Australia’s Gillard in spoof: Mayans were right, world is ending

CANBERRA (Reuters) – According to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Mayans were right and the apocalypse is near.In a spoof 50-second video appearance promoting a local radio station‘s breakfast show, Gillard provided hair-raising details that she said would come when the world ends this month, as the ancient Mayans calendar predicted.With the straight face she often uses in a normal press...

Read More..

Supreme Court: Both sides in gay marriage debate voice optimism

Both sides of the contentious debate over same-sex marriage in America are expressing optimism over the news Friday that the US Supreme Court has agreed to take up two potential landmark gay rights cases.The high court announced it would hear arguments in a case testing the constitutionality of California’s Prop. 8 ban on same-sex marriage.It also said it would hear the case of an elderly New York...

Read More..

Protesters surge around Egypt’s presidential palace

CAIRO (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters surged around the presidential palace on Friday and the opposition rejected President Mohamed Mursi‘s call for dialogue to end a crisis that has polarized the nation and sparked deadly clashes.The Islamist leader’s deputy said he could delay a December 15 referendum on a constitution that liberals opposed, although the concession only partly...

Read More..

New Sony online store offers remote downloads to PlayStation and mobile devices

...

Read More..

Trade-offs in raising Medicare eligibility age

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are living longer, and Republicans want to raise the Medicare eligibility age as part of any deal to reduce the government’s huge deficits.But what sounds like a prudent sacrifice for an aging society that must watch its budget could have some surprising consequences, including higher premiums for people on Medicare.Unlike tax hikes, which spawn hard partisan divisions,...

Read More..

Spotify gains more listeners and Metallica

(Reuters) – Digital music service Spotify rolled out new features and said it increased the number of active users at a press event that featured a special musical performance by Frank Ocean.Spotify now has 20 million active users worldwide, up 33 percent in less than six months. The company counts five million people among paying subscribers, a 25 percent increase during the same time period.Spotify...

Read More..

Both sides hint at renewed 'fiscal cliff' talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With little to show after a month of posturing, the White House and Republicans in Congress dropped hints on Thursday that they had resumed low-level private talks on breaking the stalemate over the "fiscal cliff" but refused to divulge details. A day after a phone conversation between President Barack Obama and John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House...

Read More..

Apple to return some Mac production to U.S. in 2013

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc plans to move some production of Macintosh computers to the United States from China next year, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in remarks published on Thursday, in what could be a important test of the nascent comeback in U.S. electronics manufacturing.Apple makes the majority of its products, from Macs to the iPhone and iPad, in China, the world’s factory...

Read More..

Men more likely to die of cancer: study

(Reuters) – Not only are men more likely than women to be diagnosed with cancer, men who get it have a higher chance of dying from the disease, according to a U.S. study.In an analysis of cases of all but sex-specific cancers such as prostate and ovarian cancer, for example, men were more likely than women to die in each of the past ten years, said researchers, whose findings appeared in The Journal...

Read More..

Sean Bean replaces Brendan Fraser in TNT pilot “Legends”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – TNT‘s upcoming pilot “Legends” is getting a Stark makeover.Sean Bean, who played ill-fated Lord of Winterfell Eddard Stark in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” has signed on to replace Brendan Fraser in TNT’s upcoming pilot “Legends.”Fraser dropped out of the pilot last month; the show would have marked his first starring turn on a TV series.Bean will play Martin Odum, a deep-cover...

Read More..

U.S software guru John McAfee arrested in Guatemala

Eccentric software tycoon John McAfee, wanted in Belize for questioning in the shooting death of his neighbor, has been arrested in Guatemala for entering the country illegally, his Guatemala attorney told ABC News. Before McAfee's arrest, he told ABC News in an exclusive interview he would be seeking asylum in Guatemala. McAfee was arrested by the Central American country's immigration police and...

Read More..

Death toll from Philippine typhoon nears 300

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — Stunned parents searching for missing children examined a row of mud-stained bodies covered with banana leaves while survivors dried their soaked belongings on roadsides Wednesday, a day after a powerful typhoon killed nearly 300 people in the southern Philippines.Officials fear more bodies may be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas that were isolated by landslides,...

Read More..

Apple’s shares swallow biggest loss in four years

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc shares tumbled more than 6 percent on Wednesday, chalking up their biggest single-day loss in four years as fears grow about intensifying competition in the mobile device market.Investors and analysts blamed the sell-off on a mix of factors, including a forecast by an influential research firm that the iPad maker is continuing to cede ground to rival Google...

Read More..

FDA staff says Zogenix painkiller has abuse risks

(Reuters) – Drug reviewers said a painkiller developed by Zogenix Inc could possibly be abused more than currently available hydrocodone combination products.Zogenix’s painkiller Zohydro is a single-entity product containing hydrocodone — a narcotic painkiller. Hydrocodone and oxycodone are often-abused drugs.Combination hydrocodone drugs usually also contain acetaminophen, the active ingredient in...

Read More..

Hugh Hefner heads to altar again, with “runaway bride”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is headed to the altar again – with the blonde Playmate who ditched him five days before their planned wedding in 2011.Hefner, 86, and his former “runaway bride” Crystal Harris, 26, obtained a marriage license in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Recorder spokeswoman Elizabeth Knox said.Celebrity website TMZ.com said the couple, who reunited...

Read More..

More than 200 dead in Philippine typhoon

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — The death toll from a powerful typhoon in the southern Philippines climbed to more than 200 people Wednesday and officials feared many more bodies could be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas that had been isolated by landslides, floods and downed communications.At least 151 people have died in the worst-hit province of Compostela Valley since Typhoon Bopha began...

Read More..

WestJet embraces tech to woo business travelers

TORONTO (Reuters) – WestJet Airlines Ltd will use technological innovation, including a new Internet ticket booking system, to help it transform from a no-frills carrier to a lower-cost full-service airline courting lucrative corporate travelers, its chief executive said on Monday.Canada’s second-biggest airline plans to launch a series of technology systems, most notably the new online booking engine,...

Read More..

Amazon launches Kindle content service for kids

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is launching a subscription service for children’s games, videos and books aimed at getting more kids to use its Kindle Fire tablet devices.Amazon.com Inc. plans to announce Wednesday that the Kindle FreeTime Unlimited service will be available in the next few weeks as part of an automatic software update.Amazon said subscribers will have access to “thousands” of pieces of content,...

Read More..

Casting Light on Astronaut Insomnia: ISS to Get Sleep-Promoting Lightbulbs

...

Read More..

Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Don Cheadle Sign on for James Cameron’s Climate-Change Doc

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – James Cameron‘s climate-change documentary “Years of Living Dangerously” has lined up some high-level talent to get its message across. Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin and Don Cheadle have signed on to narrate the documentary, Showtime – which will air the project over multiple episodes next year – said Monday.Actor Edward Norton is also expected to come aboard, Showtime said,...

Read More..

U.S., allies weighing military options if Syria uses WMD

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and its allies are weighing military options to secure Syria's chemical and biological weapons, after U.S. intelligence reports show the Syrian regime may be readying those weapons and may be desperate enough to use them, U.S. officials said Monday.President Barack Obama, in a speech at the National Defense University on Monday, pointedly warned Syrian President Bashar...

Read More..

Official: Syria moving chemical weapons components

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and allied intelligence have detected Syrian movement of chemical weapons components in recent days, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday, as the Obama administration strongly warned the Assad regime against using them.A senior defense official said intelligence officials have detected activity around more than one of Syria‘s chemical weapons sites in the last week. The...

Read More..