Just A Minute With: Hugh Jackman on “Les Miserables”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Australian actor Hugh Jackman says his background in musical theater and action films made him feel “like all the stars were aligning” when he took on the starring role of Jean Valjean in the new movie version of “Les Miserables.”Jackman, 44, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Wolverine in the “X-Men” movie franchise, spoke to Reuters about the demands of the role in British...

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Meningitis, West Nile occupy U.S. health officials in 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The year started in the United States with a mild flu season but ended up being marked by deadly outbreaks of fungal meningitis, West Nile virus and Hantavirus.Tainted steroid medication has been cited as the cause of the meningitis outbreak that killed 39 people.Weather contributed to the worst outbreak of West Nile virus since 2003 and an unusual outbreak of Hantavirus in California’s...

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Toyota agrees $1bn US recall deal

26 December 2012 Last updated at 18:05 ETJapanese carmaker Toyota has agreed to pay an estimated $ 1.1bn (£680m; 830m euros) in a settlement of hundreds of lawsuits from US owners.The deal would compensate owners for economic losses and for the cost of safety changes to their cars.Since 2009, Toyota has recalled more than 14 million vehicles worldwide after floor mats became trapped under the accelerator.The...

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Afghan bomber attacks near major US base

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A vehicle driven by a suicide bomber exploded at the gate of a major U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing the attacker and three Afghans, Afghan police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.Police Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizai said a local guard who questioned the vehicle driver at the gate of Camp Chapman was killed along with two...

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How ‘Doctor Who’ Kept Its Big Christmas Secret Off Twitter

Tonight Doctor Who fans get to gorge on their annual Christmas fix — a full-length special episode the series has produced every year for the holiday since 2005. This time, however, there’s some extra spice in the form of a new regular cast member: Jenna-Louise Coleman debuts in “The Snowmen” as the Doctor’s next companion.Except it’s not her debut. Coleman actually made her first appearance in the...

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Britain’s royal family attends Christmas services

LONDON (AP) — Britain‘s royal family is attending Christmas Day church services — with a few notable absences.Wearing a turquoise coat and matching hat, Queen Elizabeth II arrived at St. Mary Magdelene Church on her sprawling Sandringham estate in Norfolk. She was accompanied in a Bentley by granddaughters Beatrice and Eugenie.Her husband, Prince Philip, walked from the house to the church with other...

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Early Childhood Obesity Rates Might Be Slowing Nation-Wide

About one in three children in the U.S. are now overweight, and since the 1980s the number of children who are obese has more than tripled. But a new study of 26.7 million young children from low-income families shows that in this group of kids, the tidal wave of obesity might finally be receding.Being obese as a child not only increases the risk of early-life health problems, such as joint problems,...

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Sale shoppers ‘set to spend £3bn’

26 December 2012 Last updated at 00:11 ETBritish shoppers are expected to spend almost £3bn in the Boxing Day sales, experts have predicted.Millions of bargain-hunters are set to descend on High Streets and shopping centres across the UK.Shops will be cutting prices and opening as early as 06:00 GMT in a bid to tempt customers in.Market analyst Experian says online spending is expected to be the “biggest...

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Toronto reaches skyward, but how dark the clouds?

TORONTO (Reuters) – Barry Fenton walked to the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows in his 30th-floor uptown Toronto penthouse suite and declared, “This is the best view of the city.”To the south, a mass of steel-and-glass skyscrapers glinted in the bright autumn sun. Several cranes were in motion on unfinished buildings, a common sight in a city in the midst of a residential building boom.“If you look...

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El MIDI, la tecnología que le abrió la puerta a la música digital, cumple 30 años

Un pequeño teclado y un ordenador portátil: hasta que apareció la tecnología MIDI, hace 30 años, nadie imaginaba que sólo con ese equipo se podría dar un concierto. Dicen los entendidos que para apreciar realmente el tema Shine on you crazy diamond , de Pink Floyd, es mejor escucharlo en vinilo.Las emisiones de los sintetizadores estallan a través del crepitar de la púa sobre el disco, mientras la...

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