Syrian rebels make slow headway in south

AMMAN (Reuters) - The revolt against President Bashar al-Assad first flared in Deraa, but the southern border city now epitomizes the bloody stalemate gripping Syria after 22 months of violence and 60,000 dead. Jordan next door has little sympathy with Assad, but is wary of spillover from the upheaval in its bigger neighbor. It has tightened control of its 370-km (230-mile) border with...

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Wall Street edges higher, Amazon offsets GDP

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were flat on Wednesday as an unexpectedly weak read on fourth-quarter economic activity was offset by strong results at Boeing and Amazon.com. Equities continued to shrug off negative news, with the S&P 500 staying above 1,500, a level that market technicians call an inflection point that will determine the overall direction in the near term. ...

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A-Rod implicated in PED use again as MLB probes

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez is in the middle of Major League Baseball's latest doping investigation after an alternative weekly newspaper reported baseball's highest-paid star was among the big leaguers listed in the records of a Florida clinic the paper said sold performance-enhancing drugs.The Miami New Times said Tuesday that the three-time AL MVP bought human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing...

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Severe weather rakes US midsection

JACKSON, Miss. – A large storm system packing high winds, rain and some possible tornadoes tore across several states in the South and central U.S. on Wednesday, blacking out power to thousands, downing trees and damaging homes.One death was reported when a large tree blew down on a shed in Nashville, Tenn., where a man was sheltering, police told Nashville broadcaster WTVF-TV. Authorities did not...

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Why women belong on war front-lines

Vernice Armour says "bottom line is if you can do the job, you should be out there doing it...man or a woman. "STORY HIGHLIGHTSVernice Armour: In 2004 battle in Iraq, she saved a Marine squad by shooting a missileShe says rescued Marines didn't care she was a woman. Now Pentagon lifting banShe says women in combat roles doesn't lower standards; they have long served in militaryArmour: Having more...

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Ex-Gov. Ryan arrives at halfway house: 'He has paid a severe price'

A somber and silent George Ryan arrived at a West Side halfway house this morning after the former governor was released from...

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Merkel urges Egypt's Mursi to hold crisis dialogue

CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Egypt's Islamist president on Wednesday to open a dialogue with all political forces in the crisis-ridden Arab country after a week of violence that has killed more than 50 people. President Mohamed Mursi flew to Germany to try to convince Europe of his democratic credentials, but in a sign of the political tensions back home,...

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Wall Street little changed ahead of data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed at the open on Tuesday as investors were cautious following a recent rally and before consumer confidence data. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 10.09 points or 0.07 percent, to 13,892.02, the S&P 500 <.spx> gained 0.05 point to 1,500.23 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 8.27 points or 0.26 percent,...

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Mayor: New Orleans deserves Super Bowl spotlight

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 20-story-high mural of the Lombardi Trophy, affixed to the glass exterior of a bustling hotel that was once a shattered symbol of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, rises like a beacon above the expansive white roof of the Superdome.The Super Bowl is back in the Big Easy, finally, after 11 years, giving New Orleans a spotlight of global proportion to showcase how far it has come...

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And Now, Back to Charles (Barkley) with the Weather

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:RELATED: This Is How You Super Moonwalk; Old People Show Us the DubstepSo, Charles Barkley is a semi-wonderful,...

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