RIM shows how BlackBerry 10 touch screen keys could rival even its traditional keyboards [video]

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“Modern Family” star’s dad granted control of her estate

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The father of “Modern Family” star Ariel Winter was given temporary control over the teenage actress’ estate on Wednesday in a court-approved settlement in Los Angeles after allegations that her mother had abused her.Winter, 14, who plays the brainy and precocious teenager Alex Dunphy on the Emmy-winning ABC comedy, will remain under temporary guardianship of her older sister,...

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White House won’t accept new tax offer from Republican leader

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is not ready to accept a new offer from the Republican leader of the U.S. the House of Representatives to raise taxes on top earners in exchange for major cuts in entitlement programs, a source said late Saturday.The shape and details of Boehner‘s offer were uncertain Saturday night, as was the exact reason the president was prepared to reject it.The source...

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Hungary government, central bank in “alliance” from 2013

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – A leadership change at Hungary‘s central bank next year will allow the government to build a strategic alliance with the bank to boost the economy, Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said on Saturday.Matolcsy, a member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban‘s government that has often clashed with the bank over policy, also said the bank would have to focus on helping growth and employment...

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Nigeria governor, 5 others die in helicopter crash

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A navy helicopter crashed Saturday in the country’s oil-rich southern delta, killing a state governor and five other people, in the latest air disaster to hit Africa’s most populous nation, officials said.Nigeria‘s ruling party said in a statement that the governor of the central Nigerian state of Kaduna, Patrick Yakowa, died in the helicopter crash in Bayelsa state in the Niger...

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Microsoft, Motorola file to keep patent case details private

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp and Google Inc‘s Motorola Mobility unit have requested a federal judge in Seattle to keep secret from the public various details from their recent trial concerning the value of technology patents and the two companies’ attempts at a settlement.Microsoft and Motorola, acquired by Google earlier this year, are preparing post-trial briefs to present to a judge as he...

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How to talk to your children about a school shooting

(Reuters) – When parents ask how they can comfort and reassure their children after a tragedy that receives extensive news coverage, the usual advice is to be supportive and reassuring but don’t offer false assurance, experts say.“Children want to know they’re safe and will stay safe. Parents can convey that by what they say and how they behave,” said Dr. Victor Fornari, director of child and adolescent...

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Rent ‘to rise faster than prices’

14 December 2012 Last updated at 06:35 ETSurveyors are predicting that the cost of renting a home will rise by 4% in 2013, double the predicted rate of UK house price growth.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that a slight improvement in the UK economy would be reflected in the property price change.But many potential first-time buyers would be squeezed and see rents rise.Lenders...

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NKorea rocket launch shows young leader as gambler

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — A triumphant North Korea staged a mass rally of soldiers and civilians Friday to glorify the country’s young ruler, who took a big gamble this week in sending a satellite into orbit in defiance of international warnings.Wednesday’s rocket launch came just eight months after a similar attempt ended in an embarrassing public failure, and just under a year after Kim Jong...

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Facebook, Google tell the government to stop granting patents for abstract ideas

Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG) and six other tech companies have petitioned the courts to begin rejecting lawsuits that are based on patents for vague concepts rather than specific applications, TechCrunch reported. The agreement, which was cosigned by Zynga (ZNGA), Dell (DELL), Intuit (INTU), Homeaway (AWAY), Rackspace (RAX), and Red Hat (RHT), notes the only thing these abstract patents do is increase...

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Blood Clots Are Ready for Their Close-Up [Slide Show]

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Xi Jinping Hits the Ground Running

Barely a month after becoming party secretary, Xi Jinping has been busy showing who’s in charge. He has stepped up a crackdown on corruption, ordered officials to cut down on pomp and ceremony, called for improved relations with the rest of the world, and pushed for a stronger military. On his first official trip outside Beijing, Xi, who should assume the presidency in March, visited the freewheeling...

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Cuban lawmakers meet to consider economy, budget

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban lawmakers are holding the second of their twice-annual sessions with a year-end report expected on the state of the country’s economy.Legislators are also to approve next year’s budget.Cuban leaders have sometimes used the parliamentary gatherings to make important announcements or policy statements.Observers will be watching for word on the progress of President Raul Castro‘s...

