Toll Rises as U.S. Pushes for Israel-Hamas Truce

JERUSALEM — Efforts to agree on a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas intensified Tuesday, but the struggle to achieve even a brief pause in the fighting emphasized the obstacles to finding any lasting solution. On the deadliest day of fighting in the week-old conflict, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived hurriedly in Jerusalem and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

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Scott Derrickson to direct feature adaptation of hit video game “Deus Ex: Human Revolution”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Scott Derrickson (“Sinister,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose“) has signed on to direct the big screen adaptation of the hit Square Enix video game, “Deus Ex: Human Revolution,” for CBS Films, the company announced on Thursday.Derrickson will also write the screenplay for the film with C. Robert Cargill (“Sinister.”) Roy...

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Dancing with the Stars: Couples Perform Crazy Combinations in Semi-Finals

TV Watch Dancing With the Stars By Aaron Parsley 11/19/2012 at 11:05 PM EST Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough Craig Sjodin/ABC It's the semi-finals!The remaining five couples on Dancing with the Stars faced two rounds of competition on Monday. First, the pairs performed...

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Asian shares rise on hopes for U.S. fiscal deal

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Tuesday on hopes of a compromise in the U.S. fiscal crisis, while the euro fell after Moody's Investors Service scrapped France's top-notch credit rating, reminding investors of the downside risk from the euro zone debt woes. With risk assets from stocks to commodities rallying over the past two sessions, recovering some of last week's sharp losses,...

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In Southern Israel, Running to Bomb Shelters for Cover

ASHKELON, Israel — In the cities of southern Israel, people now measure the distance from Gaza in seconds, not miles, counting the time it takes for an incoming Palestinian rocket to hit. In this coastal city about 10 miles north of Gaza, with a population of about 120,000, the residents have 30 seconds to run for cover. So when the air-raid siren pierced the tense quiet at lunchtime on Monday...

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Yahoo shares reach 18-month high as investors warm to new CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo Inc shares reached their highest level in a year and a half, as investor confidence grows that new Chief Executive Marissa Mayer can pull off a comeback that eluded three of her predecessors.The Internet pioneer has yet to actually provide Wall Street with any hard evidence that its business is turning a corner – and she...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Asian shares rise on US fiscal hopes

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Monday, supported by hopes U.S. politicians can overcome an imminent fiscal crunch while the yen fell to a near seven-month low against the dollar on expectations a new government chosen in next month's election could pump large amounts of stimulus cash into the economy. A 0.2 percent gain in U.S. stock futures point to a firm Wall Street open, and...

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Gaza Clash Escalates With Deadliest Israeli Strike

Bernat Armangue/Associated PressSmoke rose over Gaza City on Sunday, as Israel widened its range of targets to include buildings used by the news media. CAIRO — Emboldened by the rising power of Islamists around the region, the Palestinian militant group Hamas demanded new Israeli concessions to its security and autonomy before it halts its rocket attacks on Israel, even as the conflict took an increasing...

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Shirtless photo a “joke,” says FBI agent who began Petraeus inquiry

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The FBI agent who began the investigation that led David Petraeus to resign as CIA director said that a shirtless photo he sent to a woman at the center of the probe was a “joke” sent to many friends, and was not meant to be sexual.Frederick Humphries told the Seattle Times in an interview published Thursday that the photo...

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