Egyptians vote on divisive constitution

CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - Egyptians queued in long lines on Saturday to vote on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world's biggest nation. Soldiers joined police to secure the referendum after deadly protests during the buildup. Street brawls erupted again on Friday...

Read More..

Golf: South African Horne hits second successive hole-in-one

MALELANE, South Africa: South Africa's Keith Horne hit a second successive hole-in-one at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Saturday and drove away a brand new BMW for his efforts.The 41-year-old Horne celebrated his achievement at the same par-3 12th hole at the Leopard Creek Estate."Unbelievable. It was the same club, but the wind was different, so I had to hit a full eight-iron this...

Read More..

Can a MP3 sound better than a high-resolution FLAC or Apple Lossless file?

A great-sounding recording will sound its best only when it's properly mastered to LP, SACD, DVD-Audio, or a high-resolution file. Those formats will reveal the full glory of the music in ways that lower-resolution formats like MP3 or analog cassette always miss. But if you didn't have access to the high-resolution file to compare it with, a great recording will still sound pretty terrific as an AAC,...

Read More..

Hillary Clinton faints, suffers concussion

WASHINGTON Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton fainted and suffered a concussion, the U.S. State Department reports. She is recovering at home. In a statement issued by the State Dept. Saturday, it was reported that "While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion. "She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored...

Read More..

'Good Evidence' on Massacre Motive

Police indicated today they have "some very good evidence" about the motive behind Adam Lanza's massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and said that the sole person to survive being shot by Lanza will be "instrumental" in the probe.Authorities also finished the grim task of identifying all of Lanza's 27 victims, which included 20 children. Families, who already feared...

Read More..

Clashes in Egypt on eve of divisive referendum

CAIRO: Stone-throwing clashes broke out Friday in the Egyptian city of Alexandria between Islamists and opposition protesters, on the eve of a highly charged referendum on a new constitution, witnesses and state media said.Fifteen people were wounded, according to medics, and several cars set on fire in the violence in the Mediterranean city, Egypt's second largest.State television showed...

Read More..

Latest Steve Jobs action figure remarkably detailed

Legend Toys' Steve Jobs figure kicks back with an iPad. The Japanese caption says "Apple is always in my heart."(Credit:Legend Toys)You know the holidays are getting close when Steve Jobs action figures start to appear. We've seen a few toy tributes to Jobs from Chinese companies. There was a kerfuffle in January of this year when Hong Kong toymaker In Icons bowed to pressure from Jobs' family and...

Read More..

Will Clinton testify on Libya next Thursday?

Updated: 1:42p.m. ETThe State Department assured Congress today that Hillary Clinton will indeed be ready to testify next Thursday on the recent violence in Benghazi, after suggesting yesterday that the report on which her testimony will be based might not be ready in time. "The committees have announced the secretary will be on the Hill next Thursday, and so that's the plan," said Patrick Ventrell,...

Read More..

At Least 27, Mostly Kids, Killed at Grade School

More than two dozen people, mostly elementary school children, were shot and killed at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school this morning, federal and state sources tell ABC News.The massacre involved two gunmen and prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today.One shooter is dead and a manhunt is on for a second...

Read More..

Russia says Syrian rebels might win

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels are gaining ground and might win, Russia's Middle East envoy said on Thursday, in the starkest such admission from a major ally of President Bashar al-Assad in 20 months of conflict. "One must look the facts in the face," Russia's state-run RIA quoted Mikhail Bogdanov as saying. "Unfortunately, the victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be ruled...

Read More..

Football: Serbia fined 80,000 euros for England violence

LAUSANNE: Serbia were fined 80,000 euros on Thursday and ordered to play their next Under-21 international behind closed doors as UEFA handed out a range of sanctions following October's violent European qualifier against England.Two of Serbia's coaching staff and four players were handed suspensions while two England players were also banned.In chaotic scenes at the October 21 game in...

Read More..

Low Latency No. 47: Thinking outside the box

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so f...

