FDA suspends peanut butter plant linked to salmonella outbreak

(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspended operations on Monday at a New Mexico food producer linked to salmonella-tainted peanut butter that has sickened at least 41 people this year, the agency said in a statement.The FDA said it had suspended Sunland Inc‘s food facility registration “in the interest of public health,” following the national outbreak and a history of food safety...

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Sandy cost New York $32 billion

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Top political leaders in New York put their heads together Monday on big requests for federal disaster aid as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Superstorm Sandy ran up a bill of $32 billion in the state and the nation's largest city.The cost is for repairs and restoration and does not include an additional accounting of over $9 billion to head off damage in the next disastrous storm,...

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Israel successfully tests missile defense system

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel successfully tested its newest missile defense system Sunday, the military said, a step toward making the third leg of what Israel calls its “multilayer missile defense” operational.The “David’s Sling” system is designed to stop mid-range missiles. It successfully passed its test, shooting down its first missile in a drill Sunday in southern Israel, the military said.The system...

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Vampires foil Tooth Fairy, Santa to claim box office win

(Reuters) – Teen vampire film “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ continued to take a bite out of the domestic box office, drawing $ 64 million in ticket sales over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend to finish ahead of James Bond film “Skyfall.”After opening with a massive $ 141.1 million last weekend, the finale of the “Twilight” franchise brought in a holiday swarm of fans to see...

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Psoriasis patients look to Hong Kong government for help – and hope

HONG KONG (Reuters) – When Gary Lai first came down with the skin disease psoriasis, he got so tired of the stigma he faced in the outside world that he would lock himself away in his apartment whenever he didn’t have to be at work.“When you have to apply ointment all over your body, it is impractical. It also has a smell and when you go to work, your colleagues will start asking questions,” said...

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Violence, economic unrest as Egypt's political foes dig in their heels

CAIRO (AP) — Supporters and opponents of Egypt's president on Sunday grew more entrenched in their potentially destabilizing battle over the Islamist leader's move to assume near absolute powers, with neither side appearing willing to back down as the stock market plunged amid the fresh turmoil.The standoff poses one of the hardest tests for the nation's liberal and secular opposition since Hosni...

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Egypt reformist warns of turmoil from Morsi decree

CAIRO (AP) — Prominent Egyptian democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei warned Saturday of increasing turmoil that could potentially lead to the military stepping in unless the Islamist president rescinds his new, near absolute powers, as the country’s long fragmented opposition sought to unite and rally new protests.Egypt‘s liberal and secular forces — long divided, weakened and uncertain amid the...

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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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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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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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