App aims to keep up with Santa on Christmas Eve

Children eager to track Santa Claus on his annual yuletide journey to homes across the world can download a new mobile app from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).The new app for Windows 8, called NORAD Tracks Santa, is part of a 57-year-long holiday tradition at NORAD of tracking Santa. It will allow children to keep up with him on their mobile devices and joins similar apps for...

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Apple’s New iPad Mini Is Pricey but That Won’t Deter Fans: TechCrunch’s John Biggs

t's officially here: The iPad mini, the subject of endless speculation and rumors over the past year, made its debut Tuesday at the California Theater in San Jose, Calif. The iPad mini starts at $329 and hits store shelves Nov. 2. Pre-sales begin Oct. 26. It boasts a 7.9-inch display, weighs 0.68 pounds and is 7.2mm thick. The design closely resembles the iPod Touch and comes in both black and white.Related:...

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US economic growth improves to 2 pct. rate in Q3

The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster 2 percent annual rate from July through September, buoyed by an uptick in consumer spending and a burst of government spending.Growth improved from the 1.3 percent rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday.The pickup in growth may help President Barack Obama's message that the economy is improving. Still, growth remains too weak...

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Disney buying Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion

Disney is paying $4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm Ltd., the production company behind "Star Wars," from its chairman and founder, George Lucas. It's also making a seventh movie in the "Star Wars" series called "Episode 7," set for release in 2015, with plans to follow it with Episodes 8 and 9 and then one new movie every two or three years.The Walt Disney Co. announced the blockbuster agreement to make...

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Has Obama Been Good for Millionaires?

The question of whether Americans are better off than they were four years ago depends, of course, on the American.For the 12 million unemployed, the answer is most certainly no.But for many of America's millionaires, the answer may be more affirmative.A new study from WealthInsight, the London-based wealth-research and data firm (and yes, they are non-partisan), showed that the United States added...

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Obama Wins 2012 Election: Why Your Taxes Are Going Up

When President Obama and the new Congress begin to tackle important legislation and federal policy in January, one of the key issues will be how to reform America's byzantine tax code.Obama campaigned on a platform to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, declaring that millionaires and billionaires need to "pay their fair share." The president proposed the highly controversial "Buffett Rule,"...

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Gunmen kill six in northeast Nigeria church attack

Gunmen killed six people at a church in northeast Nigeria early on Tuesday, the third year running that Christmas services have come under deadly attack in the country, the military said.The strike took place after a Christmas Eve midnight service outside the town of Potiskum in northeastern Yobe state, where Islamist sect Boko Haram has carried out several attacks this year."Unknown gunmen attempted...

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Egypt constitution approved with 63.8 percent: election committee

Egypt's new constitution, drafted by Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Mursi, has been approved by 63.8 percent of voters in a two-round referendum, the supreme election committee said on Tuesday.The result, which followed votes held on December 15 and on December 22, matched an earlier unofficial tally given by Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood."We have seriously investigated all the complaints,"...

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Affleck Won't Be Running for Senate

Those hoping the United States Senate may get a little less gray and a bit more celebrity-studded won't be getting their Christmas miracle today.Despite speculation, Ben Affleck announced late Monday he would not go after John Kerry's Senate seat in his native Massachusetts if the senator is confirmed as secretary of state.The actor, who has been an increasingly popular presence in the political world...

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First Lady Tracks Santa From Hawaii

While President Obama spent his Christmas Eve afternoon golfing with friends, the first lady was hard at work helping children from across the country track Santa's every move.Mrs. Obama took roughly 30 minutes out of her Hawaiian family vacation to answer calls from children asking where Santa was located as part of the annual NORAD Tracks Santa program run by the North American Aerospace Defense...

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