals

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands: Titleholder Nicol David showed how much she likes the music and warmth of the bay-side venue at Grand Cayman on Monday with an in-tune performance which carried her to the quarter-finals of the World Open in less than half an hour.The six-time champion from Malaysia looked as strong a favourite as ever as she won 9-3, 9-2, 9-3 against Annie Au, the Hong Kong...

Read More..

View a 2000-year-old scroll of the Ten Commandments online

A fragment of a manuscript of the Ten Commandments.(Credit:Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)Google is once again providing a journey into ancient history with online images of rare scrolls dating back more than 2000 years.Courtesy of Google, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the new Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library is now home to detailed digitized photographs of thousands...

Read More..

Schools reopening in Newtown

NEWTOWN, Conn. With security stepped up and families still on edge in Newtown, schools are opening for the first time since last week's massacre, bringing a return of familiar routines -- at least, for some -- to a grief-stricken town as it buries 20 of its children. Play VideoHoliday week is full of funerals for Newtown, Conn.Two 6-year-old boys were laid to rest Monday in the first of a long, almost...

Read More..