Israel moves to further seal off Jerusalem from West Bank

Israeli officials today approved plans for 2,612 new homes to be built on Givat HaMatos, or Airplane Hill, which is set to become the first new Jerusalem neighborhood to be built outside Israel's internationally recognized borders since 1996.The placement profoundly concerns Palestinians and advocates of a two-state solution. They say that it and other building projects under way would make drawing...

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Newtown shooting cranks up Canada's gun-control debate

Though the massacre in Newtown, Conn., last week has drawn sympathy from all over the world, it has a particular resonance in Canada.The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 victims dead, including 20 children, comes just a week after the 23rd anniversary of Canada's own "Montreal Massacre," which reshaped the country's gun laws. Moreover, it occurred even as Canadians recently renewed...

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Palestinians begin returning to Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.Refugees have started returning to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria after fighting between rebels and government-allied forces sent them fleeing, but the status of the Palestinian refugees, along with hundreds of thousands of others displaced by the Syrian conflict, remains a top concern for observers outside the country.The Associated...

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Notre Dame's Te'o eyes Heisman after Maxwell win

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Manti Te'o is one of the most important leaders for undefeated Notre Dame, having played in a ton of big games for the Fighting Irish.Even so, he had a tough time processing this victory.The senior linebacker was "at a loss for words" after capturing the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding player, one of three honors he received at the 22nd Home Depot College...

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Vikings lead NFL with 5 players from Notre Dame

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Notre Dame is one of the few college football teams that truly can boast a national following.Why, there's even an alumni chapter in the Minnesota Vikings locker room."It's really fun to be able to talk trash to everybody," said center John Sullivan, who has a leprechaun tattoo on his left shoulder.Sullivan is one of five ex-Notre Dame players on the Vikings, the most of...

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Te'o and Manziel hit Manhattan with Heisman hopes

NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was looking forward to a break after a five-city-in-five-days tour, during which he has become the most decorated player in college football."I'm just trying to get a workout in and get some sleep," he said Friday about his plans for the night.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel seemed to have more energy when he arrived at a midtown Manhattan...

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Manziel is first freshman Heisman Trophy winner

NEW YORK (AP) — Johnny Football just got himself a way cooler nickname: Johnny Heisman.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, taking college football's top individual prize Saturday night after a record-breaking debut.Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o finished a distant second and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein was third in the voting. In...

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Manziel is first freshman to win Heisman Trophy

NEW YORK (AP) — He's Johnny Best in Football now — and a freshman, at that.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first newcomer to win the Heisman Trophy, taking college football's top individual prize Saturday night after a record-breaking debut.Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o finished a distant second in the voting and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein was third. In a Heisman...

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Alicia Keys dethrones Rihanna from Billboard top spot

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - American R&B singer Alicia Keys scored her fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday with "Girl on Fire," unseating reigning chart queen Rihanna.Keys' fifth studio album sold 159,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which was the lowest opening week of sales for any of the soulful singer's career.Keys, 31, held off country-pop starlet Taylor...

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"The Message" deemed greatest hip hop song ever

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 1982 hit "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was named the greatest hip hop song of all time on Wednesday, in the first such list by Rolling Stone magazine to celebrate the young but influential music genre."The Message," which tops a list of 50 influential hip hop songs, was the first track "to tell, with hip hop's rhythmic and vocal force, the truth...

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