Weak Jobs Data Dash Hopes of Accelerating Recovery

The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in November and the unemployment rate rose, dashing hopes that the recovery is gaining momentum.Nonfarm payrolls rose by 39,000 last month as private-sector employers added only 50,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday. The jobless rate, obtained from a separate household survey, unexpectedly rose to 9.8%, the highest level since April. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast payrolls would rise by 144,000 and that the unemployment rate would remain unchanged at 9.6%. The previous two months were revised upward, with October job gains at 172,000 from a previous estimate of 151,000, but that didn't help an overall negative report. The weaker-than-expected data caused the U.S. dollar to weaken against major currencies....

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WikiLeaks cables: Our troops 'do an excellent job' in Sangin, insists MoD

MoD defends Helmand operations after revelations that Karzai and US commander of Nato troops had criticised British efforts The Ministry of Defence defended the conduct of operations in Helmand yesterday after revelations that the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and the US commander of Nato troops had accused British troops of failing. The criticism centred on a failure of the British military to impose security and to connect with Afghan civilians during a four-year stewardship of Helmand, Afghanistan's largest and most troubled provice. They came to light in a series of secret dispatches from the leaked US diplomatic cables. The town...

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Park City Aldi moving to Fountain Square

What was once the parking lot for the defunct Lakehurst Cinema may soon be occupied by an Aldi Foods store — replacing the one in operation about a half-mile east in Park City. A preliminary plat for redevelopment is scheduled to go before the full Waukegan City Council next week. Council approval of the project could come later this month following a unanimous recommendation of the project Monday by the council’s Judiciary Committee. The future store would occupy three lots on the 10-acre property. Since the theater was demolished in 2007, the site has added a McDonald’s, a Holiday Inn Express and Tires Plus. In his application to the city, Highland Park developer Shai Lothan stated that the addition of Aldi’s will “help this property be more compatible with the new development...

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Top U.S. military officer presses China over North Korea

(Reuters) - China's push for new talks with North Korea is no substitute for action after Pyongyang's deadly attack on a South Korean island, and Beijing should use its influence to calm the situation, the top U.S. military officer said on Wednesday. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said North Korea's "lethal and unprovoked" artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last week was "unacceptable" and threatened the stability of the region. The attack, the heaviest North Korean bombardment of the South since the 1950-53 Korean War, killed two civilians and two marines and destroyed dozens of houses. South Korean troops fired back minutes afterwards, causing unknown damage. China has called for a resumption of six-party talks with North Korea...

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It used to be that the lingerie shown in the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was completely one-of-a-kind...created by elite designers to wear once on the runway and then forgotten about afterwards. But in response to customers who often wanted to buy lingerie they'd just seen modeled by the VS Angels, Victoria's Secret began highlighting a select group of pieces from their regular stores on the runway. These few pieces are still heavily embellished, of course, and nearly unrecognizable.  But if you look very closely, you can see that unique Victoria's Secret style. Take a look at five of these side by side photos from the...

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Man arrested for Harry Potter cinema masturbation session

South Carolina resident Alexander Ofner was sitting in the back row of Sea Turtle Cinemas for an afternoon showing of the latest instalment in the franchise when police received an emergency call. They arrived at the cinema in Bluffton and headed to its projection booth to witness what they described in their subsequent report as 'a white male touching his genitals'. The 39-year-old was then arrested for indecent exposure and taken to jail. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the penultimate film in the series based on JK Rowling's books, has a more adult rating than the previous movies. It features a topless kissing scene between...

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