Apple shares broke $500 for the first time on Monday, jumping 25 percent in six months after the hot tech stock passed the $400 mark in July. The stock opened at $499.53, immediately jumped to $501 and continued to hover around the $500 mark in morning trading. As of 10:30 a.m., the stock was trading around $498 per share. Read full article > >

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Apple shares hit $500 for the first time

BEIJING — As measured by China’s state-run media, the country’s leadership transition is already well underway. Vice President Xi Jinping , who will move up to Communist Party general secretary later this year and president of China in 2013, has appeared prominently on the front page of China Daily in recent weeks, signing ping pong paddles with former president Jimmy Carter, toasting the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s visit to China, and being welcomed with honors in Thailand and Vietnam. Read full article > >

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In China, will transition bring real change?

Knicks guard has taken over social media.

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Jeremy Lin: Twitter Star

A Syrian general is killed by “terrorists”, state media say, in what is thought to be the first assassination of a senior officer in Damascus since the uprising began.

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Syria general ‘shot in Damascus’

I t’s easy to frame the fight over SOPA and PIPA as Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley — two huge industries clashing over whose voice should dictate the future of Internet policy — but it’s absolutely wrong. The bills are dead , thanks to widespread protest. But the real architects of the bills’ defeat don’t have a catchy label or a recognized lobbying group. They don’t have the glamour or the deep pockets of the studios. Yet they are the largest, most powerful and most important voice in the debate — and, until recently, they’ve been all but invisible to Congress. Read full article > >

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We are the media, and so are you

The amount of trans fat in the American bloodstream fell by more than half after the Food and Drug Administration required food manufacturers to label how much of the unhealthful ingredient is in their products, according to a new study . Read full article > >

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Trans-fat blood levels plummet after FDA food-labeling regulation

Media giant News Corporation sees its net profits rise 65% in the three months to the end of December 2011 compared to 2010.

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News Corp profits swing to growth

News from Tina Brown.

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Exciting Changes at The Daily Beast

Media and Internet giants at odds over dealing with purloined content on the Web may need to agree first on exactly how bad the problem is.

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In Piracy Debate, Deciding if the Sky Is Falling

With little fanfare, federal prosecutors on Friday dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong , nearly two years after it began. After convening a grand jury, summoning dozens of witnesses and involving several federal agencies, the government decided not to bring fraud and conspiracy charges against Armstrong stemming from allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his legendary cycling career. Read full article > >

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End of Lance Armstrong probe raises questions about media’s reporting

As Valentine's Day draws near, the romantically inclined among you are officially in full-on scheming mode. You could partake in a heavy, pricey, prix-fixe meal with one hundred other canoodling strangers at the city's “most romantic” restaurant – or you could go the trés romantique route and woo your beloved the homemade way. For dessert, might we propose a soufflé? Jacques Capsouto, owner of soufflé-centric French bistro Capsouto Frères , is here to deflate the myth of soufflés as kitchen catastrophe. All that's required is a little heart, a soupçon of practice time, a foolproof recipe and someone to share it all with. Soufflé Makes 6 Ingredients Chocolate mixture (recipe below) 8 dashes Grand Marnier or orange liqueur 6 four-inch ramekins, buttered and sugared 16 egg whites (2 cups) Dash of cream of tartar or salt 6 Tbsp confectioners' sugar Chocolate sauce (recipe below) 6 oz crème Chantilly (recipe below) Cooking Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, combine the chocolate mixture with two dashes of Grand Marnier. Add a dash of liqueur in each ramekin. In another bowl with a mixer, add egg whites and cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Add confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat. Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then gently and quickly fold the next third and then the last third. Divide evenly into the six ramekins; tap on the counter to settle and wipe off excess. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until puffed and golden. (Do not open the oven while the soufflés are cooking.) Serve immediately. At the table, gently pierce the top of soufflé, pour in some of the chocolate sauce and top with crème Chantilly. Chocolate Mixture Ingredients 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup cocoa powder (extra bitter) 3/4 Tbsp butter (melted) Vanilla extract Salt (couple of pinches) Cooking Directions In a pot, bring sugar and water to a boil; allow to cool. Sift cocoa powder into syrup mixture. Add melted butter, vanilla and salt; stir. Chocolate Sauce Ingredients 1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate 1 Tbsp butter 1 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup sugar Cooking Directions Melt chocolate with butter in double boiler . In a separate pot, bring milk, cream and sugar to a boil. Whisk milk, cream and sugar mixture into chocolate; slowly incorporate each amount before adding more. Crème Chantilly Ingredients 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream 1 tsp sugar 1 dash pure vanilla extract Cooking Directions Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl; beat until thick, either by hand or with a mixer. Do not overbeat. Sugar and vanilla may be adjusted according to taste.

