Tornado touches down in downtown Mobile, Alabama; damage reported

MOBILE, Alabama (Reuters) – A tornado hit downtown Mobile, Alabama at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.NWS observing program leader Gene Jacobi of the service’s Mobile office said it had confirmed reports of a tornado, but did not yet know its size.Local media reports are describing property damage, downed trees and power lines, and widespread power outages. (Reporting...

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Shootings across city wound at least 3 on Christmas

Police outside the crime scene on 69th Street, where an 18-year-old man was shot before midnight on Christmas. ...

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Egypt approves constitution drafted by Mursi allies

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a constitution drafted by President Mohamed Mursi's allies, results announced on Tuesday showed, proving that liberals, leftists and Christians have been powerless to halt the march of Islamists in power. Final elections commission figures showed the constitution adopted with 63.8 percent of the vote in the referendum held over...

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Yen on defensive on U.S. fiscal worry, helps Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - Uncertainty over whether U.S. lawmakers will strike a deal by an end-of-year deadline to avert a severe fiscal retrenchment undermined the yen and bolstered Japanese shares on Tuesday in low volume, with many participants away on Christmas holiday. The dollar rose to a 20-month high of 84.965 yen early on Tuesday in Asia, as Japanese markets caught up with global investors...

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Pagano back to coach Colts after cancer treatment

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chuck Pagano stepped to the podium Monday, hugged his team owner, thanked his family for its support and wiped a tear from his eye.He might, finally, turn out the lights in his office, too.Nearly three months to the day after being diagnosed with leukemia, the Colts' first-year coach returned to a team eager to reunite with a boss healthy enough to go back to work."I told you my...

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Utilities keeping eye on expected snow storm

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Utility companies are watching and waiting as a Christmas Day storm is expected in Oklahoma and Arkansas.The National Weather Service says 4 to 8 inches of snow is possible from western Oklahoma to the Arkansas state line and up to 10 inches could fall in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas.Kathleen O’Shea with Oklahoma Gas and Electric — which has about 798,000 customers...

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Six political lessons of 2012

2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The...

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6 shot within hours; 5 seriously hurt

Six people were hurt, five seriously, in shootings on the South and West sides late Monday.Four of the injured were hurt in...

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Asian shares steady, U.S. budget concerns weigh

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares steadied in quiet pre-holiday trade on Monday from a slump late last week, with prices capped by nervousness about the risk of the United States failing to avert a fiscal crisis. European shares will likely be subdued, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100 <.ftse> and Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> to open steady to 0.1 percent higher....

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Seahawks roll past 49ers in noisy Seattle 42-13

SEATTLE (AP) — As the noise grew, coach Pete Carroll looked up through the rain at the deafening home crowd fueling the blowout his Seattle Seahawks were putting together on the field.After three seasons of breaking down and reconstructing the Seahawks roster, Carroll doesn't have a team that is just going to the postseason. His club reinforced the notion that no one in the NFC wants to see Seattle...

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