Wall Street Week Ahead: A lump of coal for "Fiscal Cliff-mas"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street traders are going to have to pack their tablets and work computers in their holiday luggage after all. A traditionally quiet week could become hellish for traders as politicians in Washington are likely to fall short of an agreement to deal with $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in early next year. Many economists forecast that this...

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Douglas wins AP female athlete of the year honors

When Gabby Douglas allowed herself to dream of being the Olympic champion, she imagined having a nice little dinner with family and friends to celebrate. Maybe she'd make an appearance here and there."I didn't think it was going to be crazy," Douglas said, laughing. "I love it. But I realized my perspective was going to have to change."Just a bit.The teenager has become a worldwide star since winning...

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Faced with brutal elephant poachers, Cameroon calls in the army

BOUBA NDJIDA NATIONAL PARK, Cameroon (Reuters) – The welcome committee for Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park, a former safari tourism destination, would not look out of place on a battlefield.Faced with the threat of horse-mounted Sudanese elephant poachers armed with machine guns, the central African nation has deployed military helicopters and 600 soldiers to try to protect the park and its...

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Madness in the air in Washington

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre calls on Congress to pass a law putting armed police officers in every school in America.STORY HIGHLIGHTSDavid Gergen: After election, there were hopes partisan tension would fadeHe says this week we've seen a complete breakdown on the fiscal cliffThe NRA doubled down on its anti-gun-control rhetoric despite Newtown, he saysGergen:...

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2 children dead in Englewood fire, 2 others rescued

A young boy and girl died this morning after they and two other children were left home alone in the Englewood neighborhood...

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Egypt's constitution seen passing in referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians voted on a constitution drafted by Islamists on Saturday in a second round of balloting expected to approve a charter that opponents say will create deeper turmoil in the Arab world's most populous nation. Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Mursi, who was elected in June, say the constitution is vital to moving Egypt towards democracy two years after...

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Stock futures tumble, tax bill failure may make deal unlikely

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures were sharply lower on Friday, dropping more than 1 percent, after a Republican proposal for averting the "fiscal cliff" failed to pass, further eroding hopes that a deal would be reached quickly. Trading is expected to be volatile as investors view a fiscal agreement between the White House and Republicans before the year-end as increasingly unlikely....

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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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Shortest Day: Why Winter Starts Friday

In the very likely event that we survive Friday’s rumored Mayan apocalypse, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will at least get to experience another cosmic occasion: the winter solstice.On Friday, Dec. 21, the sun will appear to make its lowest, quickest trek across the sky all year, resulting in the shortest day of 2012 and the official start of winter.Earth is tilted on its axis 23.5 degrees,...

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Goodbye, U.S. Postal Service?

This Christmas could be the Post Office's last, says John Avlon. STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe U.S. Postal Service is bleeding money and heading toward insolvency John Avlon: Congress can save the postal service in deal on the fiscal cliff He says the urgency is clear, let's hope for a Christmas miracle Avlon: But be prepared that Washington dysfunction can doom the postal service Editor's note: John Avlon...

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Bank robber caught 2 days after bed sheet jailbreak

Police entered ahomein Southwest suburban Tinley Park about 11:30 Tuesday morning, searching for two escaped prisoners. Police...

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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...

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Stock futures flat amid "fiscal cliff" uncertainty, data on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures were flat on Thursday amid uncertainty over U.S. fiscal negotiations, as President Barack Obama threatened to veto a controversial Republican plan, suggesting a deal wouldn't come as soon as many investors had hoped. Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, in a brief press conference Wednesday, said his chamber would pass a proposal that spares...

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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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