Shakira's Foundations Are Transforming Thousands of Kids' Futures

Heroes Among Us By Marisa Laudadio 12/08/2012 at 10:40 AM EST Shakira with students of the Barefoot Foundation in Colombia Courtesy Shakira Shakira was 8 when her parents taught her what life was like for the most vulnerable people in her native Colombia. Visiting...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: "Cliff" worries may drive tax selling

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors typically sell stocks to cut their losses at year end. But worries about the "fiscal cliff" - and the possibility of higher taxes in 2013 - may act as the greatest incentive to sell both winners and losers by December 31. The $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for the beginning of next year includes higher rates for capital...

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Khaled Meshal, the Leader of Hamas, Makes First Visit to Gaza

Wissam Nassar for The New York TimesKhaled Meshal, left, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, arrived for a visit to the Gaza Strip on Friday. With him is Ismail Haniya, Hamas's prime minister in Gaza. RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Khaled Meshal, whom the Israelis tried to assassinate in Jordan in 1997, arrived for his first visit to the Gaza Strip on Friday as head of the political bureau of Hamas, which...

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Firm says first BlackBerry 10 phone to debut in March, QWERTY phone won’t launch until June

Research In Motion (RIMM) is gearing up for a series of make-or-break releases that could be considered the most important device launches in the company’s history. Everything is riding on the success of the RIM’s BlackBerry 10 platform, which will be unveiled in its finished state on January 30th next year. RIM CEO Thorsten Heins is on record confirming that BlackBerry 10 will launch in the first...

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Eddie Redmayne: 5 Things You Should Know

By Mary Green and Julie Jordan 12/07/2012 at 10:15 AM EST Eddie Redmayne, breakout star of Les Miserables, is receiving awards buzz as the student French revolutionary Marius, who falls in love with Cosette, played by Amanda Seyfried. Redmayne, who also played Michelle Williams's love interest...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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Wall Street flat in wake of weak consumer sentiment data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Friday after a weak consumer confidence survey for December overshadowed earlier gains triggered by a better-than-expected employment report. Wall Street had opened higher after Labor Department data showed nonfarm employment increased more than expected by 146,000 jobs in November. But major U.S. stock indexes gave up their...

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3 Charged With Plotting to Export Carbon Fiber to Iran

Three people have been charged with conspiring to illegally export to Iran and China a superstrong material called carbon fiber that can be used to make machines that can enrich uranium, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Wednesday. Iran has been pursuing carbon-fiber technology for years, and has had difficulty in obtaining the material. Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for nuclear...

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Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum's Wedding Photo Revealed

TV Watch People Exclusive 12/06/2012 at 10:45 AM EST J.P. Rosenbaum and Ashley Hebert Bob and Dawn Davis Photography & Design Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum's wedding was picture perfect.In an exclusive shot from the couple's weekend nuptials, the newlyweds...

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