China passes law to curb abuse of mental hospitals

BEIJING (AP) — China's legislature on Friday passed a long-awaited mental health law that aims to prevent people from being involuntarily held and unnecessarily treated in psychiatric facilities — abuses that have been used against government critics and triggered public outrage.The law standardizes mental health care services, requiring general hospitals to set up special outpatient clinics or provide...

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Superstorm Sandy clobbers New York City

  NEW YORK, N.Y. - Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline and hurled a record-breaking four-metre surge of seawater at New York City on Monday, roaring ashore and putting the presidential campaign on hold a week before election day At least 13 deaths were blamed on the storm.Sandy knocked out power to at least 5.7 million people, and New York's main utility said large sections...

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Chinese protest factory even after official pledge

NINGBO, China (AP) — Protests against the expansion of a factory are resuming in an eastern China city despite a local government pledge to halt the project.About 200 protesters gathered outside Ningbo government offices Monday for a fourth straight day of protests. Police channeled the crowd from the front of the building off to a side street.The protests have occasionally featured violent clashes...

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In San Francisco, tech investor leads a political makeover

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - One morning in April, Ron Conway, the billionaire technology investor, sat in a conference room on the second floor of San Francisco's City Hall with about 50 representatives from the city's business community. On the agenda was a sweeping proposal by Mayor Ed Lee to reform the city's payroll tax, a plan that would favor companies with many employees but little...

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'Argo' finally tops box office with $12.4M

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took three weeks, but "Argo" finally found its way to the top of the box office.The Warner Bros. thriller from director and star Ben Affleck, inspired by the real-life rescue of six U.S. embassy workers during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, made nearly $12.4 million this weekend, according to Sunday studio estimates. "Argo" had been in second place the past two weeks and has...

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FDA: Pharmacy tied to outbreak knew of bacteria

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staffers at a pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak documented dozens of cases of mold and bacteria growing in rooms that were supposed to be sterile, according to federal health inspectors.In a preliminary report on conditions at the pharmacy, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday that even when the contamination at New England Compounding Center exceeded the...

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East Coast superstorm could endanger 50 million people

NEW YORK (AP) — From Washington to Boston, big cities and small towns were buttoned up Monday against the onslaught of a superstorm that threatened 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation, with forecasters warning that the New York area could get the worst of it — an 11-foot wall of water."The time for preparing and talking is about over," Federal Emergency Management...

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Outspoken China officers a challenge to the party

BEIJING (AP) — China's government has demanded talks with Japan in their latest dust-up over a set of tiny islands, but a high-ranking Chinese military officer has suggested drastically more belligerent responses.Dispatch hundreds of fishing boats to fight a maritime guerrilla war, says Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan. Turn the uninhabited outcroppings into a bombing range. Rip up World War II peace agreements...

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Star Silicon Valley analyst felled by Facebook IPO fallout

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The firing of Citigroup stock analyst Mark Mahaney on Friday in the regulatory fallout from Facebook Inc's initial public offering was greeted with shock and dismay in Silicon Valley, where Mahaney was a well-known and well-liked figure. "Pretty shocked," was the reaction of Jacob Funds Chief Executive Ryan Jacob, who described Mahaney as one of the most respected...

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Kim Kardashian makes a splash at NYC bash

NEW YORK (AP) — Kim Kardashian isn't worried about the behemoth storm expected to pummel the eastern U.S. with rain and wind this week.Dressed as a blond mermaid for her Halloween party Saturday night in New York, the star joked that her boyfriend, Kanye West — wearing a nautical-looking outfit — could "sail" her to safety if need be.West didn't talk to press covering the event but smiled and took...

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