Swine flu infected 'fifth of people'

At least 20% of people, including half of schoolchildren, were infected with swine flu during the first year of the pandemic in 2009, according to data from 19 countries. It is thought the virus killed 200,000 people around the world. A World Health Organization-led study looked for evidence of the body's immune system fighting the virus. It showed large numbers of people had been infected, although not all would have developed full-blown flu. The H1N1 virus first appeared in Mexico in 2009 and rapidly spread around...

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Satellite images reveal North Korea ready for nuclear test

WASHINGTON –  North Korea could be almost ready to carry out its threat to conduct a nuclear test, a U.S. research institute said, pointing to recent satellite photos. The images of the Punggye-ri site where nuclear tests were conducted in 2006 and 2009 reveal that over the past month roads have been kept clear of snow and that North Koreans may have been sealing the tunnel into a mountainside where a nuclear device would be...

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(MSN NEWS) Google chief's daughter on 'strange' N.Korea visit

(MSN NEWS)In a blog posting at the weekend entitled "It might not get weirder than this", Sophie Schmidt provided a candid take on the controversial three-day trip earlier this month that was criticised by the US government. Schmidt, 19, had accompanied her father on the visit as part of a delegation led by Bill Richardson, the former US ambassador to the United Nations. On their return, the two men answered a few questions about the nature of the visit, but Sophie Schmidt's informal account was in many ways far more revealing. "Our trip...

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(REALBOLLYWOOD) Teen with bizarre medical condition sleeps for 22 hrs each day

       (REALBOLLYWOOD) London, Jan ary 20: A teenager, who was branded lazy for nodding off in class, suffers from a rare brain disorder that causes her to sleep for weeks at a time. Shannon Magee could easily be written off as just another idle teenager, but the 17-year-old suffers from one of the world's most bizarre medical conditions. Kleine-Levin syndrome, or KLS, has seen her flunk exams and snooze through numerous birthdays and even miss an entire Christmas. ...

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(ANORAK) Mikel Ruffinelli photos – woman with world’s biggest hips

(ANORAK)MIKEL Ruffinelli has hips that measure 8ft in circumference. Says the married mum-of-four:   “I love my shape and I see no reason to diet because I don’t have health problems. I love Mexican food, English breakfasts and chips. My husband finds my shape sexy and we have an amazing time in bed – there’s no position we can’t do! He tells me I’m beautiful every day. Men don’t fancy skinny girls, they like an hourglass figure.” Read...

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7 lessons Lance Armstrong's confession has taught us

(CNN) -- The fairy tale of a cancer survivor from Austin, Texas, who beat the odds to win the Tour de France a record seven times, has metamorphosed into a parable about telling a lie. Lance Armstrong has been revealing in his two-part exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey Thursday and Friday night, but critics say he is leaving out important details. There has been a lot to learn from Armstrong and from those watching him as he starts...

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(Kansascity) Bieber's mom produces anti-abortion short film

(Kansascity) LOS ANGELES -- Justin Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, is an executive producer on an upcoming anti-abortion short film. The makers of "Crescendo" hope to raise $10 million for pregnancy centers at screenings worldwide starting Feb. 28. Mallette herself will appear at some of these, said production company Movie to Movement on Friday. The pop star's mother has written and spoken extensively about the addiction...

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(Kansascity) Latest college fan trend: Uh, women's t-shirts

(Kansascity) I’m checking out Twitter, and come across @kuboobs, which is not devoted to foolish people who attend or cheer for Kansas. I’m late to this. The launch occurred last February in time for the Jayhawks’ home game against Missouri, and the originator was interviewed by Channel 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc_2-OUpdj0 @kuboobs has more than 16,000 followers as of Tuesday, and the Border cold war being what it is, @MizzouBoobs1 was started and now has nearly 6,000 followers. But as far as twitter accounts devoted to, uh, women’s...

