Howard returns to help Lakers snap dire run

Kenneth Faried during their NBA basketball game in Denver, Colorado December 26, …more (Reuters) - The return of Dwight Howard helped the Los Angeles Lakers end their longest losing streak in nearly six years as they blew out Cleveland 113-93 on Sunday.Howard had missed the last three games with a right shoulder injury and the Lakers had been ailing on the court with a six-game losing streak, but...

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Victims of Costa shipwreck mark anniversary

GIGLIO, Italy (AP) — Survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck and relatives of the 32 people who died marked the first anniversary of the grounding Sunday with the unveiling of memorials to the victims, a tearful Mass in their honor and a minute of silence to recall the exact moment that the cruise ship rammed into a reef off Tuscany.One of the most moving tributes came first, with the daybreak...

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Politicians slam "extremely generous" wind power cable scheme

LONDON (Reuters) - A new system devised to attract investors to spending money on connecting Britain's offshore wind farms is too generous and does not offer a good deal for consumers, a parliamentary committee said on Monday.The government wants a huge fleet of offshore wind farms to produce between 8 percent and 15 percent of Britain's electricity by 2020 to reduce carbon emissions.All wind farms...

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Somali witnesses to failed rescue describe mayhem

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The night of mayhem and death started with the sound of helicopters above pitch-black fields. When it was over, the French intelligence agent who had been held hostage for more than three years was almost certainly dead, as was at least one French commando, and the home that served as the agent's final jail was destroyed. And now the Somalis living in the muddy farm town...

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Baseball-Nationals convince LaRoche to extend Washington stay

Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Washington Nationals finally persuaded Adam LaRoche to put pen to paper on Tuesday after spending the first half of the off-season courting their lead slugger.The free agent inked a two-year deal worth $24 million with an option for a third season, adding solidity to an improving Nationals team and rewarding the franchise for their patience.The 33-year-old had earlier declined...

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Nationals convince LaRoche to extend Washington stay

(Reuters) - The Washington Nationals finally persuaded Adam LaRoche to put pen to paper on Tuesday after spending the first half of the off-season courting their lead slugger.The free agent inked a two-year deal worth $24 million with an option for a third season, adding solidity to an improving Nationals team and rewarding the franchise for their patience.The 33-year-old had earlier declined to...

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Baseball-Record earnings for South Korean league

Jan 9 (Reuters) - South Korean baseball underlined its continuing growth by posting a record $33 million in revenue last year, local media reported on Wednesday.Winning gold at the Beijing Olympics and finishing runners-up at the 2009 World Baseball Classic boosted baseball's popularity and attendances crossed the 7 million-mark for the first time last year, Yonhap News agency reported.The league...

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Alleged Ohio rapists may not get fair trial: defendant's lawyer

(Reuters) - Two Ohio high-school football players accused of raping a teenage girl may not get a fair trial after a photo and video allegedly associated with the case were posted on the Internet by the computer hacking group Anonymous, a lawyer for one of the accused said on Friday.Ma'lik Richmond and Trenton Mays, both 16 and members of the Steubenville High School football team, are charged with...

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Leader of Online Movie Group IMAGiNE Gets five Years for Piracy

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Jeremiah B. Perkins, the former leader of internet movie group IMAGiNE, was sentenced to five years in prison on a piracy charge, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.Perkins, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement in August.In addition to the prison sentence, Perkins was sentenced to three years of supervised release...

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New Jersey man accused of trying to hire "cannibal cop" to kidnap woman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Jersey man offered to pay $5,000 to the so-called "cannibal cop" to kidnap a woman and deliver her to be raped, U.S. officials alleged on Friday.Federal authorities arrested Michael Vanhise, 23, and charged him with conspiracy to commit kidnapping with Gilberto Valle III, a New York police officer who was arrested in October and charged with conspiring to kidnap, torture,...

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