Netflix outage mars Christmas Eve

Netflix's video streaming service suffered a Christmas Eve outage on "many but not all devices" across the Americas, according to the company.The outage continued into Christmas morning for some customers. The company tweeted on its Netflix US account at 8:45 a.m. PT today that the service was "back to normal streaming levels."Netflix first started responding to tweets about disrupted service before...

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4 Firefighters Shot, 2 Killed in NY 'Trap'

Two firefighters were shot and killed and two others hospitalized after a gunman targeted them as they responded to a fire he is believed to have set to a home and a car in Webster, N.Y., police said."It does appear that it was a trap that was set for first responders," Police Chief Gerald L. Pickering said.SWAT team officers used an armored personnel carrier to evacuate 33...

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Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said. The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such...

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US stocks slide on 'fiscal cliff' concerns

NEW YORK: US stocks dipped during a shortened Christmas Eve session Monday amid pessimism about prospects for a "fiscal cliff" deal by the end of the year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 51.76 points (0.39 percent) at 13,139.08.The broad-market S&P 500 lost 3.49 points (0.24 percent) at 1,426.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 8.41 points (0.28 percent) at 3,012.60.The...

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Huawei to go jumbo with 6.1-inch Ascend Mate

Huawei will have a big mobile presence at CES.(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)Huawei has something big in store forCES. A company executive prematurely showed off its Ascend Mate, a jumbo 6.1-inch smartphone, which was rumored to be its big announcement for the Consumer Electronics Show in early January. But Huawei executive Richard Yu pulled the phone out while at a Huawei store in China, according to Engadget....

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Holiday travel collision in Ohio kills 4

CINCINNATI Police say a minivan carrying a family leaving a Christmas party went the wrong way on a southwestern Ohio highway and hit another minivan whose driver and family were going to see grandparents for the holidays. Three adults and a 7-year-old child were killed, said Ohio State Patrol Sgt. Stan Jordan. Two other children were critically injured. Joshua Nkansah, 40, of Fairfield was driving...

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NRA Chief LaPierre: 'Call Me Crazy'

National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre fired back at his critics today, defending his proposal to put armed guards in every school in the country as a way to prevent future tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that took the lives of 20 children and six adults."If it's crazy to call for armed officers in our schools to protect our children, then call...

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Egyptians back new constitution in referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist-backed Egyptian constitution won approval in a referendum, rival camps said on Sunday, after a vote the opposition said would sow deep social divisions in the Arab world's most populous nation. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the...

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US lobby issues point-blank 'no' on gun control

WASHINGTON: The most powerful gun lobby in the United States ruled out Sunday any support for greater regulation of firearms or ammunition magazines in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre.Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), said planned legislation to outlaw military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines was "phony"...

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Google's Xmas greeting: We even make robots happy

Aw. He's so lonely.(Credit:Google Mobile/YouTube Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)Google cares.Yes, it not like the cold hearts and ice veins of Apple, Microsoft and the rest. Google thinks about the little guy. Like the robot who can't get drunk at the office party and so now the company has released onto YouTube a video to thank Androiders for being just so deeply wholesome.It's an uplifting Christmassy...

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