Oscar Pistorius remains in jail facing murder charge

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, who made history last year as the first double amputee...

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The Poisonous Chemistry of Chocolate

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I am posting an updated version of an earlier, favorite piece about the chemistry of chocolate:The Latin name for the cacao tree – the tropical plant source of all things chocolate – consists of two words packed with candy-loving scientific exuberance. Theobroma cacao. It derives from the Greek words for god (theo) and food (brosi), roughly translating to “food...

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Life, Interrupted: Crazy, Unsexy Cancer Tips

Life, InterruptedSuleika Jaouad writes about her experiences as a young adult with cancer.Every few weeks I host a “girls’ night” at my apartment in Lower Manhattan with a group of friends who are at various stages in their cancer treatments. Everyone brings something to eat and drink, and we sit around my living room talking to one another about subjects both heavy and light, ranging from post-chemo...

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Dorner manhunt: Investigators work to ID charred human remains

After what LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called "a bittersweet night," investigators Wednesday were in the process of identifying...

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Navy: No New Weapons System on Our Future Carrier-Based Drone

The admiral in charge of the Navy’s drone development says there will be “no new weapons development program” for the drone the Navy wants to operate on an aircraft carrier. Rear Adm. Matthias Winter told a drone-industry conference on Wednesday that the Navy isn’t going to design any new weapons for its future Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System, or UCLASS. The...

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NBC’s “Dracula” series casts its Van Helsing

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Jonathan Rhys Meyers‘ Dracula has found his arch nemesis. Or, perhaps, his arch nemesis will be finding him.NBC has cast Thomas Kretschmann (“King Kong,” ABC’s “The River”) to play famed vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, a spokesman for the network told TheWrap on Monday.The Van Helsing as envisioned in NBC‘s version of the Dracula legend is a brilliant professor with...

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Well: Straining to Hear and Fend Off Dementia

At a party the other night, a fund-raiser for a literary magazine, I found myself in conversation with a well-known author whose work I greatly admire. I use the term “conversation” loosely. I couldn’t hear a word he said. But worse, the effort I was making to hear was using up so much brain power that I completely forgot the titles of his books.A senior moment? Maybe. (I’m 65.) But for me, it’s complicated...

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DealBook: Switzerland to Require Banks to Hold More Capital to Offset Mortgages

LONDON – Switzerland said on Wednesday that Swiss banks would be required to hold additional capital for residential mortgages amid concerns that the country’s booming property market was overheating.The country, which already has more stringent capital rules for its banks than other European nations, said lenders would be required to hold an additional 1 percent of risk-weighted assets to make the...

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Ex-Bell officials defend themselves as honorable public servants

Less than three years ago, they were handcuffed and taken away in a case alleged to be so extensive that the district attorney...

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Haters Don't Hate Amazon (Facebook On the Other Hand ...)

Check the comments section on any tech blog: People love to hate Apple. They love to hate Microsoft. And Facebook. Each of these companies has spawned a parallel online hater community.But Amazon? Not so much.The Amazon haters are no doubt out there. But I contend that the intensity of that hatred just isn’t as high. Backing me up on that is a new survey from Harris Interactive (HPOL) that...

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