Syrian Jet Strikes Close to Border With Turkey

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Syria pulled both Turkey and Israel closer to military entanglements in its civil war on Monday, bombing a rebel-held Syrian village a few yards from the Turkish border in a deadly aerial assault and provoking Israeli tank commanders in the disputed Golan Heights into blasting mobile Syrian artillery units across their own armistice line. The escalations, which threatened...

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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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Lakers hire Mike D'Antoni as new coach

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike D'Antoni late Sunday night, signing the former coach of the Suns and Knicks to replace Mike Brown.The Lakers and D'Antoni's agent, Warren LeGarie, confirmed the deal two days after the Lakers fired Brown five games into the season.D'Antoni agreed to a three-year deal worth $12 million, with a team option for a fourth season.D'Antoni got the high-profile...

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Personal Best: Quitting Smoking for Good

Few smokers would claim that it’s easy to quit. The addiction to nicotine is strong and repeatedly reinforced by circumstances that prompt smokers to light up.Yet the millions who have successfully quit are proof that a smoke-free life is achievable, even by those who have been regular, even heavy, smokers for decades.Today, 19 percent of American adults smoke, down from more than 42 percent half...

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Report Sees U.S. as Top Oil Producer, Overtaking Saudi Arabia, in 5 Years

Charlie Riedel/Associated PressIncreased oil production and new policies to improve energy efficiency mean that the United States will become “all but self-sufficient” in energy in about two decades, the International Energy Agency predicted. Above, an oil rig near Greensburg, Kan. The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil producer by about 2017 and will become a net...

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Changing of the Guard: Chinese Communist Party Faces Calls for Democracy

BEIJING — As the Communist Party’s 18th Congress approached, Li Weidong, a scholar of politics, made plans to observe a historic leadership battle in one of the world’s great nations. Instead of staying in Beijing to monitor China’s once-a-decade transfer of power, Mr. Li boarded a plane. “I’m going to the United States to study the elections,” Mr. Li said in a telephone interview...

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10 Adorable Clips of Sesame Street Satire

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Oregon is No. 1 in AP Top 25; K-St 2, Notre Dame 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Oregon is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll after Alabama gave up the top spot following a loss to Texas A&M.The Ducks have 45 of 60 first-place votes. Kansas State is No. 2 with 14 first-place votes. Notre Dame is third and received one first-place vote.The Crimson Tide, which had been No. 1 for 10 straight weeks, dropped to fourth after a 29-24 loss to the Aggies...

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Mind Faded, Darrell Royal’s Wisdom and Humor Intact Till End

Three days before his death last week at 88, Darrell Royal told his wife, Edith: “We need to go back to Hollis” — in Oklahoma. “Uncle Otis died.” “Oh, Darrell,” she said, “Uncle Otis didn’t die.” Royal, a former University of Texas football coach, chuckled and said, “Well, Uncle Otis will be glad to hear that.” The Royal humor never faded, even as he sank deeper into Alzheimer’s...

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Hurricane Sandy and the Disaster-Preparedness Economy

Jeffrey Phelps for The New York TimesAn assembly line at a Generac Power Systems plant. Generac makes residential generators, coveted items in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. FOLKS here don’t wish disaster on their fellow Americans. They didn’t pray for Hurricane Sandy to come grinding up the East Coast, tearing lives apart and plunging millions into darkness. But the fact is, disasters are good...

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