Congress' choice whether Petraeus testifies on Benghazi attack

Gen. David Petraeus walks with his wife, Holly, past a seated Paula Broadwell (rear right) at his confirmation …The White House said Tuesday that it was "up to Congress" whether to call former CIA Director David Petraeus to testify about the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya."Congress [makes] decisions about who is called to testify," press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily...

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China slams Dalai Lama; Tibetan self-immolates

BEIJING (AP) — China accused the Dalai Lama on Monday of allying with Japanese right-wingers in an island dispute as a way of attacking China and blamed him for glorifying a wave of self-immolations among Tibetans. The comments came as another Tibetan set himself on fire to protest Chinese rule, Tibetan exiles and a rights group said.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Dalai Lama's...

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RIM to unveil new BlackBerry phones on Jan. 30.

TORONTO (AP) — Research In Motion said Monday that it will hold an official launch event for its new BlackBerry 10 smartphones on Jan. 30. The new phones are seen as critical to RIM’s survival.The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said Monday details on the much-delayed smartphones and their availability will be announced at the event. The...

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Judge halves slander verdict won by casino mogul

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has slashed a damage verdict favoring casino mogul Steve Wynn in a slander case against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis.Superior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell issued the ruling Friday invalidating certain claims and trimming the damage amount from $40 million to $19 million.The move comes after lawyers for Francis argued that O'Donnell erred when she allowed jurors...

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British medical journal slams Roche on Tamiflu

LONDON (AP) — A leading British medical journal is asking the drug maker Roche to release all its data on Tamiflu, claiming there is no evidence the drug can actually stop the flu.The drug has been stockpiled by dozens of governments worldwide in case of a global flu outbreak and was widely used during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.On Monday, one of the researchers linked to the BMJ journal called for...

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How did the FBI access Petraeus' email?

So how and when can the FBI access a citizen's personal email account? That is a key issue in the investigation surrounding General David Petraeus.The governing law is the Stored Communications Act, which provides that a "government entity" may require a provider of electronic communication service to disclose "contents of a wire or electronic communication" that has...

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Man in Afghan uniform kills foreign service member

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform on Sunday shot and killed a member of the U.S.-led coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan — the latest in a spate of insider attacks that are fracturing the trust between NATO and Afghan forces.Separately, officials said 11 Afghan civilians were killed by land mines on Sunday in explosions in the east and south.U.S. Army Maj. Martyn...

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Bond soars with record $87.8M 'Skyfall' debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Bond's "Skyfall" has extended its worldwide box-office rule to North America, hauling in a franchise-record $87.8 million in its first weekend at U.S. theaters.Adding in $2.2 million from Thursday night previews at IMAX and other large-format theaters, "Skyfall" has taken in $90 million domestically, according to studio estimates Sunday.That lifts the worldwide total for "Skyfall"...

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Food labels multiply, some confuse consumers

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Want to avoid pesticides and antibiotics in your produce, meat, and dairy foods? Prefer to pay more to make sure farm animals were treated humanely, farmworkers got their lunch breaks, bees or birds were protected by the farmer and that ranchers didn't kill predators?Food labels claim to certify a wide array of sustainable practices. Hundreds of so-called eco-labels have cropped...

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Obama honors sacrifice made by nation's veterans

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama paid tribute at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to "the heroes over the generations who have served this country of ours with distinction."He said the wreath he laid earlier at Tomb of the Unknowns was intended to remember every service member who has worn a uniform and served the nation.In a speech at the Memorial Amphitheater during...

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