Dad hires hit men to kill son's video game characters

How much did the assassins cost?(Credit:Rendermax/YouTube; screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)Some fathers are overbearing. Some, however, decide that enforcing parental law requires radical action. Such as hiring an assassin.It does seem extreme. But a certain Mr. Feng of China might offer mitigating circumstances. His son was allegedly being terribly disobedient and the assassins were hired merely...

Read More..

Obama: Not raising debt ceiling could be "catastrophic"

President Obama sternly warned congressional Republicans today that if they don't agree to raise the debt ceiling next month, the consequences could be "catastrophic." "If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic," the president said in his weekly address. "The last time Congress threatened...

Read More..

Debt Limit Negotiating Tactic? No Negotiating

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden walk away from the podium after Obama made a statement regarding the passage of the fiscal cliff bill in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AnalysisNew for 2013: In the Washington, D.C. fiscal wars we’ve gone from everything must be on the table to politicians declaring...

Read More..

Chavez swearing-in can be delayed: Venezuelan VP

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's formal swearing-in for a new six-year term scheduled for January 10 can be postponed if he is unable to attend due to his battle to recover from cancer surgery, Venezuela's vice president said on Friday. Nicolas Maduro's comments were the clearest indication yet that the Venezuelan government is preparing to delay the swearing-in while avoiding...

Read More..

Tennis: China's Li beats Zakopalova in Shenzhen final

BEIJING: Chinese star Li Na captured her seventh career title and second on home soil when she beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 on Saturday in the Shenzhen Open final.The world number seven and the competition's top seed had lost two of the pair's three previous meetings and suffered some final set jitters at the $500,000 tournament when she allowed the fifth-seeded...

Read More..

Acer brings its Windows 8 launch lineup to CES

Like many PC companies, Acer released a wide range of new laptops and hybrids alongside Windows 8 at the tail end of 2012. With fresh systems just hitting shelves, the company is highlighting those products at CES 2013, rather than announcing new additions. We've gotten a few chances to check out Acer's Windows 8 launch lineup over the past two months, and have come away with a generally favorable...

Read More..

House passes $9.7B Sandy relief bill

The House today passed a bill approving more than $9 billion in aid for regions impacted by superstorm Sandy, the first of two Sandy relief measures making their way through Congress between now and the end of the month. The measure, which allows FEMA to temporarily increase the National Flood Insurance program's borrowing limit by $9.7 billion, needed two thirds support to pass through the House....

Read More..

Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

It's the simplest thing, the grasp of one hand in another. But Lindsay Ess will never see it that way, because her hands once belonged to someone else.Growing up in Texas and Virginia, Lindsay, 29, was always one of the pretty girls. She went to college, did some modeling and started building a career in fashion, with an eye on producing fashion shows.Then she lost her hands...

Read More..

Damascus blames "terrorists" for petrol station blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday said a car bomb at a crowded petrol station in Damascus on Thursday night was set off by "terrorists", a term it uses for rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad. The bomb killed 11 people and wounded 40 at a station packed with Syrians queuing for fuel, which has become scarce in the 21-month insurgency against Assad, in the second petrol...

Read More..

Delhi gang-rape victim's boyfriend speaks out

NEW DELHI: The boyfriend of a 23-year-old woman who died after a brutal gang rape on a New Delhi bus spoke out Friday for the first time about the savage attack that has sparked protests across the nation and his own trauma over his inability to save her.The 28-year-old man, who suffered a fractured leg and other injuries in the attack, has been deeply traumatised and is currently at his...

Read More..

CNET's Twitter team for CES 2013

CNET is ready to bring you everything under the Las Vegas sun atCES 2013, including all the best product releases, press conferences, photography, live video, shows, panels, awards, swag... you get the picture.Here are the accounts to follow for all the best at CES. We're sending a few people...Master CNET accounts:CNET - The best of everything at CES.CNET News - Live-tweets from major press events...

Read More..

N.Y. county aims to keep gun permits from paper

CARMEL, N.Y. Officials in Putnam County say they will reject a newspaper's request to release the names and addresses of residents with pistol permits — a move an open government advocate calls illegal. County Clerk Dennis Sant said officials were meeting Wednesday to discuss legal options. In December, the Journal News published online maps that allow viewers to see the names and addresses of...

Read More..

Senate Swears in Historic 20th Female Senator

Today the Senate will make history, swearing in a record-breaking 20 female senators -- four Republicans and 16 Democrats -- in office.As the 113th Congress is sworn in today on Capitol Hill, ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer has an exclusive joint interview with the historic class of female senators.Diane Sawyer's complete interview will air on "World News" and "Nightline"...

Read More..

