Today on New Scientist: 28 December 2012

Best videos of 2012: Rare view of Challenger tragedy Watch a rare amateur video of the Challenger explosion, our most-viewed video of the year Strong jet stream super-charged US Christmas storms Record snowfall and dozens of tornadoes snarled holiday travel as a powerful winter storm plowed across much of the US, while rainstorms battered the UK 2012 review: The year in life science The year's...

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Italy upbeat at end of 2012 after year of market tension

ROME: Italy is ending 2012 on an upbeat note, with renewed financial market confidence and optimism among analysts that the worst of the financial crisis is over, despite expectations of political uncertainty in the run-up to a general election in February.The Treasury's borrowing rates were slightly higher at short, medium and long-term debt auctions last week, but were well below levels...

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Today on New Scientist: 28 December 2012

Best videos of 2012: Rare view of Challenger tragedy Watch a rare amateur video of the Challenger explosion, our most-viewed video of the year Strong jet stream super-charged US Christmas storms Record snowfall and dozens of tornadoes snarled holiday travel as a powerful winter storm plowed across much of the US, while rainstorms battered the UK 2012 review: The year in life science The year's...

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Indian gang-rape victim's body to be flown back later Saturday

SINGAPORE: The body of an Indian woman who died in a Singapore hospital after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi will be flown back on a chartered plane later Saturday, India's ambassador said."The requisite formalities for sending the body to India are being completed," Indian High Commissioner T.C.A. Raghavan told reporters, hours after the woman died of multiple organ failure at the Singapore...

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Obama 'modestly optimistic' on fiscal cliff deal

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Congressman says: "America should be embarrassed by its leadership"NEW: Senate leader Reid prepares bill requested by President Obama for possible votePressure is on top two Senate leaders to reach a compromise; next 24 hours crucialObama says he is "modestly optimistic" a deal can be reachedAs the fiscal cliff looms, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNNiReport...

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N.J. family in limbo after Russia adoption ban

(CBS News) Two years ago, Kim and Robert Summers decided to adopt from Russia. It took nearly 18 months, but last July, the couple was matched with a 15-month-old boy. Kim says when she saw his picture for the first time, "I knew that this was the child I was meant to parent ... And I took one look at this little ginger boy, and I fell in love with him." Kim Summers and the Russian child she and...

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'Cliff' Summit Brings Hope for a Deal

Political brinkmanship appears to have created a last minute chance for the White House and Congress to agree on a plan to avoid sending the country over the fiscal cliff.President Obama emerged from an Oval Office meeting with Congressional leaders this evening to say "we had a constructive meeting today" and that he was "moderately optimistic" that they could devise a federal...

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Today on New Scientist: 27 December 2012

Best videos of 2012: Spiderman skin stops a bullet Watch reinforced skin stop a speeding bullet, at number 4 in our countdown of the top videos of the yearGastrophysics: Some said 'more', others said 'meh' Network theorists model everything from internet traffic to disease spread. But can they tease out titillating new taste combos? New Scientist gets cookingBest videos of 2012: Sea lice reduce...

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Abbas warns of disbanding PA if no peace talks

JERUSALEM: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas warned that he would disband his Palestinian Authority if there was no Israeli movement towards renewing peace talks after Israel's elections on January 22.Abbas, in an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, said that if such a situation arose he would hand full responsibility for the occupied West Bank to the Israeli government."If there...

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Top 12 tech stories of the year

Microsoft's big Windows 8 pushSOPA backlashLive-tweeting war Apple maps stumbleApple vs. SamsungFacebook's botched IPOThe Instagram boomMegaupload and Kim DotcomMid-sized tablets make their markNintendo launches Wii UYahoo hires Marissa MayerTech's role in the 2012 election<<<123456789101112>>>STORY HIGHLIGHTSIn 2012, older tech companies such as Microsoft tried to revamp their brandsThe...

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"Rescue Me" soul singer Fontella Bass dead at 72

ST. LOUIS Fontella Bass, a U.S. soul singer who hit the top of the R&B charts with "Rescue Me" in 1965, has died. She was 72. Bass died Wednesday night at a St. Louis hospice of complications from a heart attack suffered three weeks ago, her daughter, Neuka Mitchell, said. Bass had also suffered a series of strokes over the past seven years. "She was an outgoing person," Mitchell said. "She...

