CES postscript: The touch laptop, like it or not

Intel showing off touch laptops and desktops at CES. (Credit:Brooke Crothers)The laptop was reinvented at CES.Or maybe I should say there was a vigorous attempt to reinvent the laptop. Because we won't know how successful touch has been until next year this time.Intel's CES booth -- still a large presence in the CES Central Hall -- had one basic unmistakable message: touch has arrived. Windows 8 convertibles,...

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Treasury: No $1 trillion coin

A Treasury Department spokesman announced today that the department will not mint a platinum coin to sidestep raising the federal government's borrowing limit, telling the Washington Post that "neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve believes that the law can or should be used to facilitate the production of platinum coins for the purpose of avoiding an increase in the debt limit."The...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and,...

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Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia voiced support on Saturday for international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi but insisted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to end the country's conflict. Some 60,000 Syrians have been killed during the 21-month-old revolt and world powers are divided over how to stop the escalating bloodshed. Government aircraft bombed...

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Chavez not in coma, responding well to treatment: brother

CARACAS Ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is not in a coma and is responding well to cancer treatment in Cuba, making daily progress, his brother said Saturday."Reports that the president is in a coma and that the family is discussing ending life support, are totally false," Adan Chavez, governor of the state of Barinas, said in a statement.He "continues to respond well to his medical...

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Nokia to go big with smartphone cameras in 2013

Expect Nokia to build on imaging algorithms in the 808 PureView and the Lumia 920 (pictured). (Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)LAS VEGAS--Seated in a luxurious bus on the edge of the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot, Nokia executive VP of sales and marketing Chris Weber talks around the company's plan to differentiate its phones in 2013.It will surprise Nokia followers little to learn that this year,...

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Pa. VA hospital knew of bacteria problem before death

(CBS News) There's been an outbreak other than the flu at the VA Hospital in Pittsburgh. It raises the question: What do patients have the right to know? The bacterium that causes the respiratory illness known as Legionnaires' disease was found in the hospital's water system. The hospital and government officials knew about the outbreak but not the patients who were admitted there. In November,...

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Obama Promises Faster Transition in Afghanistan

President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that most U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan would end this spring, signaling a quickening troop drawdown that will bring the decade-long war to a close at the end of 2014."Our troops will continue to fight alongside Afghans when needed, but let me say it as plainly as I can: Starting this spring, our troops will...

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Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama's determination to wind down a long, unpopular war. Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground...

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US mulls aid to French in Mali, including drones

WASHINGTON: The US military is weighing support for French forces in Mali including surveillance drones, a US official said Friday, as Washington backed moves to deny safe haven to extremists in the country.US commanders were looking at providing intelligence and aerial refueling tankers among a range of options, such as logistical backup and boosting intelligence sharing, which would...

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What mattered at CES day 3

Like an ancient dragon returning to its mountain cave for a thousand years of slumber, CES is starting to wind down for another year. Despite being three days in, exciting new tech and developments are continuing to emerge however, so here are the gadgets and videos you need to check out immediately. Firstly, CNET has rounded up the hottest tech from the show, and -- with a huge helping hand from...

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Student shot at Calif. high school by classmate

Updated at 5:48 p.m. ET TAFT, Calif. A 16-year-old student armed with a shotgun walked into class in a rural California high school on Thursday and shot one student, fired at another but missed, and then was talked into surrendering by a teacher and another staff member, officials said. The teen victim was in critical but stable condition, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told a press conference....

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Hero Teacher Talks Shooter into Dropping Gun

A California high school teacher is being hailed a hero for talking a 16-year-old shooter into putting down his gun and turning himself in after opening fire on a classroom and wounding another student, police said.The student victim was taken to a nearby hospital and remains in critical but stable condition, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told reporters on Thursday.The...

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String of bombings kill 101, injure 200 in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two Pakistani cities on Thursday in one of the country's bloodiest days in recent years, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in Quetta. The bombings underscored the myriad threats Pakistani security forces face from homegrown Sunni extremist groups, the Taliban insurgency in the northwest...

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Captain blames faulty brakes, motor for NY ferry accident

NEW YORK: The captain of a packed ferry that crashed into a New York City pier injuring 74 people blamed malfunctioning brakes and a faulty motor for the accident, US investigators said Thursday."As the boat was coming in, the captain found that the reverse thrust was not operating as anticipated," said Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating...

