As "fiscal cliff" looms, health reform questions linger

Washington lawmakers this month are squarely focused on deficit reduction as they attempt to scramble off the so-called "fiscal cliff." All the while, however, the government is proceeding with the costly and ambitious rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Key components of President Obama's health care law won't go into effect for about another year, but federal and state lawmakers are obligated...

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State Police: Two Gunmen at Conn. Grade School

A shooting involving two gunmen erupted at a Connecticut elementary school this morning, prompting the town of Newtown to lock down all of its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today.State Police confirm that one shooter is dead. A second gunman is apparently at large, sources told ABC News.The shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,...

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Higgs boson having an identity crisis

The Higgs boson is sending mixed signals: its mass seems to vary depending on how it is measured. What's more, oddities in the way it decays into other particles, first noticed when the team at the Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of a new boson in July, do not seem to be going away. ...

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Ukrainian MPs brawl in parliament as PM re-appointed

KIEV: The Ukrainian parliament Thursday voted to reinstate its prime minister after dozens of opposition and pro-government lawmakers brawled for a second day in the chamber notorious for its fisticuffs.Newly-elected world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko sought to stand above the fray by staying well out of the fighting that came just before parliament voted to re-appoint Prime Minister...

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Court: Prank call nurse found hanging by co-workers

By Laura Smith-Spark and Jonathan Wald, CNNupdated 11:12 AM EST, Thu December 13, 2012STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe nurse's body was formally identified by her husband, the inquest hearsAustralia's media watchdog opens an investigation into the prank call by 2Day FMCourt: Jacintha Saldanha was found by co-workers hanging from a scarfThe nurse left three notes, two of them at the scene, a police officer saysLondon...

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Golden Globes: "Lincoln" leads with 7 nominations

Nominees for the 70th Golden Globe Awards were announced Thursday morning, and "Lincoln" is in the lead. The Civil War epic is up for seven nominations, among them best drama, director for Steven Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. Tied for second-place with five nominations each, including best drama, are Ben Affleck's Iran hostage-crisis thriller...

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Royal Hoax Nurse Hanged Herself, Left 3 Notes

Jacintha Saldanha, the London nurse who killed herself after she answered a radio-station prank call about Kate Middleton, was found hanging from the neck, and left three notes, according to the coroner's officer.The 46-year-old nurse who worked at London's King Edward VII Hospital was discovered Dec. 7 hanging by a scarf from a wardrobe in her bedroom, Coroner's Officer Lynda...

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Out-of-season's greetings from the Arctic frost flowers

Joanna Carver, reporter(Image: Matthias Wietz/IGERT/NSF)Season's regards from an icy meadow in the Arctic, but it's no winter wonderland and please don't dash out into it. These frost flowers generally form in spring, and only on thin ice, so you'd quickly find yourself in freezing water in a sparsely populated area.Frost flowers form in calm conditions when the atmosphere is much colder than the...

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Mass protest as Michigan curbs union rights

CHICAGO: Thousands of protesters descended on Michigan's state capitol Tuesday as lawmakers prepared to pass union-curbing "right-to-work" legislation in a state seen as the heart of the labor movement.The measure would weaken unions by allowing workers who get the same wages and benefits as union members to decline to pay any union dues.Democratic lawmakers begged their Republican colleagues...

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Angry with Obama, GOP regroups for next political war

STORY HIGHLIGHTSSen. Graham says President Obama is in for a "rude awakening"Graham: "We're not going to raise the debt ceiling" without deficit reductionObama says the nation's credit standing shouldn't be a political issuePolls show most Americans back the president on raising taxes on the richWashington (CNN) -- They are losing the battle over higher taxes on the wealthy, so now Republicans are...

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