Did the Exodus of Moses Really Happen?

In the Bible, he is called Moses. In the Koran, he is the prophet Musa.Religious scholars have long questioned whether of the story of a prophet leading God's chosen people in a great exodus out of Egypt and the freedom it brought them afterwards was real, but the similarities between a pharaoh's ancient hymn and a psalm of David might hold the link to his existence.Tune in...

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Syria opposition leader rejects Moscow invitation

ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's opposition leader has rejected an invitation from Russia for peace talks, dealing another blow to international hopes that diplomacy can be resurrected to end a 21-month civil war. Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's main international protector, said on Friday it had sent an invitation for a visit to Moaz Alkhatib, whose six-week-old...

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Tennis: Nadal out of Australian Open

MADRID: World number four Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Australian Open on Friday, claiming he was still suffering from the stomach virus which caused him to cancel his plans to return to action in the Gulf this week.Nadal, the 11-time Grand Slam title winner, has also withdrawn from the Qatar Open which starts on Monday and where he was due to play his first official tournament since...

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Apple's Christmas gift - 87 percent leap in app downloads

Apple certainly enjoyed a jolly Christmas, at least based on the number of downloads from its App Store.Data out yesterday from mobile analytics firm Distimo revealed an 87 percent jump in iPhone and iPad app downloads on Christmas Day as compared with the average for the month. Sales from all those downloads rose by 70 percent on December 25. TheiPad seemed to be an especially popular gift this season,...

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Suspect's image released in latest NYC subway push death

NEW YORK Police continue to search for a woman wanted in the death of a man pushed to his death in front of a subway train in Queens.The incident happened around 8 p.m. Thursday on the elevated tracks at the 40th Street Station on Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, CBS Station WCBS reports.Police said witnesses saw the woman pacing and mumbling on the platform before taking a seat alone on a wooden bench....

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Newtown Shooter's DNA to Be Studied

Geneticists have been asked to study the DNA of Adam Lanza, the Connecticut man whose shooting rampage killed 27 people, including an entire first grade class.The study, which experts believe may be the first of its kind, is expected to be looking for abnormalities or mutations in Lanza's DNA.Connecticut Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver has reached out to University of Connecticut's...

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Syria envoy calls for political change to end conflict

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international envoy seeking a solution to Syria's 21-month-old conflict said on Thursday political change was needed to end the violence which has killed 44,000 people, and called for a transitional government to rule until elections. Speaking in Damascus at the end of a five-day trip during which he met President Bashar al-Assad, Lakhdar Brahimi did not spell out...

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Egypt prosecutor orders probe into opposition "incitement"

CAIRO: Egypt's public prosecutor on Thursday ordered a probe into the top three leaders of the opposition on suspicion of trying to incite followers to overthrow President Mohamed Morsi, a legal source said.The prosecutor, Taalat Ibrahim Abdallah, who was appointed by Morsi late last month, signed the order against the leaders of the opposition National Salvation Front, which led protests...

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Galaxy S4: Imagine it impossibly thin, with laser keyboard

A projection of the future Galaxy S4? Or just pure fantasy?(Credit:Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET)The upcoming Galaxy S4 from Samsung is already carrying the weight of the whole Android smartphone world on its shoulders, even though it hasn't been officially announced yet, and we'd be lucky to see it actually available within the next six months.Many are hoping the next flagship phone from Samsung could...

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Former President Bush stays in ICU, fever lingers

(CBS News) Former President George H.W. Bush remains in the intensive care unit of Houston's Methodist Hospital on Thursday, after battling a bronchitis-like cough and fever for over a month. Doctors say his condition is improving since he suffered a setback on Christmas Day but also say they are having trouble keeping the former president's fever under control. He was reportedly put on a liquid...

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Storms Spawn 34 Tornado Reports Across South

Severe Christmas day weather tore across the deep South, spinning off 34 possible tornadoes and killing at least three people in its path, while extreme weather is forecast throughout today for parts of the East Coast.The storm first pounded Texas, then touched down in Louisiana and blasted through homes in Mississippi. In Mobile, Ala., a wide funnel cloud was barreled across...

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Syria to discuss Brahimi peace proposals with Russia

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a senior diplomat to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss proposals to end the conflict convulsing his country made by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Syrian and Lebanese sources said. Brahimi, who saw Assad on Monday and is planning to hold a series of meetings with Syrian officials and dissidents in Damascus this week, is trying...

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Cricket: Davids, Phangiso clinch series for South Africa

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa: Henry Davids hit his second successive half-century and Aaron Phangiso took crucial wickets as South Africa beat New Zealand by 33 runs in the series-deciding third and final Twenty20 international.Davids struck 68 at St George's Park in a South African total of 179 for six and Phangiso dismissed New Zealand's big guns, Martin Guptill and captain Brendon McCullum,...

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Microsoft forges ahead with retail store expansion plans

A Microsoft store in Boston.(Credit:Jim Kerstetter/CNET)Microsoft unveiled the first six locations for its next wave of retail stores for next year. The company has been in the middle of a broader transformation to further connect with consumers beyond its Windows software. That has included moving even further into the hardware business with its owntablet, the Surface, going beyond itsXbox 360 video...

