Mood drug no help for smoking cessation in prison study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The addition of the antidepressant nortriptyline to conventional smoking cessation therapy didn’t improve the chances of longterm success among male prisoners, Australian researchers have found.Depression and other mental illnesses raise the likelihood of smoking, and quitting can depress a person’s mood – which in turn can make it harder to quit. Studies have shown that...

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House faces test on ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

Vice President Joe Biden gives two thumbs up following a Senate Democratic caucus meeting about the fiscal cliff …The Republican-held House of Representatives faced a tough vote Tuesday on a last-minute “fiscal cliff” compromise to cut taxes on all but the richest Americans and stall some painful spending cuts.  The deal, cut in secret weekend talks and passed by the Senate by a lopsided...

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Pope marks end of difficult year, notes God’s good

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of a difficult year Monday by saying that despite all the death and injustice in the world, goodness prevails.Benedict celebrated New Year’s Eve with a vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica to give thanks for 2012 and look ahead to 2013. He appeared tired during the service and used a cane afterward — an indication that the busy Christmas season...

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Armstrong better, Green Day to resume tour in 2013

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Green Day is going back out on the road.The Grammy-winning punk band announced new tour dates Monday.The band canceled the rest of its 2012 club schedule and postponed the start of a 2013 arena tour after singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong‘s substance abuse problems emerged publicly in September when he had a profane meltdown on the stage of the iHeartRadio Music Festival in...

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Palestinians say 9 dead from swine flu outbreak

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian health official says an outbreak swine flu has killed nine people.Deputy Health Minister Asad Ramlawi also said Monday more than 225 people have been infected by the H1N1 influenza strain, known as swine flu. He said more than 25,000 vaccinations have been administered this year to prevent it. The West Bank has 2.5 million residents.The West Bank has been struck...

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Obama: Deal to avert fiscal cliff 'in sight'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Working with Congress against a midnight deadline, President Barack Obama said Monday that a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" was in sight but not yet finalized. The emerging deal would raise tax rates on family income over $450,000 and individual income over $400,000 a year, increase the estate tax rate and extend unemployment benefits for one year."There are still issues left to...

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Pakistan militants kill 41 in mass execution, attack on Shi’ites

PESHWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani militants, who have escalated attacks in recent weeks, killed at least 41 people in two separate incidents, officials said on Sunday, challenging assertions that military offensives have broken the back of hardline Islamist groups.The United States has long pressured nuclear-armed ally Pakistan to crack down harder on both homegrown militants groups such as...

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‘The Hobbit’ stays atop box office for third week

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” continues to rule them all at the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week with nearly $ 33 million.The Warner Bros. fantasy epic from director Peter Jackson, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel, has made $ 222.7 million domestically alone.Two big holiday movies — and potential awards contenders — also had strong openings. Quentin Tarantino‘s...

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Italian Nobel scientist Montalcini dies at 103

ROME (Reuters) – Rita Levi Montalcini, joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and an Italian Senator for Life, died on Sunday at the age of 103, her family said.The first Nobel laureate to reach 100 years of age, she won the prize in 1986 with American Stanley Cohen for their discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that makes developing cells grow by stimulating surrounding nerve tissue.Her...

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Top Republican Senator urges Biden to break ‘fiscal cliff’ impasse

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is shown in this C-Span video footage as he addresses the Senate …Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged Vice President Joe Biden to jump into “fiscal cliff” talks in hopes of breaking an impasse that threatens Americans with sharply higher income taxes come January 1.In a brief speech on the Senate floor, McConnell complained that...

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