Sony Animation preps sequel to hit “Hotel Transylvania”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Sony Pictures Animation will make a sequel to “Hotel Transylania,” one of the year’s surprise hits, a spokesman for the studio told TheWrap.Tentatively titled “Hotel Transylvania 2,” the film is set for a 2015 release. There is no director attached at the moment. Genndy Tartakovsky, who directed the first one, will be helming Sony...

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Exxon shuts pipeline after oil leak offshore Nigeria

ABUJA (Reuters) – Exxon has shut a pipeline off the coast of Nigeria‘s Akwa Ibom state after an oil leak started by an unknown cause, the company’s local unit said on Saturday.The U.S. major’s outage will add to production problems in Africa’s biggest crude exporter, after fellow oil majors Shell and Eni reported recent disruptions at onshore sites due...

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Twin explosions strike southern Syrian city

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria‘s state-run news agency says two large explosions have struck the southern city of Daraa, causing multiple casualties and heavy material damage.SANA did not immediately give further information or say what the target of Saturday’s explosions was. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights...

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SEC staffers used government computers for personal use: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Several U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staffers responsible for monitoring the markets and exchanges broadly misused computer equipment to download music and failed to properly safeguard sensitive information, a report has found.In a 43-page investigative report that probed the misuse of government resources, SEC Interim...

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Frankfurt gears up for Gangnam Style at MTV awards

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The MTV Europe Music Awards will rock Frankfurt’s Festhalle concert venue on Sunday, with Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna leading the nominations and all eyes on Korean dance sensation Psy.Psy‘s hit “Gangnam Style“, which is up for the Best Video award, has been viewed more than 670 million times and received a record-breaking 4.9...

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Citigroup’s Pandit receives $15m

9 November 2012 Last updated at 18:51 ETFormer Citigroup chief executive Vikram Pandit, who stood down last month, will get more than $ 15m (£9.4m) as part of a settlement with the banking giant. John Havens, the chief operating officer who resigned at the same time, will receive a similar amount.The payments were disclosed...

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Syria opposition bloc elects Christian as leader

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Syria‘s main opposition group in exile has elected a Christian Paris-based former geography teacher as its new president.George Sabra said Friday that his election as head of the Syrian National Council is a sign that the opposition is not plagued by sectarian divisions. Sabra says the SNC‘s main demand...

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The Navy SEALs who shared secrets with video-game makers

After consulting on the new Medal of Honor game, the team of SEALs famous for killing Osama bin Laden finds itself in hot water for divulging military informationThe covert operatives who make up Navy SEAL Team 6 may have captured the nation’s imagination when they took down Osama bin Laden, but now a handful of them are getting a pay cut. According...

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“Dancing” co-host Brooke Burke has thyroid cancer

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Dancing with the Stars” co-host Brooke Burke said on Thursday that she has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and will need surgery.The television presenter and model said in a three-minute video posted on the website Modernmom.com that she will need her thyroid removed. “I need to have thyroid...

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FDA panel recommends approval of Novo degludec insulin

(Reuters) – An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday voted to recommend approval of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk‘s new ultra-long-acting insulin degludec, despite signals of possible cardiovascular risk.The panel of outside medical experts unanimously recommended that the company undertake a large study, possibly after the...

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AMR avoids investigation into $2.26 billion debt deals

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge fund Marathon Asset Management has withdrawn a request for an independent investigator to examine the books of American Airlines, a unit of bankrupt AMR Corp, lawyers for the companies said at a hearing on Thursday.The move came after AMR agreed to preserve potential clawback claims relating to debt deals, struck between Marathon...

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Myanmar says Obama to visit later this month

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — President Barack Obama will make a groundbreaking visit later this month to Myanmar, an official said Thursday, following through with his policy of rapprochement to encourage democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.The Myanmar official speaking from the capital, Naypyitaw, said Thursday that security for a visit on Nov. 18 or 19...

