Video Shows French Family’s Kidnappers Are Nigerian Extremists

LAGOS, Nigeria — A French family kidnapped last week on the Cameroon-Nigeria border appeared on a video posted Monday on YouTube, with one of the hostages and a gunman saying that the family is being held by the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. The family members — three adults and four children — are shown sitting on the ground inside a sort of tent made from prayer mats, in...

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The Bachelor's Sean Lowe Reveals Final Two

TV Watch The Bachelor 02/25/2013 at 10:30 PM EST From left: AshLee, Lindsay and Catherine Kevin Foley/ABC(3) And then there were two.After three incredible dates in Thailand with the remaining women, The Bachelor's Sean Lowe faced a difficult decision at the end...

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Koop, who transformed surgeon general post, dies

With his striking beard and starched uniform, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop became one of the most recognizable figures of the Reagan era — and one of the most unexpectedly enduring.His nomination in 1981 met a wall of opposition from women's groups and liberal politicians, who complained President Ronald Reagan selected Koop, a pediatric surgeon and evangelical Christian from Philadelphia,...

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Facebook Now Has an Entire Team Devoted to Sandy Hook Scams

When three Connecticut lawmakers asked Mark Zuckerberg in a letter on Monday to do something about the flood of fake Sandy Hook memorial pages, he got back to them quickly. Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Rep. Elizabeth Esty, also a Democrat, pointed out that Facebook is filled countless pages that “have become vehicles for harassment, intimidation and possibly financial...

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Wall Street trips and falls on cloudy Italian election

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks on Monday suffered their biggest drop since November after a strong showing in Italian elections by groups opposed to the country's economic reforms triggered worry that Europe's debt problems could once again destabilize the global economy. The decline marks the biggest percentage drop for the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index since November7, and...

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IHT Rendezvous: Opera for an Era When Money Is Tight

VIENNA—Not long ago it looked as if cuts in arts funding would sound the death knell of the Vienna Chamber Opera, known in German as the Kammeroper, an ensemble esteemed for its chamber-scale productions in an intimate, inviting setting. The Austrian federal government’s decision to eliminate entirely its support, which constituted half of the company’s governmental subsidies (the other half coming...

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Christina Applegate Marries Martyn LeNoble

People Exclusive By Tim Nudd and Elizabeth Leonard 02/24/2013 at 11:25 PM EST Christina Applegate and Martyn LeNoble Kevan Brooks/AdMedia With a child ... and now married!Christina Applegate tied the knot on Saturday with longtime boyfriend Martyn LeNoble, the...

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent...

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Facebook Inspires Hundreds to Attend a Funeral For a Man They Never Met

While Facebook might be best known as a means for some low-grade entertainment, as evidenced by our love of cat memes, it sometimes also proves to be a catalyst for an inspiring display of social good.When 70-year-old James McConnell passed away last month in Britain’s Southsea, his nursing home staff reported that he had no known friends or family to attend his funeral. In fact, little was known...

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2 Palestinians Shot in Clashes With Israeli Settlers

JERUSALEM (AP) — Clashes erupted Saturday in the West Bank, with Jewish settlers shooting two Palestinian demonstrators in the northern village of Kusra, an Israeli military official and Palestinian residents said. The unrest reflected mounting friction in the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced off against Israeli troops in recent weeks in a series of large demonstrations protesting...

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