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Obama cuts Hawaii trip short to address "fiscal cliff"

KAILUA, Hawaii President Barack Obama is cutting short his traditional Christmas holiday in Hawaii to return to Washington as lawmakers consider how to prevent the economy from going over the so-called fiscal cliff, the White House said Tuesday. Obama will fly back to the nation's capital Wednesday night, just five days after arriving in Hawaii, White House officials said. In the past, the president's...

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Winter Storms, Tornado Threats for Christmas in US

Forecasts of snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened to complicate Christmas Day travel around the nation's midsection Tuesday as several Gulf Coast states braced for a chance of twisters and powerful thunderstorms.A blizzard watch was posted for parts of Indiana and western Kentucky for storms expected to develop Tuesday amid predictions of up to 4 to 7 inches of snow in coming...

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Syria envoy seeks peace as clashes rage

BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pursued mediation efforts in Damascus on Tuesday, but there was no pause in the bloodletting as Syrian Christians marked a bleak Christmas Day with prayers for peace. "We are here in a cave that symbolizes Syria right now," said a priest standing beside a nativity scene in a grotto. "It is cold here but the door is open...

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Football: Anichebe return perfect timing, says Moyes

LONDON: Everton's Nigerian striker Victor Anichebe has returned to first team action at just the right time club manager David Moyes said on Tuesday.The 24-year-old showed little sign of lacking match fitness as he returned to the side and scored in last Saturday's 2-1 English Premier League victory over West Ham leaving them fifth in the table.Moyes, who has gained many admirers over...

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LG's 2013 home theater line doubles down on sound bars, Bluetooth speakers

CES 2013 is still weeks away, but LG is getting a jump on the show by announcing its full line of home theater products on Christmas Day. Its home audio offerings are anchored by four new sound bar models, with all but the entry-level NB2030A featuring built-in Bluetooth and a wireless subwoofer. The top two models come in a new, larger size, designed to match 47-inch TVs, which reflects the rising...

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Pope decries slaughter of "defenseless" in Syria

VATICAN CITY Pope Benedict XVI wished Christmas peace to the world Tuesday, decrying the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria and urging Israelis and Palestinians to find the courage to negotiate. Delivering the Vatican's traditional Christmas day message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict also encouraged Arab spring nations, especially Egypt, to build just and respectful...

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4 Firefighters Shot, 2 Killed Responding to NY Blaze

Two firefighters were shot and killed and two others taken to a nearby hospital after a gunman opened fire on them as they responded to a house fire in Webster, N.Y., this morning, according to authorities and local media.Officials at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., told ABCNews.com that two men were taken there this morning and were in "guarded condition" after...

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Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said. The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such...

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Two firefighters shot dead in New York state: media

NEW YORK: Two firefighters were shot dead and two others wounded in New York state on Monday when at least one gunman opened fire as the emergency personnel responded to a blaze, local media reported.The incident -- which comes as debate rages in the United States about gun control following the Newtown school massacre -- happened in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, the Democrat and Chronicle...

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Nokia tablet details: keyboard cover with battery, 10.1-inch display

Nokia House in Espoo, Finland.(Credit:Roger Cheng/CNET)Nokia's rumoredtablet looks closer to coming to fruition. Nokia plans to launch its Windows RT-powered tablet early next year, according to the Verge, which has a few details on the rumored device. The tablet will be paired up with a special keyboard cover that will have its own battery, allowing it to run as an auxiliary power supply. The keyboard...

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Police in India clamp down on protests over gang rape

Even as Indian Prime Minster Manmohan Singh appealed for calm after violent weekend protests over the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, police in the nation's capital were enforcing a complete clampdown. Prime Minister Singh urged calm and vowed to protect women as police struggled Monday to quell increasing outrage over sex crimes, following the gang-rape of a student on a bus...

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Norquist: Obama, Democrats Using Newtown for 'Political Purposes'

Dec 23, 2012 11:23am (ABC News)National Rifle Association board member and president of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist said on Sunday that President Obama and Democrats are politicizing the Newtown tragedy by pushing for gun control.“We ought to calm down and not take tragedies like this, crimes like this, and use them for political purposes,” Norquist told...

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Egyptians back new constitution in referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist-backed Egyptian constitution won approval in a referendum, rival camps said on Sunday, after a vote the opposition said would sow deep social divisions in the Arab world's most populous nation. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the...

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Petitioners ask Obama to retaliate for Russia adoption ban

WASHINGTON: Tens of thousands of petitioners are calling for US President Barack Obama to escalate the diplomatic feud that led Moscow to propose a law barring Americans from adopting Russian children.Two petitions on the White House web site are asking for US sanctions on the Russian lawmakers who help pass the law that one of the petitions says will "jeopardize lives and well-being of...

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A miniature speaker amplifier for your desktop

Pro-Ject Stereo Box S (Credit:Pro-Ject)I've long admired Pro-Ject turntables, but I was only vaguely aware of their electronics line so it was high time to check out one of their amplifiers. I requested their baby amp, the Stereo Box S ($299). It's the smallest power amp I've ever seen, a mere 4.1 by 1.4 by 4.8 inches, and the build quality of its all-metal chassis felt robust. The amp is available...

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