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Rise to the occasion with homemade chocolate soufflé

Bad news, hungry hip-hop fans. As many of you speculated, Bon Rappetite, the world's first rap themed eatery, does not actually exist. The gloriously pun-filled website Bon-Rappetite.com is currently the closest you will get to such dishes as the Waka Flocka Flambe . That's right, if you can stop thinking about the Talib Quali-i you'll have to make it for yourself. But take heart, because the people behind the site feel your pain. “I wish it were real” says Everett Steele a web designer and one of the co-creators of Bon-Rappetite.com. The hip-hop fan and Atlien (that's Atlantan to the uninitiated) adds, “I have no desire to be a restaurateur but Ludacris, if you are listening, Usher, Drake come down to Atlanta, give me whatever is in that case or what you keep in that room and I will build a restaurant around it.” Click to listen to the CNN Radio podcast: Steele says that the site started as a joke, a collection of puns written on a bar napkin. “Our company really enjoys fun with technology and the internet,” he explains – almost as much as they like puns involving rappers. So Baby Robot Industries , co-founded by Everett and his wife Bunny Mcintosh , decided to take the puns from the napkin to the net. “We emailed it to like ten people” he says. A year later a couple of local Atlanta outlets took notice. Now Steele finds himself fielding questions from national media including a mention in the food magazine Bon Appetit . The site has received tens of thousands of hits and spent the better part of one recent morning down due to high traffic volume. Steele chuckles at the sudden attention but he gets the appeal, everyone loves puns, he says. Best of all, he loves that people now share their own menu items like: Gucci Mane Lobster and A Tribe Called Quesadilla . All jokes aside, Steele does seem a little bothered by assumptions that the site is little more than a marketing ploy. The company, Baby Robot Industries has not gotten any gigs as a result he says. But, he adds, if you find yourself unable to quell a craving for some real Bon Rappetite in your life they will have t-shirts for sale soon replete with a logo that he says “looks almost like a real restaurant.” Click to listen to the CNN Radio podcast:

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Pun-packed faux restaurant website whets appetite for hip-hop dishes

CAIRO — The Egyptian government intends to prosecute at least 40 people, including some American citizens, as part of an investigation into non-government organizations that receive foreign funding, state media reported Sunday. Read full article > >

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Egypt to prosecute Americans in NGO probe

Last month, Wadah Khanfar, erstwhile Director General of Al Jazeera and now President of the Sharq Forum, an independent think tank dedicated to developing long-term strategies for Mideast development and social justice, visited London. Appearing at the Frontline Club , Middle East monitor , London School of Economics and the Chaltham House , Khanfar discussed the Arab Spring, Al Jazeera, and political Islam.

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Wadah Khanfar Discusses The Arab Spring, Al Jazeera, and Political Islam

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued a handful of the nation’s largest banks Friday, claiming they deceived homeowners and court officials by filing flawed and fraudulent foreclosure documents through a popular electronic mortgage registry. Read full article > >

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New York sues Reston firm over foreclosure documents