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Apple updates App Store screenshot rules to shutter scam

Apple has thrown a block in the path of scamming developers looking to trick App Store users into downloading apps they might think is another popular game -- like Minecraft.(Credit:Screenshot by Rich Brown/CNET)Apple announced a new App Store policy for developers today that effectively puts an end to a common bait-and-switch scam. In a note on its Developer Portal, Apple said screenshots submitted...

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Hilda Solis stepping down as labor secretary

Hilda Solis announced that she is stepping down from her post as labor secretary, CBS News has confirmed. She sent a letter to President Obama today notifying him of her retirement. Solis was nominated to the position the same day the president was inaugurated in 2009, serving through the president's entire first term. She ran the Labor Department during the worst economic recession since the Great...

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Arias Caught Lying to Cops in Recorded Phone Calls

Jodi Arias blatantly lied to police who asked her about Travis Alexander's death, telling them in recorded phone calls that she kept trying to call and message Alexander the week of his death but never heard back from him.The phone calls were played as evidence during the fourth day of Arias' trial, in which she is charged with murder and could face the death penalty if convicted...

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Venezuela's top court endorses Chavez inauguration delay

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's top court endorsed the postponement of Hugo Chavez's inauguration this week and ruled on Wednesday that the cancer-stricken president and his deputy would continue in their roles, despite a cacophony of opposition complaints. Critics had argued the 58-year-old's absence from his own swearing-in ceremony on January 10 meant a caretaker president must be...

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EU leaders want UK in union, but not treaty change

LONDON: European leaders on Wednesday stressed the importance of keeping Britain in the EU, but said they opposed treaty changes demanded by Prime Minister David Cameron."Britain is an essential part of the EU," Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said during a conference in Dublin marking the beginning of his country's six-month presidency of the bloc."Great Britain has great value and is...

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How to set up an Eject All hot key in OS X

If you have a MacBook system that you regularly use at a desk such as in an office work space, then you may have a number of peripheral storage devices set up to manage backups and work-specific data, whether attached directly to the system or through a Thunderbolt, FireWire, or USB docking device. These can be convenient when you need them, but quite the opposite when you're packing up to depart.The...

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USADA head: I got death threats during Armstrong probe

(CBS News) Travis Tygart is the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which polices U.S. Olympic sports. Lance Armstrong won the world's most grueling event, the Tour de France, seven times. But after Tygart's investigation, Armstrong lost all of his titles. In his first interview, Tygart spoke with us for the premier of a new program, "60 Minutes Sports" on Showtime. Tygart says Armstrong was doping...

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Menu Calorie Counts: How Accurate Are They?

They are supposed to help America's obesity problem: calorie counts boldly displayed on restaurant menus across the country and important information, considering Americans now eat one-third of their meals outside the home.Two states and nine counties require them today, and by the middle of next year, a federal law is expected to force chain restaurants, convenience stores...

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Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will postpone the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez for a new term due to health problems, the government said on Tuesday, another sign the socialist leader's cancer may be bringing an end to his 14 years in power. The 58-year-old former soldier who has dominated the South American OPEC nation since 1999 has not been heard from since surgery on December...

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Arianespace says 2012 sales leapt by 30%

PARIS: The European space launch company Arianespace said Tuesday that its 2012 sales rose 30 per cent and forecast that it would dominate Russian and US rivals this year with a market share of more than 60 per cent.Arianespace sales soared to more than 1.3 billion euros, and the company said that it already covered 60 per cent of the global market last year, bringing its order book to...

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Verizon at CES 2013: Join us Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. PT (live blog)

Lowell McAdam officially took over as CEO and chairman of Verizon on Jan. 1, 2012. Just over a year into the job, McAdam will take the stage at CES on Tuesday to discuss Verizon's plans for 2013. The event kicks off at 4:30 p.m. PT (7:30 p.m. ET) on Tuesday, January 8, and CNET will be there to cover it live. We'll have a live blog full of news and analysis as it unfolds.You can tune in to the blog...

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Millions of foreclosure abuse victims to get checks

(CBS News) LOS ANGELES - Since the real estate implosion five years ago, major banks have been accused of fraudulent tactics to foreclose on thousands of Americans. On Monday, the U.S. government reached a settlement with 10 banks who will pay $8.5 billion. About four million homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure will be getting some compensation. About 200 people showed up to a workshop...

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