Disney joins JAKKS, LA billionaire to bring toys to life

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney toys are sold around the world. Now, children can find them in the cloud as well.The media giant is teaming up with toy company JAKKS Pacific and Patrick Soon-Shiong, Los Angeles’ wealthiest person, on a new line of toys – with a nifty technological twist designed to link the goodies that kids lug home from the store with Disney’s stable of well-known animated characters.“DreamPlay“,...

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How Eva Mendes Helped Ryan Gosling's Mom Get Red Carpet Ready

Stylewatch Style News Now 01/08/2013 at 11:00 AM ET Matt Baron/BEImages; Stacie McChesney/NBC/APRyan Gosling looked smokin’ hot in his sleek Gucci suit at Monday night’s Gangster Squad premiere in Los Angeles. But Gosling’s mom Donna...

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Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer."There has been clear progress," said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer...

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Wall Street dips as earnings season begins

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed at the open on Tuesday as an earnings season expected to show sluggish corporate growth gets under way. Profits in the fourth quarter are seen above the previous quarter's lackluster results, but analysts' current estimates are down sharply from where they were in October. Quarterly earnings are expected to grow by 2.8 percent, according...

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Court in Bahrain Confirms Jail Terms for 13 Dissidents

CAIRO — A court in Bahrain on Monday upheld prison sentences for 13 of the country’s most prominent dissidents, in a decision that government opponents offered as evidence that the monarchy was ignoring calls to negotiate a political solution that could quiet a nearly two-year-old uprising. The decision ends all appeals for the dissidents, who were sentenced to between five years and life...

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Kuwaiti journalist jailed for Twitter ‘insults’

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — A Kuwait newspaper says an online journalist has been sentenced to two years in prison for posts deemed “insulting” to the Gulf nation’s ruler — the second such ruling this week.The decision reflects a widening social media crackdown across the Gulf Arab states to quell perceived political dissent.Kuwait’s pro-government Al Watan newspaper reported Monday that Ayyad al-Harbi, a...

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Brad Pitt Hints at Return to China - Despite Being Banned

01/07/2013 at 11:35 AM EST Brad Pitt as Austrian mountaineer in Seven Years in Tibet David Appleby/AP Looks like Brad Pitt is about to say "Ni hao" to China ... in person.The actor – who was reportedly banned from China following the government's disapproval...

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Your medical chart could include exercise minutes

CHICAGO (AP) — Roll up a sleeve for the blood pressure cuff. Stick out a wrist for the pulse-taking. Lift your tongue for the thermometer. Report how many minutes you are active or getting exercise.Wait, what?If the last item isn't part of the usual drill at your doctor's office, a movement is afoot to change that. One recent national survey indicated only a third of Americans said their doctors asked...

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Wall Street falls after five-year high, earnings in focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Monday as traders cashed in recent gains that lifted the S&P 500 to a five-year high on Friday and awaited Tuesday's start of the fourth-quarter earnings season. Last week was the best for U.S. stocks in more than a year as a budget deal and economic data boosted investor confidence. Investors will likely turn their attention to the...

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Letter From Washington: U.S. Fiscal Talks Made No One Look Good

WASHINGTON — A grand fiscal bargain, with perhaps $2 trillion more in deficit reduction over 10 years — more than a quarter of which would be additional revenue, with much of the rest obtained through well-crafted, significant cutbacks in big-ticket entitlements — could have been a win-win for Republicans and Democrats. Along with terminating the high-end Bush tax cuts, this would have earned...

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