Gun lobby's grip on Congress threatened

WASHINGTON — The gun-control debate sharpened Tuesday as President Obama backed an effort to revive the assault weapons ban...

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A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Dec. 19

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle posted here.SPOILER WARNING:We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer....

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“Zero Dark Thirty” review: Like a really good “Law & Order” – with waterboarding

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – It’s always a challenge to tell a story where the audience knows the ending. The trick comes in offering a new perspective on familiar events or at least generating suspense in a way that makes us nervous that Apollo 13 might not land safely, even when history tells us otherwise.“Argo” and “Lincoln” are two films that successfully tread these waters, and now comes “Zero...

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Church Officials Call on Filipinos to Campaign Against Birth Control Law

MANILA — After losing a battle to stop the passage of a contentious birth control law, Roman Catholic Church officials on Tuesday dug in and instructed their millions of followers to campaign against the measure in communities, schools and homes. “Let us intensify the moral spiritual education of our youth and children so that they can stand strong against the threats to their moral fiber,”...

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DealBook: As Unit Pleads Guilty, UBS Pays $1.5 Billion Over Rate Rigging

UBS, the Swiss banking giant, announced a record settlement with global authorities on Wednesday, agreeing to a combined $1.5 billion in fines for its role in a multiyear scheme to manipulate interest rates.In a sign that officials are increasingly taking a hard line against financial wrongdoing, the Justice Department also secured a guilty plea from the bank’s Japanese subsidiary, sending a warning...

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Newport Beach dock renters may withhold holiday love

Marcy Cook embraces the holiday season. The tell? Start with the teddy bears dressed as Santa. More than 1,500 stand sentry...

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A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Dec. 18

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle posted here.SPOILER WARNING:We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer....

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“The Playroom” lands distributor

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Freestyle Releasing and Freestyle Digital Media have acquired the theatrical, DVD and VOD rights to “The Playroom,” a drama directed by Julia Dyer (“Late Bloomers”), which stars John Hawkes (“Winter’s Bone,” “The Sessions”) and Molly Parker (“Dexter,” “The Firm”).The film is slated for a day-and-date theatrical release and on DVD/VOD on February 8, 2013.“The Playroom” premiered...

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Mind: A Misguided Focus on Mental Illness in Gun Control Debate

The gunman, Adam Lanza, 20, has been described as a loner who was intelligent and socially awkward. And while no official diagnosis has been made public, armchair diagnosticians have been quick to assert that keeping guns from getting into the hands of people with mental illness would help solve the problem of gun homicides. Arguing against stricter gun-control measures, Representative Mike...

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A Quest for Speedier and Smarter Airport Security

As 15 million people in the United States head to airports this holiday season — slightly fewer than last year — some travelers will find welcome changes to security screening procedures. Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto AgencyTravelers on Thanksgiving eve at Reagan National; quicker screening under PreCheck has been expanded. The Transportation Security...

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