Cassadee Pope wins Season 3 of 'The Voice'

NEW YORK (AP) — Cassadee Pope, who was country singer Blake Shelton's protege on the third season of NBC's "The Voice," has won the show's competition.The 23-year-old singer is stepping out into a solo career after performing with a band called Hey Monday. Her victory over Scottish native Terry McDermott and long-bearded Nicholas David was announced at the end of a two-hour show Tuesday."The Voice"...

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Experts: Kids are resilient in coping with trauma

WASHINGTON (AP) — They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts.Last week's school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They're at risk for lingering...

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Rush to boost safety sparks flurry of ideas

(Reuters) - They began calling on Friday morning, even before confirmation of the death toll at Sandy Hook Elementary. Principals, district administrators, school police chiefs all asked the same pleading questions: What can we do? How do we stop this? How can we keep our children safe? Michael Dorn, phone to his ear until 2 a.m., gave them all the same advice: Slow down. Every horrific...

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China detains 100-plus people for doomsday rumors

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese police have detained more than 100 people, among them members of a fringe Christian group, for spreading rumors about the world's impending end, state media reported Tuesday.Police seized leaflets, video discs, books and other apocalyptic materials in the recent arrests of 101 people across eight provinces and regions, from the prosperous east coast to less developed western...

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Judge rejects Apple injunction bid vs. Samsung

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Monday denied Apple Inc‘s request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics‘ smartphones, depriving the iPhone maker of key leverage in the mobile patent wars.Apple had been awarded $ 1.05 billion in damages in August after a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The Samsung products run on the Android operating system,...

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'The Hobbit' tops box office with record $84.6M

NEW YORK (AP) — Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" led the box office over the weekend with $84.6 million, a record-setting opening better than the three previous "Lord of the Rings" films.The 3-D Middle Earth epic, the first of three planned films adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, was the biggest December opening ever, surpassing Will Smith's "I Am Legend," which opened with $77.2 million in 2007.The...

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness."There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant...

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Fate of massacre site can help healing

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — As Newtown, Conn., grieves the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, victims' families and residents will eventually have to decide what to do with the building and how to memorialize the fallen.Will they decide to demolish the school where authorities say Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself? Or just the parts where he opened fire?...

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Bomb in government office kills 9 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani official says a bomb in a government office in the country's northwest tribal region has killed at least nine people and wounded over 40 others.Hidayat Khan says the bombing Monday occurred in Jamrud, the main town in the Khyber tribal area.Khan says the bomb was placed in the women's waiting area at the office of the assistant political agent for Khyber, one...

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Top 5 Apps for Kids This Week

1. PHLIPAges 4-up Overall rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars Why we like it: PHLIP is a spatial relations puzzle where you “flip” or turn your screen left or right, like a steering wheel, to change the orientation of the set of tiles, in order to reassemble the picture. You can use photos you take, or choose one from your photo library. Need to know: The more tiles, the harder the puzzle. You can lock any...

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