BAD TASTE

Apple drops ‘Jew or not Jew’ iPhone app

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French anti-racism groups have dropped anti-Semitism suits against Apple after it withdrew a “Jew or not Jew” iPhone app from its online stores worldwide, the groups’ lawyer said on Thursday.

SPILLING TOO MANY BEANS

Bachmann may have leaked classified information

Michele Bachmann talks Pakistan during GOP debate

Americans probably had no idea that six of Pakistan’s nuclear sites had come under jihadist attack. That is, until a GOP presidential candidate spilled the beans on national television Tuesday.

SAVE THE INTERNET

Wyden: Protect IP Act may pass if Americans don’t call Congress

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) speaks at a goundbreaking event for a bridge project in his state on Aug. 11, 2009. Photo: Oregon Department of Transportation.

The Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (Protect IP) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) “are like two peas in a pod,” said Sen. Ron Wyden.

ONLINE RIGHTS PROTECTED

EU court rules against web filters to block file sharing

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Internet service providers cannot be forced to install filters aimed at preventing people from illegally downloading music and other files, the EU’s top court ruled Thursday.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Karzai charges NATO with killing seven civilians

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday accused NATO-led international forces of killing seven civilians, most of them children, in an air strike in the southern province of Kandahar.

FIRST AMENDMENT?

Probation officer fired for supporting pot decriminalization

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Joe Miller was fired after adding his name to a Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) letter that supported a California ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana.

Science

U.S. approves drug for middle-of-the-night insomniacs

The US Food and Drug Administration, for the first time, approved Wednesday medication specifically designed…

Russia’s stranded Mars probe sends signal to Earth

Engineers fought desperately on Wednesday to save Russia’s Phobos-Grunt spacecraft after the Martian probe sent “a first sign…

Tech News

Spotify hits 2.5 million paying subscribers

WASHINGTON — Swedish online music star Spotify said Wednesday ahead of a mystery announcement next…

Disney comes to YouTube

SAN FRANCISCO — Disney films were available for rent on YouTube on Wednesday in the…

Media

First ‘computer hacking’ arrest in Murdoch paper probe

LONDON — Police investigating the scandal that closed the News of the World tabloid made…

Talks to end NBA lockout resume: reports

NEW YORK — Negotiations aimed at ending the NBA lockout that reached it’s 146th day…

World

Thousands evacuated after China chemical plant blast

BEIJING — Around 6,000 people were evacuated Thursday after an explosion at a chemical plant near the southern Chinese city…

At least 17 killed in Syria violence: activists

NICOSIA — Eleven members of Syria’s security forces and two deserters were killed in clashes on Thursday in the flashpoint…

Portuguese workers strike over austerity measures

LISBON — A general strike against austerity measures grounded flights and paralysed public transport in Portugal Thursday as workers protested…

Mugabe calls Cameron ‘satanic’ for backing gay rights

HARARE — Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has called British Prime Minister David Cameron “satanic” for considering withholding aid from countries…

U.S. News

Obama campaign slams Romney on immigration

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign enlisted two Hispanic lawmakers on Wednesday to…

Faith groups lay out Thanksgiving feast for ‘Occupy’ protesters

WASHINGTON — Protesters from Washington’s two Occupy Wall Street offshoots flocked Wednesday to a church…

Democrats worry over access to birth control

WASHINGTON — Democratic US lawmakers worry President Barack Obama may bow to Catholic groups fighting…

Obama jabs Congress as he pardons turkey

US President Barack Obama performed his seasonal role of pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey Wednesday, joking…

Abusive Texas judge claims child abuse victims are ‘fantasizers’

An Aransas County judge, who was caught on tape brutally beating his daughter, has been…