US hits debt ceiling with 'fiscal cliff' still unresolved

WASHINGTON: The US Treasury said the country would hit its debt ceiling on Monday as expected, forcing it to take measures to keep funding the government while political leaders battle over the deficit.The Treasury said it would adjust its handling of civil service pension fund assets to be able to keep operating under the $16.394 trillion borrowing limit without slashing federal spending,...

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Library Web sites see boost in mobile traffic

The San Francisco Public Library's mobile site.(Credit:Screenshot by Donna Tam/CNET)Mobile is key for any organization that wants to capture the attention of Americans -- even for an institution that seems as antiquated as the public library system.The number of Americans using mobile devices to access library Web sites has more than doubled in the last three years, according to a Pew Research Center...

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Lovie Smith fired as Bears coach after 9 seasons

LAKE FOREST, Ill. The Chicago Bears fired coach Lovie Smith on Monday after the team missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. Smith was informed of the decision by general manager Phil Emery on the day after the Bears beat Detroit to finish 10-6 but still didn't make the playoffs. 10 PhotosNFL coaches, GMs sacked in firing frenzy Smith led the Bears to a Super Bowl, but also saw...

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Fiscal Cliffhanger: Tax Deal 'Within Sight,' Not Done

President Obama said an 11th-hour agreement to avert year-end tax hikes on 98 percent of Americans is "within sight" but not yet complete with just hours to go before the nation reaches the so-called fiscal cliff."There are still issues left to resolve but we're hopeful Congress can get it done," Obama said at a midday White House news conference. "But it's not done."Congressional...

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State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the U.S. mission in Benghazi open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before a deadly attack by militants, a Senate committee said on Monday. A report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission and a nearby...

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Brazil, Mexico have most Latin American billionaires

MEXICO CITY: Brazil and Mexico have the most billionaires in Latin America but earn the least from estate taxes, according to a new study from a regional economic group.Brazil tops the billionaires list with 30, followed by Mexico, with 11, said this month's report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.Mexico's Carlos Slim is the richest in the world according...

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TwitPic snared by Google's malware detector

Google tags TwitPic as malware host.(Credit:Screenshot by Steven Musil/CNET)Google's Web site malware checker identified TwitPic as a security threat today, a classification that has the popular photo site baffled.Instead of the usual archiving and sharing tools they are used to, users attempting to visit TwitPic today are being greeted by a message informing them that the site has been blocked because...

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Pakistan terror incidents threaten peace talks

ISLAMABAD The killing of 41 people in two separate terrorist incidents in Pakistan appeared on Sunday to temporarily halt prospects for immediate peace talks between Pakistani authorities and Taliban militants, two senior Pakistani intelligence officers and a senior western diplomat in Islamabad warned. Both intelligence officers said that the fallout of the killings may even harm U.S. plans to...

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Cliffhanger: 'Major Setback' For Budget Talks

With less than two days remaining for Congress to reach a budget agreement that would avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," ABC News has learned that negotiations have reached a "major setback."According to Democratic sources the row was sparked when the GOP offered a proposal that included a new method of calculating entitlement benefits with inflation. Called the "chained consumer...

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Body of India rape victim cremated in New Delhi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The body of a woman, whose gang rape provoked protests and rare national debate about violence against women in India, arrived back in New Delhi on Sunday and was cremated at a private ceremony. Scuffles broke out in central Delhi between police and protesters who say the government is doing too little to protect women. But the 2,000-strong rally was confined to...

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Obama "modestly optimistic" for fiscal deal

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said Friday he was "modestly optimistic" a deal could be agreed with Republicans to head off a "fiscal cliff" crisis that could trigger a recession and rock global markets.Obama said after meeting top congressional leaders that Senate Democrats and Republicans would work overtime this weekend to try to head off a $500 billion time bomb of tax hikes...

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Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answerMac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.This week, readers wrote in with questions about managing custom services in OS X, RAM prices for MacBook systems falling dramatically over the past year, and resetting a forgotten administrator password without admin access and without an OS X installer or recovery disc. I welcome views from readers, so...

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Report: FAMU ignored rules before hazing death

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The findings from a year-long investigation show that Florida A&M University officials failed to follow state laws and regulations on hazing.A 32-page report released Friday concludes that the school lacked internal controls to prevent or detect hazing.The report comes from the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system. It ordered the investigation...

