Obama, Congress set for one last effort on 'fiscal cliff'

President Obama is returning to Washington from Hawaii, after cutting his Christmas holiday short. The President is expected in Washington early Thursday to resume Fiscal Cliff negotiations. (Dec. 26) ...

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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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Yen on defensive on U.S. fiscal worry, helps Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - Uncertainty over whether U.S. lawmakers will strike a deal by an end-of-year deadline to avert a severe fiscal retrenchment undermined the yen and bolstered Japanese shares on Tuesday in low volume, with many participants away on Christmas holiday. The dollar rose to a 20-month high of 84.965 yen early on Tuesday in Asia, as Japanese markets caught up with global investors...

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Pagano back to coach Colts after cancer treatment

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chuck Pagano stepped to the podium Monday, hugged his team owner, thanked his family for its support and wiped a tear from his eye.He might, finally, turn out the lights in his office, too.Nearly three months to the day after being diagnosed with leukemia, the Colts' first-year coach returned to a team eager to reunite with a boss healthy enough to go back to work."I told you my...

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Storm brings white Christmas, tornado threat to central U.S

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A major winter storm brought a rare white Christmas to the southern U.S. plains on Tuesday, contributing to a 21-vehicle pile-up that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma.The storm system surging east from Kansas and the Texas Panhandle includes the threat of tornados and severe thunderstorms along its southern fringe, from southeast Texas to Alabama, the National Weather Service...

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Hollywood movies can (mis)educate us

Movies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsMovies for adultsSTORY HIGHLIGHTSDean Obeidallah: A movie or TV show can educate or (mis)educate youObeidallah: Two new films about hot issues are firing up both the left and rightSenators slammed "Zero Dark Thirty," and energy industry...

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Christmas Eve shootings leave 7 hurt

Seven people were hurt, at least five seriously, in shootings on the South and West sides late Monday.Four of the injured were...

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Syria envoy seeks peace as clashes rage

BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pursued mediation efforts in Damascus on Tuesday, but there was no pause in the bloodletting as Syrian Christians marked a bleak Christmas Day with prayers for peace. "We are here in a cave that symbolizes Syria right now," said a priest standing beside a nativity scene in a grotto. "It is cold here but the door is open...

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Wall Street ends shortened session lower

Carrie Rocha estimates that she and her husband had somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 in debt in 2006, including student loan debt, a car loan, and tax debt, in addition to their mortgage. After getting serious about eliminating their debt, the couple paid it off in 30 months, and Rocha started Pocket Your Dollars (www.pocketyourdollars.com), a blog where she shares tips on living within your...

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Pagano back to coach Colts after cancer treatment

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chuck Pagano was so eager to get back to work Monday, he was the first one to show up at team headquarters.Long before meeting with his players, the Colts first-year coach drove quietly into the complex, walked into the office where the lights have remained on for nearly three months and began preparing for Sunday's game against AFC South champion Houston like it was another at...

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