The Lede Blog: Bahrain Welcomes European Delegation, Not Delegates' Calls to Free Dissidents

Last Updated, Saturday, 10:34 a.m. As The Lede reported on Wednesday, a delegation from the European Parliament visited Bahrain this week to discuss human rights, just as the kingdom jailed a rights advocate for documenting a protest on Twitter.Sic(k). Police Chief tells us number of #Bahrain protesters killed compares favourably to Tianamen Square, Egypt soccer & Los Angeles riots.— Richard Howitt...

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Vatican says pope beats Justin Bieber on re-tweets

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict, white-haired, 85, and a neophyte to social media site Twitter, has beaten out 18-year old heartthrob Justin Bieber to set a percentage record for re-tweeting by his followers, the Vatican said on Thursday.The Vatican newspaper said that as of noon Italian time on Thursday the pope had 2.1 million followers on Twitter, eight days after his first tweet was sent.While...

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Prince William & Kate to Spend Christmas in Bucklebury with Her Family

By Simon Perry 12/22/2012 at 10:30 AM EST The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge REX USA After suffering from extreme morning sickness in the first weeks of her pregnancy, Kate will spend Christmas in the comfort of her family, a St. James Palace spokesman told PEOPLE on Saturday.In a major break...

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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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Letting strangers live rent-free in his house: cool or crazy?

When Tony Tolbert turned 50 last year, he marked the occasion by moving in with his mother.The decision wasn't about money. He's a Harvard-educated attorney, on the staff of UCLA's law school. And it wasn't because his mother wanted or needed him home.It was Tolbert's response to the sort of midlife milestone that prompts us to take stock. Instead...

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Putin Evasive on Banning Adoptions by Americans

James Hill for The New York TimesJournalists attended a news conference held by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Moscow on Thursday. MOSCOW — He seemed to wince a bit as he sauntered on stage — a twinge no doubt from a lingering back injury — but as he took his seat before scores of cameras in a hall packed with more than 1,000 journalists on Thursday, President Vladimir V. Putin was clearly...

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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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Nicole Richie: Motherhood Hasn't Affected My Style

Stylewatch Style News Now 12/21/2012 at 09:00 AM ET Don Arnold/WireImageMotherhood has changed Nicole Richie in many ways, but the star says she still has full ownership over her sense of style.Unlike Kristin Cavallari and Christina Applegate, who say they’ve altered their way of dress since becoming...

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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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French Court Refuses to Dismiss Strauss-Kahn Sex Investigation

PARIS — A French appeals court on Wednesday rejected a demand from Dominique Strauss-Kahn to dismiss an investigation of him in connection with a ring that recruited prostitutes for sex parties from Paris to Washington. His appeal was an effort to end the last of the legal problems that forced him to resign as head managing director of the International Monetary Fund and ruined his ambition...

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Facebook predicted to overtake Google in mobile display ad revenue this year

Shares of Facebook (FB) have begun to rebound since the company’s disastrous initial public offering this past May. After opening at $ 38 per share the company’s stock plummeted into the mid-20s over the summer months and eventually fell to a low of $ 17.55 in early September. Since then, however, Facebook shares have begun to bounce back after the company posted better-than-expected results...

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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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Aleppo Residents, Battered by War, Struggle to Survive

The Fight for Aleppo: In Syria’s largest city, a sustained and pitched battle between rebels and the Syrian army has left the city in ruins.ALEPPO, Syria — Inside the classrooms where they once studied, the boys darted like a pack. Their banging and clanking could be heard for a city block. The playground outside had been hit by a Syrian Air Force airstrike, which fractured the school’s walls....

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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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