Facebook announced Friday that it will end its Deals program, the network’s answer to Groupon and other daily deals sites. The program is being dropped after four months of testing in select markets in Texas, California and Georgia. The network will discontinue the program in the “coming weeks.” “We think there is a lot of power in a social approach to driving people into local businesses,” Facebook said in a statement to the Associated Press. “We’ve learned a lot from our test and we’ll continue to evaluate how to best serve local businesses.” Read full article > >

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Facebook ends Deals in a move that bolsters Groupon’s lead

Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman , has been killed in Pakistan , U.S. officials said Saturday — a significant strike against the terrorist group nearly four months after the death of Osama bin Laden . Rahman was killed Aug. 22 in Waziristan, the tribal northwest region of Pakistan, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak by name. The official called his death “a tremendous loss for al-Qaeda” because the group’s new top leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, “was relying heavily on him to help guide and run the organization, especially since bin Laden’s death.” Read full article > >

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Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader is killed in Pakistan, U.S. officials say

Rebel fighters say they are in control of most of Libya’s capital, though the months-long war appeared far from over Saturday.

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Rebels seize pro-Gadhafi stronghold

The U.S. military is working to protect troops against an increasingly common type of injury in Afghanistan: groin wounds. Four months ago, the Army put in a rush order for $2 million worth of ballistic underwear designed to better protect service members. Recently, the Army again put in a rush order – this time for $19 million for “ballistic groin protection and armored exterior shorts.” There’s a good reason to take a hard look at pelvic protection. As a result of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, troops in Afghanistan are suffering more and more blunt trauma injuries to their pelvic areas and genitals. The injuries can lead to internal bleeding and in some cases be fatal. Read full article > >

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Military bulks up to protect against groin injuries

US retail sales rose in July by the largest amount in four months, figures show, tempering fears the US may be slipping back into recession.

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US retail sales rise 0.5% in July

Highest increase in four months.

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Retail Sales Rose in July

Care home operator Southern Cross and its landlords agree to work together for four months to resolve its financial problems.

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Southern Cross in landlord deal

Ed Balls has denied there was a plot by Gordon Brown and his supporters to oust Tony Blair as Prime Minister in the months after the 2005 general election.

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VIDEO: Ed Balls: There was no plot against Blair

As state attorneys general continue their months-long settlement negotiations with the nation’s largest banks over widespread problems in foreclosure practices, they have yet to resolve differences within their own group on key issues. Even within the 14-member “executive committee” of attorneys general who are leading the 50-state coalition, some have very different visions of what exactly a settlement should look like. Florida’s Pam Bondi, for instance, has joined a handful of other Republican attorneys general in arguing against forcing banks to lower loan balances for troubled homeowners, a controversial practice known as principal reduction. Read full article > >

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Foreclosure settlement divides state attorneys general

Libya is calling on Russia to mediate a ceasefire, a sign that Moammar Gadhafi’s regime may be ready to bring about an end to the months-long war.

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Libya asks Russia to mediate ceasefire

HOUSTON — Doctors repaired Gabrielle Giffords’ skull on Wednesday, the latest milestone in her recovery from an assassination attempt and a procedure that experts say will improve her quality of life. A gunman shot her in the head more than four months ago in Tucson, Ariz., and doctors had to remove a portion of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain. On Wednesday, they put a plastic implant in place to fully cover her brain, according to a statement from TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital. The hospital planned a briefing on Thursday to give an update on her medical condition and discuss the next steps in her rehabilitation. Read full article > >

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Hospital: Rep. Giffords has surgery to repair hole in skull after assassination attempt

HOUSTON — Doctors will replace a piece of Gabrielle Giffords’ skull with a plastic implant on Wednesday, another encouraging step in the Arizona congresswoman’s recovery from a gunshot to the head more than four months ago. The surgery — coming just days after Giffords traveled to Florida to watch her astronaut husband launch into space — was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the congresswoman’s care. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not officially been released. Read full article > >

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APNewsBreak: Surgery set to put implant in Giffords’ skull in place of piece removed

The Hollywood actress has pleaded no contest over the theft of a gold necklace from a jewellery store last year and has been sentenced to four months in jail.

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Lindsay Lohan sentenced to jail

FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker is leaving the government agency to join Comcast-only four months after she sat on the commission that approved its controversial merger with NBC. Baker, one of two Republicans on the five-member commission, will…

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FCC Commissioner to Join Comcast

Four months after the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, one of the commissioners who approved the deal said she would join Comcast to oversee its government affairs office.

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Media Decoder: F.C.C. Commissioner Leaving to Join Comcast