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(Highland Todays) Facebook debuts social searching

(Highland Todays) MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Facebook unveiled a new search tool on Tuesday that gives users a chance to sift through the photos, places and other information available on the site — all through the lens of their social connections. Would you like to know which of your friends live in San Francisco? Are you curious about who likes Madonna? Or are you dying to know which friends appeared in photos with you before 2006? Facebook's new search tool will tell you, in the hopes that you'll spend more...

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(The Wallstreet Journal) Lance Armstrong Admits to Doping, 'One Big Lie'

(The Wallstreet Journal) Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong told the world Thursday evening that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win seven Tour de France titles. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Mr. Armstrong said that like many other cyclists of his generation, he used EPO, human-growth hormone, testosterone and other drugs to compete. "I'm a flawed character," Mr. Armstrong said during the hour-and-a-half program....

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(FOXNEWS) Largest structure in universe discovered

(FOXNEWS) Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, a clump of active galactic cores that stretches 4 billion light-years from end to end. The structure is a large quasar group (LQG), a collection of extremely luminous galactic nuclei powered by supermassive central black holes. This particular group is so large that it challenges modern cosmological theory, researchers said. "While it is difficult to fathom...

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(CNET) Will 2013 be the year of the smartwatch?

(CNET) Remember that hard-hitting, fast-shooting, comic strip police detective Dick Tracy, who wore the wrist watch with a two-way radio? Now you can be like Dick Tracy too with your own smartwatch that lets you answer phone calls and keep track of how far you've walked. OK, I'll admit I am far too young to remember when Dick Tracy sported his now iconic radio wristwatch in the 1940s comic strip. But for years, this idea of a watch doing...

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Advanced Power Searching with Google -- Registration started from 8th January 2013

What historic cafe inspired a poem by a Nobel Laureate? In the last three barista world championships, which winners did not use beans from their home country? If you were preparing a blog post on “Curious Trivia of Coffee Culture,” how would you find the answers to these questions? What else would you discover? Now you can sign up for our Advanced Power Searching with Google online course and find out. Building on Power Searching with Google, Advanced Power Searching with Google helps you gain a deeper understanding of how to become a...

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(CBSNEWS) Labradoodle Looks Like a Lion : Dog looks like a lion

(CBS NEWS) Labradoodle Dog Looks Like a Lion : VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Some residents of Virginia Beach got a scare Tuesday night, when they mistook a 3-year-old Labradoodle for a lion cub thanks to the animal's unusual haircut. Daniel Painter's dog, "Charles the Monarch," so resembles the king of the jungle, police received a call Tuesday of a baby lion on the loose. Police contacted the nearby Norfolk Zoo to make sure their two lions were...

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(Weirdasianews) Man Beheading His Sister Caught on Video

(Weirdasianews) Sources say this gruesome happening occurred on December 7, just last year. The related turn of events had it that around 11 a.m., the duty officer at Nadial police station was understandably alarmed when he saw a 29-year-old man, Mehtab Alam, walk in with the macabre exhibit. Before he could find the words to alert his colleagues, the killer put the sword and the head on the table, pulled up a chair, and told him that...

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(SKY NEWS) 'Doomsday' Asteroid That Could Crash Into Earth

(SKY NEWS) Astronomers following the so-called "doomsday" asteroid Apophis which could collide with Earth have discovered it is 20% bigger than previously thought. Previous estimates put the asteroid's average diameter at 270 metres (877 feet) representing a mass that would equal the energy release of a 506-megatonne bomb, according to Nasa figures. The European Space Agency (ESA) said its Herschel telescope had scanned the space rock as it headed towards its closest fly-by with the planet in years on Wednesday. In a two-hour observation,...

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(BBC) Kepler telescope: Earth-sized planets 'number 17bn'

(BBC)Astronomers say that one in six stars hosts an Earth-sized planet in a close orbit - suggesting a total of 17 billion such planets in our galaxy. The result comes from an analysis of planet candidates gathered by Nasa's Kepler space observatory. The Kepler scientists also announced 461 new planet candidates, bringing the satellites' total haul to 2,740. Their findings were announced at the 221st meeting of the American...

