First Person: Unemployed, Disabled and Hungry for Work

Five million Americans are among the long-term unemployed–those without a job for 27 weeks or longer–according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 7.3 million are looking for work, while the unemployment rate sits at 7.9 percent. Numbers aside, individual stories illustrate how America is affected. To see how joblessness hits home, Yahoo News asked unemployed workers to share their job-hunting...

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Vampires, 007 may set record Thanksgiving sales

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The teen vampire movie “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ continued to lure huge audiences, siphoning off $ 12.8 million in Wednesday night showings in what could fuel a record box office haul for the five-day Thanksgiving Day holiday.The final film in the “Twilight” series, collected $ 141.3 million last weekend for the industry’s eighth largest opening weekend. On Wednesday...

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Tourists visit Texas ranch to remember 'Dallas' star Larry Hagman

PARKER, Texas (AP) — Tourists and locals flocked to Southfork Ranch on Saturday, bringing flowers in memory of Larry Hagman, who played the infamous J.R. Ewing on the TV show "Dallas."Hagman died in Dallas on Friday at age 81 due to complications from his battle with cancer.Southfork, a ranch north of Dallas, was known to millions of viewers as the Ewing family home. Exterior shots of the house and...

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Laws don’t curb pricey prostate cancer treatments

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Laws meant to prevent the overuse of expensive healthcare services don’t stop doctors from using pricey prostate cancer treatments, according to two new studies.Researchers found doctors used robots and special radiation to treat prostate cancer regardless of whether their area had laws requiring government approval before money is spent on healthcare facilities and new...

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Marc Anthony comes to aid of Dominican orphanage

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Singer Marc Anthony is coming to the aid of an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.A foundation run by Anthony with music and sports producer Henry Cardenas plans to build a new residence hall, classrooms and a baseball field for the Children of Christ orphanage in the eastern city of La Romana. Anthony attended the groundbreaking ceremony Friday with his model...

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Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Miley Cyrus Share Birthday Joy On Twitter

“Jersey Shore” star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi was celebrating her 25th birthday on Black Friday, but it wasn’t the shops that provided her with her favorite present.The reality star and new mom Tweeted that her baby boy — Lorenzo, who was born in August — was the most rewarding gift of all.PLAY IT NOW: The Jersey Shore Cast Makes A Plea To Help ‘Restore The Shore’“My favorite birthday gift,” she Tweeted,...

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Egypt president's moves worry Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is concerned about Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to assume sweeping powers, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. Mursi on Thursday issued a decree that puts his decisions above legal challenge until a new parliament is elected, causing angry protests by his opponents and violent clashes in central Cairo and other cities on Friday....

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Do drunks have to go to the ER?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – With the help of a checklist, ambulance workers may be able to safely reroute drunk patients to detoxification centers instead of emergency rooms, according to a new study.Researchers in Colorado found no serious medical problems were reported after 138 people were sent to a detox center to sleep it off, instead of to an ER. In...

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Ex-’Price is Right’ model gets $8.5M in damages

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The producers of “The Price is Right” owe a former model on the show more than $ 7.7 million in punitive damages for discriminating against her after a pregnancy, a jury determined Wednesday.The judgment came one day after the panel determined the game show’s producers discriminated against Brandi Cochran. They awarded her nearly $...

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is Good, But No iPad Killer [REVIEW]

Unboxing the Kindle Fire HD 8.9Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: Apple Now Owns the iMessage Name] Amazon expands its tablet sights with the bigger, more powerful Kindle Fire HD 8.9. Can it compete against Apple‘s iPad?If there’s one company that deserves credit for reigniting the iPad competitor market,...

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Longer waits for breast cancer patients on Medicare

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women with a new diagnosis of breast cancer who are covered by Medicare are waiting longer and longer to get treatment, according to a new nationwide study.Researchers found that between 1992 and 2005, the average waiting time between being diagnosed and having surgery rose from 21 days to 32 days. The delay was especially long...

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McCartney, Houston, Dylan lead Grammy Hall of Fame inductees

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Music by Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Elton John and late singers Whitney Houston and James Brown will be inducted into the 2013 Grammy Hall of Fame, The Recording Academy said on Wednesday.Paul McCartney & Wings‘ 1973 album “Band on the Run,” long credited with reigniting McCartney’s career following the Beatles’ split in 1970,...

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Some gifts fall into the love-it-later category

NEW YORK (AP) — Have you ever said “thank you” through clenched teeth? The gift in that nicely wrapped box was so not what you wanted: comfy clothes instead of designer duds, or a kitchen gadget instead of a shiny piece of jewelry.Sometimes, though, the best gifts are the ones you use, and, frankly, most of us probably wear hoodies more than haute couture. With...

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Silent skies over Gaza after cease-fire

The rockets and missiles fell silent over Gaza for the first time in eight days today, but gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.The two sides fired final salvos at one another up until the final moments before the 2 p.m. ET cease-fire deadline. At least one Israeli missile landed...

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Ex-hedge fund trader charged in $276M insider ploy

NEW YORK (AP) — A former hedge fund portfolio manager was arrested Tuesday in what prosecutors called perhaps the most lucrative insider trading scheme of all time — an arrangement to obtain secret, advance results of tests on an experimental Alzheimer’s drug that netted more than $ 276 million for his fund and others.The case also led authorities to...

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Elmo puppeteer Clash resigns following new sex claims

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind the “Sesame Street” character Elmo, resigned on Tuesday following new allegations that he had sex with an underage boy, adding to an ongoing controversy involving one of America’s most popular children’s brands.In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Cecil Singleton is seeking more than $ 5 million in damages...

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Review: Gift guide to full-size tablets

NEW YORK (AP) — Tablets are at the top of many wish lists this holiday season. But what to get? The choice used to be pretty limited, with the iPad dominating the latecomers. But this year, the field is more even, as tablets from Apple‘s competitors have matured. In addition, Google and Microsoft are diving in with their own tablets, providing more choice.The...

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Clinton’s high-profile swan song

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a meeting with President Barack Obama, second from left, and Japan's …Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was supposed to be heading for the exit, even as the fight over who should succeed her escalated. Instead, America's top diplomat sped Tuesday to the Middle East on an urgent mission to douse flaring violence between Israel and Hamas, the...

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Unemployment may increase chances of heart attacks

CHICAGO (AP) — Unemployment hurts more than your wallet — it may damage your heart. That’s according to a study linking joblessness with heart attacks in older workers.The increased odds weren’t huge, although multiple job losses posed as big a threat as smoking, high blood pressure and other conditions that are bad for the heart. The...

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Aussie rockers AC/DC’s music to be sold on iTunes

NEW YORK (Reuters) – AC/DC‘S entire catalogue, including 20 studio and live albums and three compilations will be available on iTunes for the first time worldwide, Columbia Records and Apple said on Monday.Until now the Australian heavy metal group that was formed by two brothers, Angus and Malcolm Young, in 1973, had refused to put their music on Apple...

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Review: Wii U Filled With Potential

The Nintendo Wii turns six this month, making the video game system past its prime in console years. Nintendo and third-party developers have been slowly grinding Wii titles to a halt as all prepare for its successor, the $ 300 Wii U (say it with us, We-you), to launch today.WATCH: Wii U Video Review The latest Nintendo...

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