Newtown Christmas: 'We Know They'll Feel Loved'

As residents prepared to observe Christmas less than two weeks after a gunman killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school, people sharing in the town's mourning brought offerings of cards, handmade snowflakes and sympathy.Tiny empty Christmas stockings with the victims' names on them hung from trees in the neighborhood where the children were shot. On Christmas...

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Important to preserve each community's identity: Indranee Rajah

SINGAPORE: Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah has stressed the importance of preserving the identity of Singapore's various communities, at a dinner to raise funds for the Vairavimada Kaliamman temple."What is special about Singapore is that each community has preserved its identity, has preserved part of its past and at the same time is forward looking," she...

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Himachal CM-designate Virbhadra Singh acquitted in corruption case

SHIMLA: A day before he is to take oath as the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh for the record sixth time, Virbhadra Singh has been acquitted by the court of special judge B L Soni in Shimla on Monday in a corruption case slapped against him and his wife Pratibha Singh by the vigilance department.Since the very beginning, Virbhadra Singh has maintained that the case against him was concocted...

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Pictures: Fungi Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Photograph courtesy Stephanie Mounaud, J. Craig Venter InstituteMounaud combined different fungi to create a Santa hat and spell out a holiday message.Different fungal grow at different rates, so Mounaud's artwork rarely lasts for long. There's only a short window of time when they actually look like what they're suppose to."You do have to keep that in perspective when you're making these creations,"...

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Newtown Inspires Country to Spread Kindness

While the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School have no doubt left the nation shaken, they have also inspired an outpouring of acts of kindness from across the nation and around the world.The central hub of many of these is on display in the U.S. Post Office in Newtown, Conn., a community shaken by the killing of 20 children and six school staff members by 20-year-old Adam...

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History of gun control is cautionary tale for those seeking regulations after Conn. shooting

At 3 a.m. on July 2, 1993, Steve Sposato sat down in his darkened living room to write, by hand, a letter to the president of the United States. His life had just been shattered. Hours earlier, in the afternoon, a deranged man armed with semiautomatic weapons had gone on a rampage, slaughtering eight people at an office building in downtown San Francisco. The gunman’s motive would remain...

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S'pore's top manpower issues in 2012

SINGAPORE: Foreign worker levies were raised in last year's Budget. All the changes would have been implemented next July.Depending on the sector companies are in and how reliant they are on foreign workers, companies will pay between 250 and 750 dollars more in levies per worker.To reduce dependency on foreign workers, companies are being urged to raise productivity.In addition, they...

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YSR Congress undecided about Telangana

KADAPA: Former minister and YSR Congress leader Konda Surekha on Sunday said his party was yet to decide about the delegation to participate in the proposed all-party meeting on the Telangana and also the party's stand on the issue. The party senior leadership will take a decision on the delegation and party stand on Telangana within a day or two, and nothing could be disclosed to reporters before...

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Pictures: Fungi Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Photograph courtesy Stephanie Mounaud, J. Craig Venter InstituteMounaud combined different fungi to create a Santa hat and spell out a holiday message.Different fungal grow at different rates, so Mounaud's artwork rarely lasts for long. There's only a short window of time when they actually look like what they're suppose to."You do have to keep that in perspective when you're making these creations,"...

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Departing Secretary of State Clinton's Legacy of Firsts

After 31 years of public service, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves the limelight behind.On Friday, President Obama nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to take her place as secretary of state, leaving Clinton to help him move in and then bow out.Over the past three decades, Clinton has served her country in one way or another, a tenure that was full of firsts.She was...

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