State Department security chief leaves post over Benghazi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday its security chief had resigned from his post and three other officials had been relieved of their duties following a scathing official inquiry into the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi.Eric Boswell has resigned effective immediately as assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, State Department spokeswoman...

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Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company internationally

According to Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Nintendo (NTDOY) 3DS sold 333,000 units in the week ending December 16, while Sony’s (SNE) PS Vita limped along at 13,000 units, the new Wii U did an okay 130,000 units and the PlayStation 3 managed to sell 46,000 units.  The utter hardware domination of the 3DS is reshaping the Japanese software market. Franchises that were thought to be fading have...

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“Gangnam Style” in line for UK dictionary inclusion

LONDON (Reuters) – He has the most-watched video in Youtube history, become a pop sensation with a horse-riding dance craze that has swept the world and now Korean singer Psy may cement his place in popular culture with recognition from a British dictionary.“Gangnam Style,” Psy’s signature song, has been chosen along with “fiscal cliff” and “Romneyshambles” as some of Collins Dictionary‘s words of...

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Conditional approval for Minn. health exchange

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says Minnesota has reached a milestone in its effort to establish a health insurance exchange.Sebelius notified Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday that the state has been granted conditional approval to operate its health insurance marketplace in 2014.Nine other states and the District of Columbia have been given similar approval....

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Midwest storm sparks 25-vehicle crash

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The first widespread snowstorm of the season began a slow crawl across the Midwest on Thursday, creating treacherous driving conditions that, in Iowa, led to a 25-vehicle pileup that killed one person.Drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn't see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on Interstate 80 about 60 miles north of Des Moines, state police said. A chain reaction...

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Canada serial killer inquiry finds “systemic bias” by police

(Reuters) – Police made critical errors in pursuing Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton partly because of “systemic bias” against his victims, sex trade workers from a rough Vancouver neighborhood, according to the final report from a public inquiry released on Monday.Commissioner Wally Oppal was asked by the British Columbia government to investigate, in effect, why Pickton was not caught sooner....

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Shooting renews argument over video-game violence

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the days since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a shell-shocked nation has looked for reasons. The list of culprits include easy access to guns, a strained mental-health system and the “culture of violence” — the entertainment industry’s embrace of violence in movies, TV shows and, especially, video games.“The violence in the entertainment culture...

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A Minute With: Jessica Chastain on “Zero Dark Thirty”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jessica Chastain carries the weight of starring in one of the year’s most anticipated films, “Zero Dark Thirty,” about the decade-long hunt and eventual killing of Osama bin Laden.Critics say Chastain pulls it off seamlessly as “Maya,” based on a real-life CIA agent who played a major role in tracking down bin Laden at his hideout in Pakistan.As the film opens in limited U.S....

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How Can Professional Santas Avoid the Flu?

A lot of kids must sit on Santa’s lap before he can hop in his sleigh on Christmas Eve, but Santa has to be extra careful during flu season if he wants to stay healthy into the New Year.John Sullivan, a professional Santa Claus in Chicago, said he never turns down a child, even if the child’s nose is runny.“I’ll see him. I’ll talk to him,” Sullivan said. “That’s just a risk that frankly comes with...

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'Constant reminder': Newtown holds third day of funerals

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — For a third straight day Wednesday, funeral processions rolled through a grieving Connecticut town trying to make sense of the massacre of 20 first-graders and six adults in an elementary school less than two weeks before Christmas.Dr. Joseph Young, an optometrist, said he has already been to one funeral and plans to attend two or three more."The first few days, all you heard...

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