Judge grants Miley Cyrus civil restraining order

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has granted Miley Cyrus a three-year civil restraining order against a man convicted of trespassing at her home in Los Angeles.The stay-away order was granted Friday against Jason Luis Rivera by Superior Court Judge William D. Stewart.The 40-year-old Rivera was convicted in October of trespassing at the singer's home and sentenced to 18 months in jail.He is scheduled to...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Blast rocks Gulf oil rig, at least two missing

Ships and helicopters are searching for two oil rig workers who disappeared when an explosion rocked a gulf oil rig off the coast of Louisiana and set it on fire, Coast Guard officials said.Eleven other crew members were flown to hospitals, and four of them are listed in critical condition. No one has been confirmed dead.Earlier reports by the Coast Guard that as many as 15 people were unaccounted...

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Afghan officials: Pakistan frees Taliban detainees

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Pakistan has freed eight Taliban prisoners and has agreed to release many more to help kick start a peace process that could lead to a political resolution of the 11-year-old Afghan war, Afghan officials said Thursday.The decision to release the prisoners, including the former justice minister from when the repressive Taliban ruled Afghanistan, is seen as a signal that neighboring...

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Holidays become a cable TV industry

NEW YORK (AP) — If the holidays still seem a long way off, you clearly haven't done much television channel surfing lately.The Hallmark channel has already begun two months of wall-to-wall holiday programming. Lifetime has ramped up its seasonal selections with 10 new made-for-TV movies, the first one airing last weekend. ABC Family's annual "25 Days of Christmas" programming isn't enough, so they...

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GOP-led states start warming up to health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) — From the South to the heartland, cracks are appearing in the once-solid wall of Republican resistance to President Barack Obama's health care law.Ahead of a federal deadline Friday for states to declare their intentions, Associated Press reporters interviewed governors and state officials around the country, finding surprising openness to the changes in some cases. Opposition persists...

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A father's anguish in Gaza

Jihad Misharawi carries his son’s body at a Gaza hospital. (AP)Jihad Misharawi, a BBC Arabic correspondent who lives in Gaza, tragically became part of the story he's been covering on Wednesday, when an Israeli airstrike killed his 11-month-old son.A chilling photo showing Misharawi carrying his son's body through al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City was published by the Associated Press and printed on...

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Pakistan agrees to free Taliban for peace process

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan agreed to free a handful of Taliban prisoners at the request of the Afghan government, in a move meant to help jumpstart a shaky peace process with the militant group in neighboring Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.The decision to release the prisoners — described as mid- and low-level fighters — is the most encouraging sign yet that Islamabad may be willing to play...

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Bon Jovi daughter recovering after heroin OD in NY

HAMILTON, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say Jon Bon Jovi's 19-year-old daughter is hospitalized after overdosing on heroin in a dorm at her upstate New York college.Town of Kirkland police say an ambulance was sent to Hamilton College early Wednesday morning after a report that a female had apparently overdosed on heroin.Investigator Peter Cania (KAYN'-yah) says Stephanie Bongiovi, of Red Bank, N.J., is...

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Ireland probes death of ill abortion-seeker

DUBLIN (AP) — The debate over legalizing abortion in Ireland flared Wednesday after the government confirmed that a woman in the midst of a miscarriage was refused an abortion and died in an Irish hospital after suffering from blood poisoning.Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he was awaiting findings from three investigations into the death of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian woman who was 17...

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