Health-Exchange Deadline Looms

All of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," doesn't go into effect until 2014, but states are required to set up their own health care exchanges or leave it to the federal government to step in by next year. The deadline for the governors' decisions is Friday.The health insurance exchanges are one of the key stipulations of the new health care law. They will offer...

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UK government urged to consider relaxing drug rules

JUST say yes to considering relaxed drug controls, urged a panel of UK parliamentarians this week - but Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected the calls. Many countries have loosened their penalties for drug use, including the Czech Republic and Portugal, which...

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Unsafe ride-on animal toy recalled

SINGAPORE: SPRING Singapore has found that a toy given out as a free gift contains unsafe levels of phthalates, commonly used as a plasticiser in toys. The free gift comes in the shape of cows, deers and ponies. SPRING had sent samples of the toy for testing in response to a consumer's complaint.As a precaution, SPRING had asked the retailer Aura Roboclean Singapore Pte Ltd to immediately...

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Opinion: 401(k) plans endangered

IBM plans to contribute only once every December to its employees' 401(k) accounts.STORY HIGHLIGHTSIBM said it would contribute once every December to its employees' 401(k) plansTeresa Ghilarducci: This type of payment benefits the company rather than workersShe says relative to other companies, IBM actually has a good retirement planGhilarducci: Most companies are reducing retirement benefits; workers...

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In cautionary move, Europe centralizes bank oversight

BRUSSELSEuropean Union finance ministers reached an agreement early Thursday to create a single supervisor for their banks - one of the most significant transfers of authority from national governments to regional authorities since the creation of the euro currency. Under the deal, banks with more than $39 billion in assets supervised or those that represent a significant proportion of their national...

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McAfee Lands in Miami: I'm Free

Software mogul John McAfee has been released from detention in Guatemala City and has landed in Miami.Immediately upon landing, according to passengers on the plane, McAfee's name was called and he was whisked off the aircraft. Federal officials escorted the 67-year-old Internet antivirus pioneer through customs spirit him out a side door, out of the view of reporters, according...

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Today on New Scientist: 11 December 2012

Out-of-season's greetings from the Arctic frost flowers Season's regards from an icy meadow in the Arctic, but it's no winter wonderland and please don't dash out into itHow hacking a mosquito's heart could eradicate malaria Watch how a double-pronged trick helps mosquitoes remain healthy while carrying disease, a process that could be exploited to eliminate malariaNew drug lifts hard-to-treat...

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Birds, fish replace queen on Fiji currency

SUVA: Fiji dropped the image of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II from a new range of bank notes and coins, replacing her with plants and animals native to the Pacific island state.Fiji President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau said on Wednesday the new currency was a milestone for the former British colony, which became independent in 1970 and declared itself a republic in 1987 following a military...

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Two victims, gunman dead after shooting at Oregon mall

Gunman opens fire in Oregon mallGunman opens fire in Oregon mallGunman opens fire in Oregon mallGunman opens fire in Oregon mallGunman opens fire in Oregon mallGunman opens fire in Oregon mallGunman opens fire in Oregon mallSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: One witness says he tried to help a woman who was shot in the chestThe gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot, a sheriff's official saysThe mall's Santa says...

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Suspect, two others, killed in Ore. mall shooting

Updated 10:30 p.m. ET PORTLAND, Oregon A gunman opened fire in a suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another before apparently killing himself as people were doing their Christmas shopping, authorities said. One other person was reported injured. Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes said authorities were still trying to get more details about the situation...

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