Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift Have Double Date Ski Trip

Best friends Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez reportedly put their romantic relationships to the test out on the slopes during a Park City, Utah double-date trip earlier this month. Swift, 22, and One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles, 18, along with Gomez, 20, and her on-again, off-again beau Justin Bieber, 18, were spotted at The Canyons resort for an athletic pre-Christmas weekend, People.com reports....

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Wall Street falls for fourth day over "fiscal" fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell for a fourth day in a row on Thursday and a measure of investor anxiety hit its highest in five months after the top Senate Democrat warned a deal to avoid fiscal austerity measures may not be reached by the December 31 deadline. The comments by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just days before the hefty tax hikes and spending cuts go into effect pushed...

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Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children into law and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans. In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care...

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Police using Twitter to offer virtual ridealongs

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Riding side by side as a police officer answers a call for help or investigates a brutal crime during a ridealong gives citizens an up close look at the gritty and sometimes dangerous situations officers can experience on the job.But a new approach to informing the public about what officers do is taking hold at police departments across the United States and Canada 7/8— one...

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Tarantino Details 'Killer' 'Django' Trilogy Cap

Quentin Tarantino is riding high on the solid box office, critical acclaim and, of course, controversy over his new gunslinging slavery epic Django Unchained, and now he's revealing details of the planned trilogy cap to Django and Inglourious Basterds,potentially called Killer Crow, that would incorporate characters from Basterds -- and surely court more controversy.Pics: New Pics: Jamie & Leo...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Retailers lead Wall Street lower, "cliff" still a concern

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday, dragged lower by retail stocks after a report showed consumers were less enthusiastic about the holiday shopping season than last year. Many investors said concerns about the "fiscal cliff" kept shoppers away from stores, suggesting markets may struggle to make any ground until next year. Holiday-related sales rose 0.7 percent...

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Syria to discuss Brahimi peace proposals with Russia

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a senior diplomat to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss proposals to end the conflict convulsing his country made by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Syrian and Lebanese sources said. Brahimi, who saw Assad on Monday and is planning to hold a series of meetings with Syrian officials and dissidents in Damascus this week, is trying...

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Ouch, Charlie! YouTube Sensation Kids Talk Christmas Toys

The infamous “Charlie Bit My Finger” video has surpassed half a billion views on YouTube — not bad for a 56-second clip of a one-year-old kid biting his older brother’s finger.Charlie and Harry, now six and eight, returned to the web earlier this year with a new series through Viral Studios. The mini-episodes focus on the boys and their younger brother, Jasper, as they talk about toys, viral videos...

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