Read More..

Golden Globes: "Lincoln" leads with 7 nominations

Nominees for the 70th Golden Globe Awards were announced Thursday morning, and "Lincoln" is in the lead. The Civil War epic is up for seven nominations, among them best drama, director for Steven Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. Tied for second-place with five nominations each, including best drama, are Ben Affleck's Iran hostage-crisis thriller...

Read More..

Court: CIA Tortured German in Botched Rendition

Nearly a decade after a German man claimed he was snatched off the street, held in secret and tortured as part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program -- all due to a case of mistaken identity -- a panel of international judges said today what Khaled El-Masri has been waiting to hear since 2004: We believe you.The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) handed down a unanimous...

Read More..

North Korea rocket launch raises nuclear stakes

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents. The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver...

Read More..

"Serious differences" in US fiscal stand-off

WASHINGTON: The United States economy was cruising towards the disaster of the looming "fiscal cliff" on Wednesday as President Barack Obama's Republican opponents warned a budget deal was still far off.The newly re-elected White House chief is locked in a stand-off with lawmakers over a budget deal that would prevent the onset of a toxic package of tax hikes and deep spending cuts kicking...

Read More..

Police: Google Maps giving dangerous directions, too

Colac, Victoria, Australia in Google Maps.(Credit:Screenshot by Casey Newton/CNET)Days after Australian police warned motorists not to rely on Apple Maps, lest they end up stranded in punishing heat, authorities issued a similar warning about Google Maps.Police in Colac, a town west of Melbourne, say Google Maps has created "a significant safety issue for tourists [and] locals" along the Great Ocean...

Read More..

Suspect in Oregon mall shooting ID'd

Updated 1:40 PM ET PORTLAND, Ore. The gunman who killed two people and himself in a shooting rampage at an Oregon mall was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. Jacob Tyler Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff...

Read More..

Mall Gunman Identified as Jacob Tyler Roberts

The masked gunman who killed two people in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., was identified today as Jacob Tyler Roberts.Roberts, 22, was armed with a stolen AR-15 semi-automatic weapon, Sheriff Craig Roberts told a news conference today. He was not wearing a bullet-proof vest as previously reported.Earlier today the sheriff told "Good Morning...

Read More..

Egypt army seeks national unity as crisis mounts

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief called for talks on national unity to end the country's mounting political crisis after a vital loan from the IMF was delayed and thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators took to the streets. The meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was called in response to an increasingly destabilizing series of protests that has unfolded since President...

Read More..

Football: Anti-racism body slams "weak" FA, Premier League

LONDON: The chairman of an anti-racism group has accused England's Football Association and the top-flight Premier League of lacking morality and leadership over their handling of recent racism cases.Herman Ouseley, who heads the Kick It Out organisation, also rebuked Chelsea and Liverpool over the racism incidents involving their players John Terry and Luis Suarez, saying they failed...

Read More..

Apple fixes Mac Mini video flicker with firmware update

Apple has released a firmware update that addresses a problem in which displays would flicker to black when used with the 2012 Mac Mini.The problem, which we reported on in late November, was assumed to be related to one outlined by Intel involving its integrated HD 4000 graphics and a rumor arising from statements made by Intel representatives (which were later changed) that this was a driver-based...

Read More..

Venezuela: Hugo Chavez being prepped for surgery

Updated at 1:23 p.m. ET CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuela's government says President Hugo Chavez is going through "pre-operative" steps for cancer surgery in Cuba. According to the statement, Chavez was being prepared to undergo surgery in Havana Tuesday, CBS News' Portia Siegelbaum reports. Information Minister Ernesto Villegas read the announcement on television. In the statement, the government...

Read More..

Egypt army given temporary power to arrest civilians

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president has given the army temporary power to arrest civilians during a constitutional referendum he is determined to push through despite the risk of bloodshed between his supporters and opponents accusing him of a power grab. Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded last week in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and their critics besieging...

Read More..