Man with bionic leg to climb Chicago skyscraper

CHICAGO (AP) — Zac Vawter considers himself a test pilot. After losing his right leg in a motorcycle accident, the 31-year-old software engineer signed up to become a research subject, helping to test a trailblazing prosthetic leg that's controlled by his thoughts.He will put this groundbreaking bionic leg to the ultimate test Sunday when he attempts to climb 103 flights of stairs to the top of Chicago's...

Read More..

Obama touring hard-hit New Jersey

BRIGANTINE, N.J. (AP) — President Barack Obama soberly toured the destruction wrought by superstorm Sandy on Wednesday in the company of New Jersey's Republican governor and assured victims "we will not quit" until cleanup and recovery are complete. Six days before their hard-fought election, rival Mitt Romney muted criticism of Obama as he barnstormed battleground Florida.Forsaking partisan politics...

Read More..

Apparent insider attack kills 2 NATO troops

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A man wearing an Afghan police uniform killed two NATO troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the international military alliance said.The assault appeared to the be the latest in a string of insider attacks that have threatened to sever the partnership between international troops and the Afghan forces they are trying to train to take over responsibility for the country's...

Read More..

Hurricane Sandy disrupts Northeast U.S. telecom networks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Power outages and flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy disrupted telecommunications services in Northeastern states on Tuesday, resulting in spotty coverage for cellphones, television, home telephones and Internet services. While all the region's telecom service providers were having problems, Verizon Communications, which serves many of the states in the hurricane's...

Read More..

Disney to make new 'Star Wars' films, buy Lucas co

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A decade after George Lucas said "Star Wars" was finished on the big screen, a new trilogy is destined for theaters as The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it was buying Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion.The seventh movie, with a working title of "Episode 7," is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow. The new trilogy will carry the story of Luke Skywalker, Han...

Read More..

Mammograms: For 1 life saved, 3 women overtreated

LONDON (AP) — Breast cancer screening for women over 50 saves lives, an independent panel in Britain has concluded, confirming findings in U.S. and other studies.But that screening comes with a cost: The review found that for every life saved, roughly three other women were overdiagnosed, meaning they were unnecessarily treated for a cancer that would never have threatened their lives.The expert panel...

Read More..

Sandy's death toll climbs; millions without power

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of people from Maine to the Carolinas waited wearily for the power to come back on Tuesday, and New Yorkers found themselves all but cut off from the modern world as the U.S. death toll from Superstorm Sandy climbed to 40, many of the victims killed by falling trees.The extent of the damage in New Jersey, where the storm roared ashore Monday night with hurricane-force winds...

Read More..

China wants to stop profiteering at temple sites

BEIJING (AP) — China is telling tourist-favored Buddhist temples: Don't let money be your mantra.Authorities announced a ban this week on temples selling shares to investors after leaders of several popular temples planned to pursue stock market listings for them as commercial entities. Even the Shaolin Temple of kung fu movie fame was once rumored to be planning a stock market debut — and critics...

Read More..

Apple iPhone software and retail chiefs leaving company

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc said on Monday its iPhone software chief and its head of retail would leave, a major executive shake-up that follows embarrassing problems with the company's new mapping software and disappointing quarterly results. The moves, which come a little more than a year into Tim Cook's tenure as Apple's chief executive, were described by the company as a way...

Read More..

Superstorm causes major entertainment disruption

David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon are doing their shows without audiences. Jimmy Kimmel, visiting from his home base in sunny Hollywood, canceled a taping in Brooklyn. "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" are taking the night off, and each of Broadway's 40 theaters will be dark through Tuesday — all because of a powerful storm bearing down on the East Coast.Hurricane Sandy didn't just halt airline...

Read More..