SPOILER ALERT: Twist awaits US fans of ‘Downton’

NEW YORK (AP) — British fans of “Downton Abbey” are feeling blue after Tuesday’s conclusion of Season 3, even as the U.S. audience eagerly anticipates this third cycle on PBS’ “Masterpiece” beginning Jan. 6.(ANY “ABBEY” DEVOTEES WHO PREFER NOT TO LEARN WHAT AWAITS THEM ARE URGED TO STOP READING RIGHT NOW.)___One of the stars of this wildly popular British costume drama is leaving the series after...

Read More..

S.Africa’s Mandela ‘not yet fully recovered’: spokesman

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Former South African President Nelson Mandela is doing well after being discharged from hospital, although he is still not fully recovered, a government spokesman said on Thursday.“He is not yet fully recovered, but he has sufficiently moved forward so that he can be discharged,” Mac Maharaj told local broadcaster eNCA.“He is sufficiently well to be home.”The 94-year-old anti-apartheid...

Read More..

Powerful winter storm pounds Northeast

A powerful winter storm system that pounded the nation's midsection, wrecking holiday travel plans and dumping a record snowfall in Arkansas, began lashing the Northeast on Wednesday with high winds, snow and sleet.The storm, which knocked out power to thousands of utility customersm mainly in Arkansas, was blamed in at least six deaths.Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed, scores of motorists...

Read More..

Toronto reaches skyward, but how dark the clouds?

TORONTO (Reuters) – Barry Fenton walked to the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows in his 30th-floor uptown Toronto penthouse suite and declared, “This is the best view of the city.”To the south, a mass of steel-and-glass skyscrapers glinted in the bright autumn sun. Several cranes were in motion on unfinished buildings, a common sight in a city in the midst of a residential building boom.“If you look...

Read More..

Huawei shows off 6.1-inch Android phablet ahead of CES [video]

Title Post: Huawei shows off 6.1-inch Android phablet ahead of CES [video]Rating: 100%based on 99998 ratings.5 user reviews.Author: Fluser SeoLinkThanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comm...

Read More..

Britain’s royal family attends Christmas services

LONDON (AP) — Britain‘s royal family is attending Christmas Day church services — with a few notable absences.Wearing a turquoise coat and matching hat, Queen Elizabeth II arrived at St. Mary Magdelene Church on her sprawling Sandringham estate in Norfolk. She was accompanied in a Bentley by granddaughters Beatrice and Eugenie.Her husband, Prince Philip, walked from the house to the church with other...

Read More..

Early Childhood Obesity Rates Might Be Slowing Nation-Wide

About one in three children in the U.S. are now overweight, and since the 1980s the number of children who are obese has more than tripled. But a new study of 26.7 million young children from low-income families shows that in this group of kids, the tidal wave of obesity might finally be receding.Being obese as a child not only increases the risk of early-life health problems, such as joint problems,...

Read More..

Christmas Day storms blamed for 3 deaths

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- Twisters hopscotched across the Deep South, and, along with brutal, straight-line winds, knocked down countless trees, blew the roofs off homes and left many Christmas celebrations in the dark. Holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions from the same fast-moving storms. ...

Read More..

Bolivia’s Morales visits Cuba after Chavez surgery

HAVANA (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales has made a lightning trip to Havana where key ally Hugo Chavez is convalescing after cancer surgery.Morales did not speak to foreign journalists during his weekend visit. Cuban state-run media didn’t confirm that he visited Chavez, but said he came “to express his support” for the Venezuelan president. The Cuban government had invited media to cover Morales’...

Read More..

‘Hobbit’ holds on at $36.9M, ‘Reacher’ does $15.6M

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” easily defended its box-office title, remaining the No. 1 film for a second weekend with $ 36.9 million.A rush of newcomers mostly had modest openings, led by Tom Cruise‘s action tale “Jack Reacher” at No. 2 with $ 15.6 million.The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number...

Read More..