Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Wall Street flat as "fiscal cliff" talks eyed

To a black ESPN sports analyst, this is the critical question: Is Robert Griffin III, aka RG III, the black rookie sensation Washington Redskins quarterback, "a brother, or is he a cornball brother?" What has RG III done or said to raise a suspicion about his bona fides as a black person? More importantly, what does this have to do with appreciating — or choosing not to appreciate — Griffin as an...

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Syria to discuss Brahimi proposals with Russia

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dispatched a senior diplomat to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss proposals made by envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to end the conflict convulsing his country, Syrian and Lebanese sources said. Brahimi, who met Assad on Monday as part of a series of planned talks with Syrian officials and dissidents in Damascus this week, is trying to arrange a peaceful...

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Apps to help achieve New Year’s resolutions

(Reuters) – Whether it is improving health or managing finances better, about 87 percent of Americans will make resolutions for 2013 and there are plenty of apps to help them achieve their goals.Nearly half of New Year’s resolutions are about setting health-related goals, which is the most popular category, according to a recent survey by online broker TD Ameritrade.Rather than jumping into a rigorous...

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Bethenny Frankel: 'Marriage Doesn't Come Easily for Me'

TV News By Liz McNeil 12/26/2012 at 09:00 AM EST Bethenny Frankel and husband Jason Hoppy with daughter Bryn Jae Donnelly/INF After calling this their "toughest year ever," reality star Bethenny Frankel announced on Dec. 23 that she and Jason Hoppy, her husband...

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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 inches up as Obama to return to "cliff'"debate

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Wednesday as President Barack Obama cut short his vacation and readied to return to Washington a day ahead of last-minute talks to avert a series of tax increases and government spending cuts set to begin next week. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 22.33 points, or 0.17 percent, to 13,161.41. The Standard & Poor's 500...

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Afghans seek policewoman's motive for killing U.S. contractor

KABUL (Reuters) - An Iranian-Afghan policewoman who killed a U.S. contractor at the police headquarters in Kabul may have been motivated by a personal grudge, said security officials, who were also probing possible Taliban or al Qaeda involvement. The officials said the woman named as Narges seemed wracked with remorse over the shooting. They said she held an Iranian passport but offered...

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Mundie, one of Gates’ successors, to retire from Microsoft

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Craig Mundie, one of two Microsoft Corp executives who took over Bill Gates‘ role at the company, has relinquished control of Microsoft’s large research organization and is to retire from the company in 2014.Mundie is taking on a new role as a senior adviser to Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, according to a memo circulated internally earlier this month but only made public on Monday.Eric...

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Season's Greetings and Personal Pics! Star Families Share Photos

From picking out a tree to posing with Santa, see how these celeb parents and their tots spread cheer together Credit: Courtesy Snooki Updated: Wednesday Dec 19, 2012 | 05:30 PM EST By: Anya Leon Subscribe Now ...

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