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New Flickr iPhone app to compete with Instagram and Twitter with 16 filters

Hot on the heels of its email redesign, Yahoo (YHOO) announced on Wednesday that it has completely redesigned the Flickr iPhone app. The new app borrows heavily from Instagram and focuses on what makes Flickr special: photos and communities. Yahoo’s new Flickr app also includes 16 filters with their own fancy names to go head-on with Instagram and Twitter’s recently updated app that...

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Music, comedy strike defiant tone at Sandy concert

NEW YORK (AP) — Music and comedy royalty struck a defiant tone in a benefit concert for Superstorm Sandy victims on Wednesday, asking for help to rebuild a New York metropolitan area most of them know well.The sold-out Madison Square Garden show was televised, streamed online and aired on radio all over the world. Producers said up to 2 billion people could experience the concert live.“When are you...

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Venezuela’s Chavez in delicate state after surgery

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in stable but delicate condition after his latest cancer surgery, the government said on Wednesday in a somber assessment that could indicate an end to his 14-year rule.“Having been through a complex and delicate surgery, he is now in an equally complex post-operation process,” Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said on national television....

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Fed ties rates to jobs recovery, adds to stimulus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve, announcing a new round of monetary stimulus, took the unprecedented step on Wednesday of indicating interest rates would remain near zero until unemployment falls to at least 6.5 percent.It was the latest in a series of unorthodox measures taken by central banks around the world to battle erratic, sub-par recoveries from the financial crisis and recession...

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The Hobbit: Richard Armitage Talks Preparations For Playing Thorin Oakenshield

British actor Richard Armitage admitted it wasn’t a walk in the park to play a J.R.R. Tolkien character in Peter Jackson’s reimagining of “The Hobbit,” the first installment of which is on its way into theaters.Upon touching down in New Zealand, where the trilogy was shot, the cast had a lot of character preparation to do.PLAY IT NOW: Martin Freeman Discusses The Hobbit’s ‘Good Chemistry’ & Playing...

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Facebook helps FBI bust cybercriminals blamed for $850 million losses

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Investigators led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and aided by Facebook Inc, have busted an international criminal ring that infected 11 million computers around the world and caused more than $ 850 million in total losses in one of the largest cybercrime hauls in history.The FBI, working in concert with the world’s largest social network and several international...

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Lilly likens Alzheimer’s race to 1920s insulin quest

(Reuters) – Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co is confident it will do for Alzheimer’s patients what it did almost a century ago for diabetics – find a breakthrough treatment, even though skeptics say it could take years.“We are on the cusp here of writing medical history again as a company, this time in Alzheimer’s disease,” Jan Lundberg, Lilly’s research chief, said in an interview.Just as the Indianapolis-based...

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Asia stocks gain, unfazed by NKorea rocket launch

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Wednesday as a German business confidence survey alleviated concerns that Europe’s largest economy might fall into recession. Investors brushed off North Korea‘s latest test launch of a long-range rocket.The ZEW indicator of economic sentiment defied expectations by rising to plus 6.9 points, from minus 15.7 in November. Markets had expected the index to remain...

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Corruption probe shrouds Quebec in new darkness

MONTREAL (Reuters) – Half a century ago, a new crop of Quebec leaders sparked the so-called Quiet Revolution to eradicate the “Great Darkness” – decades of corruption that kept Canada‘s French-speaking province under the dominance of one party and the Catholic church.The revolution’s reforms, including cleaning up the way lawmakers were elected and secularizing the education system, seemed to work,...

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Massive HP conference draws 10,000 attendees to ogle products, speakers, presentations

By Suzy HansenMore than 10,000 customers, partners and attendees flocked to the Hewlett-Packard Discover conference in Frankfurt, Germany, this week to learn about HP’s latest products, exchange ideas, swap business cards and basically examine whether HP can improve the way their companies are run. The event was held at Messe Frankfurt, one of the world’s largest trade exhibition sites.CEO Meg Whitman...

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“X Factor” castoff Cheryl Cole files $2.3 million lawsuit against producers

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Cheryl Cole, who was originally hired as a judge for the American version of “The X Factor” but was replaced by Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger before the show premiered, is now suing the producers of the show for $ 2.3 million dollars, according to court papers obtained by TheWrap.In the complaint against Blue Orbit Productions, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Girls...

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