In hurricane, Twitter proves a lifeline despite pranksters

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - As Hurricane Sandy pounded the U.S. Atlantic coast on Monday night, knocking out electricity and Internet connections, millions of residents turned to Twitter as a part-newswire, part-911 hotline that hummed through the night even as some websites failed and swathes of Manhattan fell dark. But the social network also became a fertile ground for pranksters who...

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Broadway lights go up in post-Sandy NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — The lights were to go up again on Broadway Wednesday for the first time since Hurricane Sandy hit New York, as entertainers strove to head back to work in a city still wracked by power-outages and a suspended subway system.Though some Broadway shows, including "Mary Poppins" and "The Lion King" were remaining dark Wednesday, the curtain was to rise for many of the other 38 shows, including...

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Man with bionic leg to climb Chicago skyscraper

CHICAGO (AP) — Zac Vawter considers himself a test pilot. After losing his right leg in a motorcycle accident, the 31-year-old software engineer signed up to become a research subject, helping to test a trailblazing prosthetic leg that's controlled by his thoughts.He will put this groundbreaking bionic leg to the ultimate test Sunday when he attempts to climb 103 flights of stairs to the top of Chicago's...

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Northeast struggling to get back to normal

NEW YORK (AP) — Two major airports reopened and the floor of the New York Stock Exchange came back to life Wednesday, while across the river in New Jersey, National Guardsmen rushed to rescue flood victims and fires still raged two days after Superstorm Sandy.For the first time since the storm battered the Northeast, killing at least 61 people and inflicting billions of dollars in damage, brilliant...

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Apparent insider attack kills 2 NATO troops

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A man wearing an Afghan police uniform killed two NATO troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the international military alliance said.The assault appeared to the be the latest in a string of insider attacks that have threatened to sever the partnership between international troops and the Afghan forces they are trying to train to take over responsibility for the country's...

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Nokia says shipping new Lumia smartphones this week

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Eric Church storms CMAs by doing it his own way

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Eric Church expects to be angry when he walks out on the stage to perform during the Country Music Association Awards.The rising country music star will cap a long journey as the top nominee Thursday night, but that doesn't change anything as far as he's concerned. He's always angry when he walks onstage."I have a huge chip on my shoulder," Church said. "I got that from how...

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China passes law to curb abuse of mental hospitals

BEIJING (AP) — China's legislature on Friday passed a long-awaited mental health law that aims to prevent people from being involuntarily held and unnecessarily treated in psychiatric facilities — abuses that have been used against government critics and triggered public outrage.The law standardizes mental health care services, requiring general hospitals to set up special outpatient clinics or provide...

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Sandy's death toll climbs; millions without power

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of people from Maine to the Carolinas awoke Tuesday without electricity, and an eerily quiet New York City was all but closed off by car, train and air as superstorm Sandy steamed inland, still delivering punishing wind and rain. The U.S. death toll climbed to 38, many of the victims killed by falling trees.The full extent of the damage in New Jersey, where the storm roared...

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China wants to stop profiteering at temple sites

BEIJING (AP) — China is telling tourist-favored Buddhist temples: Don't let money be your mantra.Authorities announced a ban this week on temples selling shares to investors after leaders of several popular temples planned to pursue stock market listings for them as commercial entities. Even the Shaolin Temple of kung fu movie fame was once rumored to be planning a stock market debut — and critics...

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