South Africa makes progress in HIV/AIDS fight

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — In the early 90s when South Africa's Themba Lethu clinic could only treat HIV/AIDS patients for opportunistic diseases, many would come in on wheelchairs and keep coming to the health center until they died.Two decades later the clinic is the biggest ARV (anti-retroviral) treatment center in the country and sees between 600 to 800 patients a day from all over southern Africa. Those...

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South L.A. frustrated by delays in building new King hospital

Earlier this year, Joane Austin rushed her elderly mother to the emergency room for fear she was having a heart attack.Austin...

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Twitter in legal spat over data clampdown

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Twitter Inc‘s steadily tightening grip over the 140-character messages on its network has set off a spirited debate in Silicon Valley over whether a social media company should or should not lay claim over its user-generated content.That debate has now landed in court.A San Francisco judge on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order compelling Twitter to continue providing...

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Dennis Quaid Files for Divorce, Seeks Joint Custody

By Mike Fleeman 11/30/2012 at 09:20 PM EST Kimberly Buffington-Quaid and Dennis Quaid Casey Rodgers/NBC/AP Dennis Quaid is ready to end his marriage for good.After his wife of eight years, Kimberly Buffington-Quaid, sought legal separation in October, the Vegas...

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General Assembly Grants Palestine Upgraded Status in U.N.

Damon Winter/The New York TimesThe Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, center, was congratulated by Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. More Photos »UNITED NATIONS — More than 130 countries voted on Thursday to upgrade Palestine to a nonmember observer state of the United Nations, a triumph for Palestinian diplomacy and a sharp rebuke to the United States and Israel. But...

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Kenya village of AIDS orphans hangs hopes on trees

NYUMBANI, Kenya (AP) — There are no middle-aged adults in the Kenyan village of Nyumbani. They all died years ago. Only the young and old live here.The 938 children here all saw their parents die. The 97 grandparents saw their middle-aged children die. But put together, the bookend generations take care of one another.UNAIDS says that as of 2011 an estimated 23.5 million people living with HIV resided...

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The lure of fishing endures even when they're not biting

Jordan and Stephanie Martinez planned to celebrate their one-month wedding anniversary with a night out at their favorite Thai...

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Apple overcomes last hurdle, iPhone 5 cleared for sale in China as Android continues to dominate

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Ben Affleck Grabs a Bite with His Girls

Caught in the Act 11/30/2012 at 06:00 AM EST Ben Affleck and Seraphina Bauer-Griffin Leaving his little boy at home, doting dad Ben Affleck spent some time with two very special ladies on Wednesday.The Argo star popped into Farmshop in Santa Monica, Calif., with...

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U.S. Is Weighing Stronger Action in Syrian Conflict

Francisco Leong/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesRebels in northern Syria celebrated on Wednesday next to what was reported to be a government fighter jet. WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, hoping that the conflict in Syria has reached a turning point, is considering deeper intervention to help push President Bashar al-Assad from power, according to government officials involved in the discussions....

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing surgery-linked infections is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million, the Joint Commission hospital regulating group and the American College of Surgeons...

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As downtown L.A. grows trendier, Spring Street Arcade is left behind

The salesmen at the Spring Street Arcade spend their day gazing out at a city that's passing them by.All around, a trendy downtown...

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Tougher UAE Internet dissent law shuts door to free speech: HRW

DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has “effectively closed the country’s remaining forum for free speech” with a decree issued earlier this month that tightened the law on online dissent, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.The U.S.-allied UAE, a Gulf trading and tourism hub and big oil producer, has not seen the serious unrest that has toppled four Arab heads of state since early last year....

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Lindsay Lohan Arrested for Alleged Assault in Club

By Stephen M. Silverman 11/29/2012 at 06:55 AM EST Lindsay Lohan was arrested and charged with third-degree assault at 4 a.m. Thursday in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood after an alleged altercation with a woman in a nightclub, according to TV reports.A NYPD spokesman said the Liz & Dick star, 26, allegedly...

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News Analysis: Sunni Leaders Gaining Clout in Mideast

Mohammed Saber/European Pressphoto AgencyA Palestinian woman in Gaza City on Tuesday walked amid the rubble left from eight days of fighting that ended in a cease-fire. RAMALLAH, West Bank — For years, the United States and its Middle East allies were challenged by the rising might of the so-called Shiite crescent, a political and ideological alliance backed by Iran that linked regional actors deeply...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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27 indicted in Mexican Mafia drug case in Ventura County

From a prison cell outside California, an inmate known as "Evil" was making himself known on Ventura County's streets.Martin...

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Nokia wins tribunal ruling on wireless patents

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia has won its dispute with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) over use of its patents related to wireless local access network (WLAN) technology, the Finnish company said on Wednesday.Announcing that an arbitrator had ruled in its favor, Nokia said: “It found that RIM was in breach of contract and is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products without first agreeing...

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Brad Pitt: Fatherhood Has Made Me a Better Man

People Exclusive By Mary Green 11/28/2012 at 08:00 AM EST Thinking back over 2012, Brad Pitt acknowledges it's been a big year for his "familia" since proposing to Angelina Jolie – whom he affectionately calls "Mama" – last April. "It's been a family type of year, a down-home type of year," he tells PEOPLE in...

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Egypt’s President Said to Limit Scope of Judicial Decree

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesEgyptians at a burned-out school in Cairo on Monday before the funeral of an activist who was injured in a clash and died Sunday. CAIRO — With public pressure mounting, President Mohamed Morsi appeared to pull back Monday from his attempt to assert an authority beyond the reach of any court. His allies in the Muslim Brotherhood canceled plans for a large...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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Program opens door to citizenship for immigrants

Ricardo Sepida gets emotional when he sees his son-in-law in a Navy uniform. Even aircraft carriers make him misty-eyed. There...

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Brad Pitt: Wedding Will Happen 'Soon'

By Tim Nudd 11/27/2012 at 07:50 AM EST Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Jim Ruymen/Landov Put the champagne on ice. It appears Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's long-awaited wedding isn't far off – and that's from someone who would know. "I am getting more pressure from...

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As Rebels Gain, Congo Again Slips Into Chaos

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — The lights are out in most of Goma. There is little water. The prison is an empty, garbage-strewn wasteland with its rusty front gate swinging wide open and a three-foot hole punched through the back wall, letting loose 1,200 killers, rapists, rogue soldiers and other criminals. Now, rebel fighters are going house to house arresting people, many of whom...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Review of Burbank Police Department finds deficiencies

A recent report on the Burbank Police Department's internal investigations and its responses to officers' use of force found...

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