2013′s first hot Kickstarter project: An Android-based gaming ‘console-on-a-stick’

We didn’t have to wait very long to discover what 2013′s first big Kickstarter project would be. Via Ars Technica, we give you the GameStick, an Android-based two-inch long stick that plugs directly into a controller and acts as a highly portable gaming console. The GameStick team says that their goal with the new mini-console was to create “a big screen games console that was so small you could pop...

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‘Tennessee Waltz’ singer Patti Page dies at 85

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Unforgettable songs like “Tennessee Waltz” and “(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window?” made Patti Page the best-selling female singer of the 1950s and a star who would spend much of the rest of her life traveling the world.When unspecified health problems finally stopped her decades of touring, though, Page wrote a sad-but-resolute letter to her fans late last year about...

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Bigger fights loom after “fiscal cliff” deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans face even bigger budget battles in the next two months after a hard-fought “fiscal cliff” deal narrowly averted devastating tax increases and spending cuts.The agreement, approved late on Tuesday by the Republican-led House of Representatives and signed by Obama on Wednesday, was a victory for the president, who had won re-election...

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China services growth adds to economic revival hopes

BEIJING (Reuters) – Growth in China‘s increasingly important services sector accelerated in December at its fastest pace in four months, adding to signs of a modest year-end revival in the world’s second-largest economy.China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector rose to 56.1 in December from 55.6 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.Two...

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France counts 1,193 cars torched on New Year’s Eve

PARIS (AP) — A New Year’s Eve tradition for some in France of torching empty, parked cars has continued.Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday that 1,193 vehicles were burned overnight around the country, where the stunt began in the 1990s.There was no way to compare this figure to recent ones because the conservative government of former President Nicolas Sarkozy stopped making the numbers public...

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7 Apps for Creepers

1. SneakypixEver been waiting on the train platform, minding your business, only to glance to your left and find yourself face-to-face with a grown-up nose picker? In this day and age, our first inclination is to snap a discreet photo. Sneakypix makes it appear as if you’re on a phone call, but instead, aim your camera lens at the nasal aficionado and the app will fire off a series of stealth photos...

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Heartwarming moments defy chill at Rose Parade

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A couple who became husband and wife on the “Love Float,” a surprise reunion between a returning soldier and his little boy, and a grand marshal famed globally for her chimpanzee research were among the highlights of the 124th Rose Parade on Tuesday.The parade’s spectacular 42 floral floats brightened an otherwise cloudy New Year’s morning and boosted the spirits of a chilled...

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“Fiscal cliff” crisis heads to resolution in Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A months-long battle over the U.S. “fiscal cliff” headed to a close on Tuesday as the House of Representatives moved toward final approval of a bipartisan deal meant to prevent Washington from pushing the world’s biggest economy into recession.The Republican-controlled House was expected to back a tax hike on the top U.S. earners shortly before midnight on Tuesday, ending weeks...

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Asian shares up on US fiscal deal

2 January 2013 Last updated at 01:02 ETContinue reading the main storyAsian markets have risen after the US House of Representatives passed a deal to stave off the fiscal cliff.A failure to agree a deal would have triggered spending cuts and tax increases worth $ 600bn (£370bn).There had been fears that the measures would have derailed economic recovery in the world’s biggest economy and in a worst...

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Pope marks end of difficult year, notes God’s good

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of a difficult year Monday by saying that despite all the death and injustice in the world, goodness prevails.Benedict celebrated New Year’s Eve with a vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica to give thanks for 2012 and look ahead to 2013. He appeared tired during the service and used a cane afterward — an indication that the busy Christmas season...

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