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(ABC NEWS) Lottery Winner's Cyanide Death Being Investigated

Add caption (ABC NEWS) Urooj Khan had returned to Chicago from the hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia inspired to lead a better life and had sworn off buying lottery tickets — except just this once. To his astonishment, the scratch-off ticket was a $1 million winner. But just as he was about to collect his money, Khan died suddenly. There were no signs of trauma and nothing suspicious, and the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said he...

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(WALLSTREET JOURNAL) Obama to Nominate Hagel for Pentagon, Brennan for CIA

(WALLSTREET JOURNAL) WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, two potentially controversial picks for his second-term national security team. Mr. Hagel, even before being nominated, has faced tough criticism from congressional Republicans who say the former GOP senator is anti-Israel and soft...

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(CBS News) Partisan battle lines drawn over debt ceiling

(CBS News)  WASHINGTON - Washington barely had time to catch its breath after reaching a deal on raising taxes -- and battle lines are already emerging for the next showdown. This week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner reported that the U.S. government has reached its borrowing limit: $16.4 trillion. This means that Congress and the president have roughly two months to work out a deal to raise that limit. Republicans are saying no deal without spending cuts. President Obama returns from Hawaii to a capital city in full inaugural...

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(WALL STREET JOURNAL) Report: Lance Armstrong weighs doping admission

(WALL STREET JOURNAL) AUSTIN, Texas — The New York Times reported Friday that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41. Armstrong was been banned for life from cycling and cannot compete in athletic...

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Living Things by Linkin Park

Living Things is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Linkin Park. It was released under Warner Bros. Records and Machine Shop Recordings on June 20, 2012, in Japan, and throughout the rest of the world during the following week. Production was handled by vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin, who both co-produced the band's previous two studio albums Minutes to Midnight (2007)...

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(CNN) Limited Sandy relief vote to occur on Friday

(CNN) -- After a firestorm of criticism from Northeast Republicans, the House of Representatives is expected to take up an aid package on Friday meant to address those still reeling in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Lawmakers will consider $9 billion in immediate assistance for flood insurance and will weigh another $51 billion in broader aid on January 15. "We're getting what New York and New Jersey need, and that's all that counts," Rep. Peter King, R-New York, told reporters after emerging from a 20-minute meeting with House...

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(reuters)Same-sex marriage bill heads to Illinois state Senate floor

(Reuters) - A panel of Illinois lawmakers voted on Thursday to send legislation legalizing gay marriage in President Barack Obama's home state to the floor of the state Senate, setting up a possible vote on the issue next week. The 8-5 vote by the Senate Executive Committee fell along party lines, with the panel's Democratic majority supporting the measure and its Republican minority opposing it. Although the Democratic-controlled Senate...

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(ABCNews) Stanford Holds off Wisconsin 20-14 in Rose Bowl

(ABCNews) Andrew Luck, Toby Gerhart and coach Jim Harbaugh started Stanford's improbable football renaissance, yet they never stood in the center of the Rose Bowl with the West Coast's most coveted trophy raised above their heads. In fact, the last Stanford team to do what the Cardinal did Tuesday night had a defense known as the Thunderchickens. Forty years after Stanford's last Rose Bowl victory, the favored Cardinal lived up to the...

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(WallStreet Journal) U.S. Budget Compromise Deal Reached

(WallStreet Journal) WASHINGTON—U.S. President Barack Obama and Senate leaders Monday reached a New Year's budget agreement that would let income-tax rates rise for the first time in nearly 20 years, maintain unemployment benefits for millions of people and blunt the impact of spending cuts that were looming as part of the so-called "fiscal cliff." The long-sought compromise, which will raise taxes on income over $450,000 for couples, was approved by the Senate in the early morning hours Tuesday. The House was expected to consider it...

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