Syria rebels in push to capture air base

AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - Rebels battled on Thursday to seize an air base in northern Syria, part of a campaign to fight back against the air power that has given President Bashar al-Assad's forces free rein to bomb rebel-held towns. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the 21-month-old uprising and civil war, the United Nations said this week, sharply raising the death toll estimate...

Read More..

Football: Balotelli and Mancini clash in training-ground row

LONDON: Mario Balotelli's future at Manchester City was cast into doubt once again on Thursday after photographs emerged showing him in an apparent training-ground bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini.Media reports claimed that Mancini lost his temper with his Italian compatriot after Balotelli made a reckless challenge on team-mate Scott Sinclair at the club's Carrington training base...

Read More..

Judge dings Apple 'app store' claim vs. Amazon

A California Judge today sided with Amazon and its attempt to toss out claims by Apple about false advertising in a lawsuit involving the use of "app store" in marketing materials. In an order today, U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton granted Amazon's motion for a summary judgement to remove a part of the complaint that involved false advertising claims against it. Apple sued Amazon in April...

Read More..

Sandy Hook survivors welcomed at new school

A man waves to a child on a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn.,Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. / AP Photo/Jessica Hill MONROE, Conn. The children who escaped last month's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown were welcomed Wednesday to a school in a neighboring town that was overhauled specially for them. Play VideoOrientation day for Sandy Hook...

Read More..

Lawmakers Furious at Boehner Over Sandy 'Betrayal'

Republican lawmakers from New York and New Jersey whose storm-ravaged residents are desperate for federal aid are fuming at their party's leaders for refusing to hold a vote on a $60 billion disaster relief package despite promises that help was on the way."This was a betrayal," Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., told ABC News.com. "It's just reprehensible. It's an indefensible error...

Read More..

U.N. lifts Syria death toll to "truly shocking" 60,000

AMMAN/GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 60,000 people have died in Syria's uprising and civil war, the United Nations said on Wednesday, dramatically raising the death toll in a struggle that shows no sign of ending. In the latest violence, dozens were killed in a rebellious Damascus suburb when a government air strike turned a petrol station into an inferno, incinerating drivers who had rushed...

Read More..

Iran claims shooting down two US-made RQ-11 drones

TEHRAN: Iran on Wednesday said it had shot down two US-made RQ-11 reconnaissance drones in the past 15 months, adding to a ScanEagle drone and RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft it already claims to have captured."The army's air defence shot down two... RQ-11 drones," Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari told state television and Fars news agency, adding that the army was carrying out "research"...

Read More..

Why I still love the Nexus 7

There's something about the holidays and the cold January that often follows in the Northeast that makes me want to curl up on the couch with a good book -- or in this day and age, a book on my e-reader ortablet.TheNexus 7 debuted more than six months ago at Google's annual developer conference, but I am still a big fan of the device. And I have no trouble recommending it to tablet buyers. In this...

Read More..

The art of the "fiscal cliff" deal

Nobody said it would be easy. Senators voted in the pre-dawn hours of New Year's Day to pass the long-sought agreement on the "fiscal cliff" and the House readies for its turn as soon as today, which, if the House passes it, would officially avert the tax hikes and spending cuts that technically took effect at midnight (the deal, when signed by the president, will make the new tax rates and spending...

Read More..

White House Revels in Fiscal Cliff 'Victory'

Jan 1, 2013 12:13pm It’s hard to find anyone in Washington happy about the outcome of the “fiscal cliff” brinksmanship.But inside the Obama White House, senior officials are elated by what they call a significant presidential achievement:  breaking longstanding Republican intransigence on taxes.The deal passed by the Senate early this morning, with the endorsement...

Read More..

About 60 crushed to death in Ivory Coast stampede

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - About 60 people were crushed to death in a stampede outside a stadium in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan after a New Year's Eve fireworks display, the government said on Tuesday. The incident took place near Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium where a crowd had gathered to watch fireworks, emergency officials said. One of the injured, speaking to Reuters...

Read More..

Football: United start 2013 with bang to keep City at bay

LONDON: Manchester United kept a firm grip on the Premier League title race by sweeping to a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic on the first day of 2013 to maintain their seven-point lead.Champions Manchester City remain United's nearest rivals after a 3-0 success at home to Stoke City, while Tottenham Hotspur climbed to third by coming from behind to defeat second-bottom Reading 3-1 at White Hart...

Read More..

Some of my favorite iOS apps of 2012

Angry Birds Star Wars was one of my favs for the year.(Credit:Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)2012 was another year that kept me glued to my iPhone andiPad checking out the latest batch of iOS games and other apps. So which ones proved to be among my favorites? In alphabetical order...Angry Birds Star WarsMy wife and I love to play Angry Birds, and the Star Wars edition is a great take on the familiar...

Read More..