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'Mom' Loses Russian Girl Weeks From Adoption

After a roller coaster week, Kendra Skaggs sat down to vent on her blog. She had used that space to document her 13 month journey of adopting a young girl named Polina from Russia. But now, with that dream just weeks away from fulfillment, she described her frustration, fear and anger as she watched it being snatched away."I have no control. I'm on the other side of the world...

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Syria opposition leader rejects Moscow invitation

ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's opposition leader has rejected an invitation from Russia for peace talks, dealing another blow to international hopes that diplomacy can be resurrected to end a 21-month civil war. Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's main international protector, said on Friday it had sent an invitation for a visit to Moaz Alkhatib, whose six-week-old...

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Egypt's Mubarak back in hospital as health worsens

CAIRO: Egypt's state prosecutor on Thursday ordered imprisoned former dictator Hosni Mubarak transferred to a military hospital after his health deteriorated, a source at the prosecutor's office said.Mubarak, serving a life sentence over the killings of protesters, was briefly taken to hospital on December 19 for scans after he fell in his prison bathroom and hurt his head.Mubarak, 84,...

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BlueStacks for Mac quietly moves to beta

(Credit:BlueStacks)After launching to public alpha back in June of this year, BlueStacks for Mac today advances to beta. This means thatMac users are one step closer to accessing a chunk of Google Play'sAndroid-apps catalog on their Apple-made desktops and laptops.Earlier this year, BlueStacks made headlines when it won the Best of CES software award for bringing its powers toWindows 8. The program...

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Free gun training offered to 200 Utah teachers

(CBS/AP) SALT LAKE CITY - Gun rights advocates plan to offer gun training for 200 Utah teachers Thursday, saying that classroom teachers could stop school shootings by carrying concealed weapons. The Utah Shooting Sports Council said it would waive its $50 fee for concealed-weapons training for the teachers. Instruction featuring plastic guns is set to begin at noon Thursday inside a conference...

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At Cliff's Edge, Reid Decries Boehner's 'Dictatorship'

With only five days left before the federal government goes over the fiscal cliff, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shattered any pretense of cooperation with Republicans in a scathing speech that targeted House Republicans and particularly Speaker John Boehner.Reid, D-Nev., spoke on the floor of the Senate as President Obama returned to Washington early from an Hawaiian vacation...

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Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children into law and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans. In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care...

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US stocks dip in absence of 'fiscal cliff' deal

NEW YORK: US stocks fell Wednesday amid uncertainty about whether a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" could be reached by an end-of-year deadline.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 24.49 points (0.19 percent) to finish the session at 13,114.59.The broad-market S&P 500 lost 6.83 points (0.48 percent) at 1,419.83, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 22.44 points (0.74 percent)...

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Randi Zuckerberg loses control on Facebook (and Twitter)

Oh, Lordy. Let's discuss decency.(Credit:Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)It's easy to have sympathy for those who have been misled by Facebook's ever-morphing privacy controls. One should therefore have additional sympathy when the person led astray is a former director of Facebook and enjoys the name Zuckerberg.Randi Zuckerberg thought she had posted a picture to be only seen by her friends....

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Starbucks cups have a message for Congress

NEW YORK Starbucks is using its coffee cups to jump into the political fray in Washington. The world's biggest coffee chain is asking employees at cafes in the Washington, D.C. area to scribble the words "Come Together" on cups for drink orders on Thursday and Friday. CEO Howard Schultz says the words are intended as a message to lawmakers about the damage being caused by the divisive negotiations...

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Weather Death Toll Up to 6 as Storm Churns North

A killer Christmas storm is churning its way north leaving hundreds of thousands without power and snarling travel plans for people trying to get home after the holiday.Six people have died, mostly in weather related car crashes, as the South was hammered by as many as 34 tornadoes and a lethal coating of sleet and snow that spread from the South into the Midwest.Over 280,000...

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Syria to discuss Brahimi peace proposals with Russia

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a senior diplomat to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss proposals to end the conflict convulsing his country made by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Syrian and Lebanese sources said. Brahimi, who saw Assad on Monday and is planning to hold a series of meetings with Syrian officials and dissidents in Damascus this week, is trying...

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Hawkish Abe to be named Japan's next prime minister

TOKYO: Japan's conservative leader Shinzo Abe is to be named as the country's new prime minister Wednesday, after he swept to power on a hawkish platform of getting tough on diplomacy while fixing the economy.The powerful lower house will name the 58-year-old as leader in an extraordinary session Wednesday afternoon, following a resounding national election victory for his Liberal Democratic...

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