Marxist Group Claims Attack on Embassy in Turkey

ISTANBUL — In a statement that called the United States “the murderer of the peoples of the world,” a Marxist group, with a history of political violence in Turkey, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the American Embassy in Ankara. The statement, which also denounced American foreign policy, was reportedly released by the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party, and a translation...

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Twitter, Washington Post targeted by hackers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Social media giant Twitter is among the latest U.S. companies to acknowledge that it is among a growing list of victims of Internet security attacks, saying that hackers may have gained access to information on 250,000 of its more than 200 million active users. And now, The Washington Post is joining the chorus, saying that it discovered that it was the target of a sophisticated...

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Why is Beckham sitting on the bench for nothing?

PARIS (AP) — David Beckham has won league championships in three countries on two continents, earns millions of dollars in endorsements and his name is practically synonymous with celebrity itself. He has his own cologne, for goodness sake. So why is he even bothering to sit on the bench for the Paris Saint-Germain football club?His royal highness of football doesn't need the money — and he's said...

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Ferrol Sams, Doctor Turned Novelist, Dies at 90

Ferrol Sams, a country doctor who started writing fiction in his late 50s and went on to win critical praise and a devoted readership for his humorous and perceptive novels and stories that drew on his medical practice and his rural Southern roots, died on Tuesday at his home in Fayetteville, Ga. He was 90. The cause, said his son Ferrol Sams III, also a doctor, was that he was “slap...

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The AR-15, the Most Wanted Gun in America

Steve Ruark for The New York TimesAt the Pasadena Pawn and Gun Shop in Maryland, customers can join a waiting list to buy an AR-15-style rifle. “It’s kind of fashionable,” Frank Loane Sr., the shop’s proprietor, said of the gun. THE phone rings again at Pasadena Pawn and Gun, and a familiar question comes down the line: “Got any ARs?” The answer is no. Pasadena Pawn and Gun, a gun retailer...

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Deadly Firefight on Lebanon’s Border With Syria

BEIRUT, Lebanon — At least three Lebanese Army soldiers were killed on Friday in a shootout as they tried to arrest a resident of a village that has become a hub of refugees and where Syrian rebel fighters often cross the border. Their target was also fatally shot. There were conflicting reports about the nature of the clash, in which security forces were ambushed as they pursued a wanted...

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This Week’s Social Media Power Rankings: The Return of Swatch

The social media sphere is an increasingly noisy place, especially for brands. But hiding somewhere in the static are strong signals from companies reaching their customers in innovative ways. The Social Business Index from the Dachis Group provides a (free) real-time ranking of more than 30,000 global brands based on their social performance. Every week we’re taking a tally...

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NFL's Goodell: Proper tackling, HGH key issues

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league needs to make football safer by doing more to eliminate blows to the head and knees and by suspending players for illegal hits.During his annual news conference two days before the Super Bowl, Goodell also said Friday he wants a "new generation" of the Rooney Rule because "we didn't have the outcomes we wanted" when none of 15 recent...

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Well: Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes

For people who need to eliminate gluten from their diet, baking becomes a challenge. Beginners often find gluten-free baked goods too dense. Even the Recipes for Health columnist Martha Rose Shulman didn’t like the flavor of a commercial gluten-free flour mix, which left her gluten-free cookies and tart-shells with a strong taste of bean flour. As a result, she created her own gluten-free mix for...

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DealBook: Amid Bank's Legal Problems, Barclays C.E.O. Gives Up Bonus

LONDON – Antony P. Jenkins, the new chief executive of Barclays, said on Friday that he would not accept a bonus as the British bank struggles to rebuild its reputation after a series of recent scandals.The announcement comes as British regulators investigate new allegations that Barclays failed to properly disclose to shareholders a loan to a group of Qatari investors that gave the British bank a...

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Syria’s Confirmation of Airstrike May Undercut Israel’s Strategy of Silence

Jim Hollander/European Pressphoto AgencyIn East Jerusalem, Israelis distributed gas masks on Wednesday as worries about security spread. More Photos »JERUSALEM — Israeli officials remained silent on Thursday about their airstrike in Syrian territory the day before, a tactic that experts said was part of a longstanding strategy to give targeted countries face-saving opportunities to avoid conflict...

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Apple loses a U.S. appeals bid in Samsung patent fight

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected Apple Inc‘s request to revive its bid for a sales ban on Samsung‘s Galaxy Nexus smartphone, dashing the iPhone maker’s attempt to recover crucial leverage in the global patent wars.Apple had asked the full Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to revisit a decision in October by a three-judge panel of the same court....

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49ers' Culliver apologizes for anti-gay remarks

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver apologized Thursday for anti-gay comments he made to a comedian during Super Bowl media day, saying "that's not what I feel in my heart.""I'm sorry if I offended anyone. They were very ugly comments," Culliver said during an hour-long media session. "Hopefully I learn and grow from this experience and this situation."He said he would...

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Personal Health: Keeping Blood Pressure in Check

Since the start of the 21st century, Americans have made great progress in controlling high blood pressure, though it remains a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, congestive heart failure and kidney disease.Now 48 percent of the more than 76 million adults with hypertension have it under control, up from 29 percent in 2000.But that means more than half, including many receiving treatment, have...

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STMicroelectronics May Pay $500 Million to Exit Venture

PARIS — STMicroelectronics, the biggest European chip maker, may have to spend up to $500 million this year to wind down the mobile chip-making joint venture with Ericsson that has been a ball-and-chain on its results, the company’s chief executive said Thursday. “We’re committed to going fast,” Carlo Bozotti, the chief executive, said during a briefing in Paris. “It’s important for us...

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Syrian Opposition Leader Softens Position on Talks with Assad

Goran Tomasevic/ReutersFree Syrian Army fighters ran for cover as a tank shell exploded against a wall. More Photos »BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s top political opposition leader on Wednesday expressed willingness for the first time to talk with representatives of President Bashar al-Assad, softening what had been an absolute refusal to negotiate with the government in an increasingly chaotic civil war....

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The Z10 is a good first step, but BlackBerry still has to fix its app problem

BlackBerry, a.k.a., the Company Formerly Known as RIM, made good with its first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones on Wednesday. While the new devices are far from perfect, they will at the very least make long-suffering BlackBerry fans very happy and should provide a needed boost to a company in desperate need of growth. That said, BlackBerry still has a major problem that it will have to fix if it ever...

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Lewis says he's 'agitated,' not angry about story

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Smiling, even laughing, at questions about a report linking him to a company that purports to make performance-enhancers, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said Wednesday he "never, ever took" the stuff.Lewis described himself as "agitated," not angry, that the story has become part of the Super Bowl-week prelude to Baltimore's game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.He...

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The Consumer: The Drug-Dose Gender Gap

Most sleeping pills are designed to knock you out for eight hours. When the Food and Drug Administration was evaluating a new short-acting pill for people to take when they wake up in the middle of the night, agency scientists wanted to know how much of the drug would still be in users’ systems come morning.Blood tests uncovered a gender gap: Men metabolized the drug, Intermezzo, faster than women....

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Shell Wins 3 Pollution Suits Filed by Nigerians

In a legal dispute that had been closely watched by multinational companies and environmental organizations, a Dutch court Wednesday dismissed most of the claims brought by Nigerian farmers seeking to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for damage by oil spilled from its pipelines. The decision, by the District Court of the Hague, was unusual in that it was brought in a Dutch jurisdiction...

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