As foreigners go, Afghan city is feeling abandoned

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — By switching from studying business management to training as a nurse, 19-year-old Anita Taraky has placed a bet on the future of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar — that once foreign troops are gone, private-sector jobs will be fewer but nursing will always be in demand.Besides, if the Taliban militants recapture the southern Afghan city that was their movement's birthplace...

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Google's Android software in 3 out of 4 smartphones

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George Lucas' filmmaking rooted in rebellion

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There's no mistaking the similarities. A childhood on a dusty farm, a love of fast vehicles, a rebel who battles an overpowering empire — George Lucas is the hero he created, Luke Skywalker.His filmmaking outpost, Skywalker Ranch, is so far removed from the Hollywood moviemaking machine he once despised, that it may as well be on the forest moon of Endor.That's why this week's announcement...

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Floods render NYC hospitals powerless

NEW YORK (AP) — There are few places in the U.S. where hospitals have put as much thought and money into disaster planning as New York. And yet two of the city's busiest, most important medical centers failed a fundamental test of readiness during Superstorm Sandy this week: They lost power.Their backup generators failed, or proved inadequate. Nearly 1,000 patients had to be evacuated.The closures...

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Bloomberg mishandles New York City marathon controversy

NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to sell the New York City Marathon as a symbolic victory for the city after a devastating storm, invoking two of the biggest symbols of them all — Rudy Giuliani and 9/11.The former mayor, Bloomberg said, made the right decision by holding the marathon less than two months after the 2001 terror attacks: "It pulled people together, and we have to find some...

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Gunmen kill 18 in bus attack in southwest Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen riding on two motorcycles opened fire on a bus at a small fuel station in southwest Pakistan on Friday, igniting a massive blaze and leaving 18 dead, a Pakistani official said.Abdul Mansoor Kakar said all 16 people on the bus, including eight women and three children, were killed and the bodies badly burned. The vehicle had been parked next to fuel drums that ignited...

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Google's Android software in 3 out of 4 smartphones

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APNewsBreak: Cusack developing Rush Limbaugh film

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor and outspoken liberal John Cusack is developing a movie about conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, Cusack's production company said Friday.The working title is "Rush," Cusack's New Crime Productions confirmed, offering no other details.Hollywood director Betty Thomas, who's set to work on the film, said the production company is putting finishing touches on a script that...

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Floods render NYC hospitals powerless

NEW YORK (AP) — There are few places in the U.S. where hospitals have put as much thought and money into disaster planning as New York. And yet two of the city's busiest, most important medical centers failed a fundamental test of readiness during Superstorm Sandy this week: They lost power.Their backup generators failed, or proved inadequate. Nearly 1,000 patients had to be evacuated.The closures...

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Bloomberg cancels marathon amid outcry

Eric Gordon will be out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury reports Yahoo! Sports' @SpearsNBAyahoo --> http://t.co/JXGOW...

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Huge N. Korea hotel begun in 1980s might open soon

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The 105-story, pyramid-shaped hotel that has stood over North Korea's capital city like a mountain for more than 20 years just might be on the verge of opening for the first time.Pyongyang's Ryugyong Hotel will "partially, probably" open in the middle of next year, Reto Wittwer, CEO of international hotel operator Kempinski AG, said Thursday at a forum in Seoul.Kempinski...

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Shelton and Lambert win song of the year at CMAs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In one of the Country Music Association Awards' most emotional moments in recent memory, husband and wife stars Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert won song of the year Thursday night.As Lambert openly wept on stage, Shelton recounted for the television audience how the loss of his older brother, Richie, and father, Dick, spurred the couple to write the song."My dad always told...

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Floods render NYC hospitals powerless

NEW YORK (AP) — There are few places in the U.S. where hospitals have put as much thought and money into disaster planning as New York. And yet two of the city's busiest, most important medical centers failed a fundamental test of readiness during Superstorm Sandy this week: They lost power.Their backup generators failed, or proved inadequate. Nearly 1,000 patients had to be evacuated.The closures...

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Fuel scarce as East Coast struggles to recover

NEW YORK/SEASIDE HEIGHTS, New Jersey (Reuters) - Rescuers searched flooded homes for survivors, drivers lined up for hours to get scarce gasoline and millions remained without power on Thursday as New York City and nearby towns struggled to recover from one of the biggest storms to hit the United States. New York subway trains crawled back to limited service after being shut down since...

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Worker: Japan nuke crisis crew not told of danger

IWAKI, Japan (AP) — The operator of a Japanese nuclear plant that went into a tsunami-triggered meltdown knew the risks from highly radioactive water at the site but sent in crews without adequate protection or warnings, a worker said in a legal complaint.The actions by Tokyo Electric Power Co. led to radiation injuries, said the contract worker, who was with a six-member team working at the crippled...

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