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Utah Teachers Flock to Gun Training

The perception of schools as sanctuaries from violence has been "blown up" by recent events and some believe it's time for educators to literally take the situation into their own hands and carry guns."We've had this unwritten code, even among criminals, that schools are off limits. Those are our kids. You don't mess with that," Utah Shooting Sports Council (USSC) Chairman Clark...

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Three gods: The hardest logic puzzle ever

* Required fields * First name * Last name * Country * Email address * Password Password must contain only letters and numbers, and be at least 8 characters * Confirm password...

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Exchange of unused expired parking coupons

SINGAPORE: Motorists are reminded that parking coupons valid up to Monday, 31 December can no longer be used from 1 January.The Housing & Development Board (HDB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said those with unused, expired coupons can exchange them for new ones from 2 January. They can do so at all HDB branches and service centres, and the URA Customer Service Centre at...

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Decluttering before the New Year

Time off work during the holidays is a perfect time to tidy up your home and work spaces to start the New Year right.STORY HIGHLIGHTSDo your New Year's resolutions include a push to clean up? Here are some tips to startBeing organized is about being in control, says professional organizer Susan FleischmanCleaning clutter can eliminate the need to buy what you simply can't find(CNN) -- Whatever other...

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Study: Cancer drug substitute linked to higher rate of relapse

(CBS News) Abby Alonzo was 10 when she was diagnosed in 2009 with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. With proper treatment, 90 percent of patients survive. "It wasn't as hard for me as I think it as it was on my mom and my brother and my dad," Abby says. Abby began a seven-drug regimen. But in 2010, doctors told Abby's mother, Katie, there was a nationwide shortage of one of the...

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WH Lashes Out at 'Congressional Stupidity'

With only days to come up with a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, the White House said “congressional stupidity” was damaging the economy but that an agreement could be reached if Republican leaders don’t get in the way.President Obama cut his Hawaiian vacation short and headed back to Washington today while the Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Thursday. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said...

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New Scientist 2012 holiday quiz

Continue reading page |1 |2 THIS was the year we held our breath in almost unbearable anticipation while we waited to see whether physicists at the Large Hadron Collider would finally get a clear view of the Higgs boson, so tantalisingly hinted at last December. Going a bit blue, we held on through March when one of the...

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Real growth in household incomes over past 5 years despite higher inflation: MOF

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economic growth slowed significantly this year, as subdued external demand affected most sectors of the economy.But findings from the Ministry of Finance's second issue of the Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review (SPOR) showed that there has been real growth in household incomes over the past five years despite higher inflation.Median monthly household incomes...

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Top celebs

updated 9:20 AM EST, Thu December 20, 2012CNN readers' favorites: Celebrity womenNo. 10: Sandra BullockNo. 9: Angelina JolieNo. 8: Katy PerryNo. 7: Taylor SwiftNo. 6: Sofia VergaraNo. 5: Carrie UnderwoodNo. 4: Jennifer LawrenceNo. 3: Jennifer Aniston No. 2: AdeleNo. 1: Catherine, Duchess of CambridgeCNN readers' favorites: Celebrity menNo. 10: Justin TimberlakeNo. 9: Jeremy RennerNo. 8: Brad PittNo....

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AR-15 gun sales continue to spike after shootings

(CBS News) The Newtown shootings and Monday's ambush in Webster, N.Y., have fueled the debate over gun control. While that debate intensifies, something else is spiking: Gun sales. At gun shows across the nation this past weekend people stood in line hoping to get their hands on an AR-15, the military-style rifle used in the Newtown Connecticut school shooting. Popular AR-15 rifle at center of...

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Gunman Killed Firemen With Bushmaster, Left Note

A convicted killer, who shot dead two firefighters with a Bushmaster assault rifle after leading them into an ambush when they responded to a house fire he set in Western New York, left behind a typewritten note saying he wanted to "do what I like doing best, killing people," police said.William Spengler, 62, set his home and a car on fire early Monday morning with the intention...

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New Scientist 2012 holiday quiz

Continue reading page |1 |2 THIS was the year we held our breath in almost unbearable anticipation while we waited to see whether physicists at the Large Hadron Collider would finally get a clear view of the Higgs boson, so tantalisingly hinted at last December. Going a bit blue, we held on through March when one of the...

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