Facebook might buy Microsoft’s Atlas Ad platform to compete with Google

Is Facebook (FB) preparing to compete with Google (GOOG) in online advertising? According to AllThingsD and BusinessInsider’s sources Facebook might be taking steps to build its own advertising network for online websites. AllThingsD says that rather than build a new advertising network from scratch, Facebook could just buy Microsoft’s (MSFT) Atlas Solutions platform “that...

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Kristen Wiig may join “Anchorman: The Legend Continues”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Kristen Wiig is being eyed for a role in “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” for Paramount Pictures, a person familiar with the negotiations has told TheWrap.Wiig would play opposite Steve Carell, as a love interest in the sequel. The script is still being written, and no cast beyond the principals has been set.Adam McKay is directing the feature, which is being produced...

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Massachusetts sanctions three more pharmacies, recasts oversight board

BOSTON (Reuters) – Massachusetts regulators on Thursday continued their crackdown on pharmacies in the wake of a deadly meningitis outbreak, announcing sanctions on three companies while recasting an oversight board that has been criticized for being too lax.Massachusetts pharmacy operations have been under close scrutiny since New England Compounding Center, a specialty pharmacy, shipped thousands...

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Intel CEO Otellini expects insider to replace him

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Intel‘s outgoing chief executive, Paul Otellini, said he expected to be replaced by a company insider and also signaled that the top chipmaker could open its factories to strategic customers.Otellini’s comments at a Sanford Bernstein investor conference on Wednesday stoked speculation the top chipmaker may manufacture mobile chips for Apple and pushed Intel’s shares higher...

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Toronto mayor to stay in power pending appeal of ouster

TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford can stay in power pending an appeal of a conflict of interest ruling that ordered him out of his job as leader of Canada’s biggest city, a court ruled on Wednesday.Madam Justice Gladys Pardu of the Ontario Divisional Court suspended a previous court ruling that said Ford should be ousted. Ford’s appeal of that ruling is set to be heard on January 7, but a...

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25 top-rated Facebook games from 2012

Games can be both a welcome and an annoying diversion on Facebook, the world’s most popular online social network. This year, Facebook crossed a big milestone — reaching 1 billion active users. Game companies such as “FarmVille” creator Zynga Inc. and Rovio Entertainment Ltd. of “Angry Birds” fame seek to tap into that vast base of users to gain more players for their games.This week, Facebook Inc....

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Kathie Lee Gifford’s “Scandalous” musical to close after three weeks

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – So much for Kathie Lee Gifford‘s career as a playwright. The former “Live!” co-host’s Broadway musical “Scandalous: The Life and Times of Aimee Semple McPherson,” is shuttering a little after three weeks after it opened.The musical, which opened November 15, will have its final performance December 9 at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York.Gifford wrote the book and lyrics...

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Asthma symptoms may vary during menstrual cycle

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Some women may have more or fewer asthma symptoms, such as coughing and wheezing, depending on their time of the month, a new study suggests.Researchers said spikes and dips in estrogen and other hormones likely affect the lungs and other physiological responses involved in breathing. However, it’s still unclear whether the findings could improve doctors’ treatment of women...

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TSX ends higher as CP Rail gains on cost-cutting

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian stocks ended higher on Wednesday as optimism about Chinese economic growth boosted energy stocks and investors cheered a cost-cutting plan at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd .The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> closed up 20.11 points, or 0.17 percent, at 12,157.29.</.gsptse>(Reporting by Alastair Sharp)Economy News Headlines – Yahoo!...

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Death toll from Philippine typhoon nears 300

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — Stunned parents searching for missing children examined a row of mud-stained bodies covered with banana leaves while survivors dried their soaked belongings on roadsides Wednesday, a day after a powerful typhoon killed nearly 300 people in the southern Philippines.Officials fear more bodies may be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas that were isolated by landslides,...

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