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Exclusive: Google Ventures beefs up fund size to $300 million a year

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google will increase the cash it allocates to its venture-capital arm to up to $ 300 million a year from $ 200 million, catapulting Google Ventures into the top echelon of corporate venture-capital funds.Access to that sizeable checkbook means Google Ventures will be able to invest in more later-stage financing rounds, which...

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Death of the cassette tape much exaggerated

LONDON (Reuters) – The widening gap between the amount of data the world produces and our capacity to store it is giving a new lease of life to the humble cassette tape.Although consumers have abandoned the audio cassette in favor of the ubiquitous iPod, organizations with large amounts of data, from patient records to capacity-hungry video archives, have...

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Factbox: President Barack Obama

(Reuters) – As the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, 51, signed into law a revamp of the national healthcare system and authorized the raid that killed Osama bin Laden but struggled to revive the economy and create jobs.Obama won a second term on Tuesday with a victory over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Here are key facts about Obama,...

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Euro growth forecast hits markets

7 November 2012 Last updated at 17:31 ETContinue reading the main story The European Commission has cut sharply its growth forecast for the eurozone, warning that the “difficult process of rebalancing will last for some time”.It now projects the bloc will narrowly avoid recession next year, growing by 0.1%, compared...

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Merkel says Germany, Britain must work together on EU

LONDON (Reuters) – Germany and Britain must cooperate to work round their differences on the European Union‘s long-term spending plans, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.“Despite differences that we have it is very important for me that the UK and Germany work together,” Merkel said through a translator before a meeting in London with Prime...

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Election night TV audience down from 2008: Nielsen data

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Tuesday’s presidential election may have been too close to call for weeks, but it didn’t pull in as many TV viewers as four years ago.More than 66.8 million Americans watched coverage of the 2012 elections during prime time on Tuesday, according to final Nielsen data on Wednesday. That’s down from the 71.5 million who tuned in to...

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Renowned special effects firm is “Star Wars” bonus for Disney

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Star Wars” was the force behind Walt Disney’s $ 4 billion purchase of producer George Lucas’s Lucasfilm entertainment holdings. Not so far, far away is Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, his award-winning special effects shop that will likely save Disney millions of dollars in costs for its big-budget movies.ILM, started by Lucas...

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Experts say psychological effects of Sandy likely to grow

Fairfield, Connecticut (Reuters) – The devastating winds and catastrophic flooding of Superstorm Sandy may have subsided, but psychological distress from the disaster and its patchy recovery is likely to be growing, trauma experts say.Those most vulnerable to long-term emotional fallout from the storm are people who lost loved ones or whose homes were...

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Gender pay gap ‘could worsen’

6 November 2012 Last updated at 19:04 ETThe pay gap between men and women is at risk of widening for the first time on record, a leading pay equality campaign group warns. The Fawcett Society says that women still earn 14.9% less on average than men for the same job.But it says this gap could widen as public sector cuts...

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Officials: New mass graves found in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Up to 10 new mass graves have been discovered near the site of a July attack on a camp for displaced people, officials said Tuesday, amid allegations that initial casualty totals were downplayed to mask killings carried out by the national army.Rights groups claim summary executions were carried out by the Republican Forces...

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HANNITY ON TWEET

“I learned a big civics lesson today.” — Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, who tweeted a picture of his filled-out ballot (for Mitt Romney, natch), only to learn that appeared to break the law in New York state.— David Bauder — http://twitter.com/dbauder ___EDITOR’S NOTE — Election Watch shows you Election Day 2012...

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Springsteen Sandy telethon raises $23 million, ABC more than $10 million

(Reuters) – Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Mary Blige and dozens of other musicians and celebrities helped raise some $ 23 million for victims of Hurricane Sandy on NBC television, while a Day of Giving on ABC TV networks raised more than $ 10 million.The American Red Cross said the one-hour NBC telethon on Friday, featuring performances by celebrities...

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Newer Docs Might Be Driving Up Health Care Costs

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/prosot-photography Health care spending increases have slowed over the past couple years. Still, we are spending some $ 2.6 trillion–that’s trillion with a “T”–a year on health costs, which is a higher percentage of our GDP than any other developed country. And we don’t seem to be getting that much healthier. So economists...

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