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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Afghan policewoman kills U.S. adviser in police chief's compound

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan policewoman shot dead on Monday a U.S. forces member in the chief of police's compound in Kabul, police and NATO said, another "insider attack" that is bound to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces shot a member of the Western coalition force...

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RIM shares fall at the open after earnings

TORONTO (Reuters) – Research In Motion Ltd fell in early trading on Friday following the BlackBerry maker’s Thursday earnings announcement, when the company outlined plans to change the way it charges for services.RIM, pushing to revive its fortunes with the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 devices next month, surprised investors when it said it plans to alter its service revenue model, a move that...

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Sandy Hook Shootings: How to Cope

By Howard Breuer 12/23/2012 at 06:00 PM EST State police personnel lead children to safety away from the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shannon Hicks/Newtown Bee/Reuters/Landov The Sandy Hook massacre, in which 20 innocent children and six heroic elementary school faculty members were gunned...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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World shares, dollar steady in holiday lull

LONDON (Reuters) - World stock, commodity and currency markets were steady on Monday, as the holiday lull set in across markets and offset tensions over the U.S. budget dispute. With only UK, French, Dutch and Spanish stock markets open in Europe and trading shortened ahead of Christmas celebrations, the FTSEurofirst300 <.fteu3> opened almost flat at 1138.35 points to leave the...

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Israel says Syria chemical weapons are secure for now

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syria's chemical weapons are still secure despite the fact that President Bashar al-Assad has lost control of parts of the country, a senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday. Amos Gilad told Army Radio that the civil war between Assad and opposition forces fighting to topple him had become deadlocked, but that the Syrian leader showed no signs of heeding international...

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Eric Ladin Welcomes a Son

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 12/23/2012 at 12:00 AM ET Noah Graham/Noah Graham PhotographyEric Ladin is one killer new dad.The former Killing actor and his wife Katy welcomed their first child, son Maxfield David Ladin, on Friday, Dec. 21 in Los Angeles, his rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.“Wow!...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: A lump of coal for "Fiscal Cliff-mas"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street traders are going to have to pack their tablets and work computers in their holiday luggage after all. A traditionally quiet week could become hellish for traders as politicians in Washington are likely to fall short of an agreement to deal with $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in early next year. Many economists forecast that this...

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