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Holidays

O'Reilly strikes back against 'War on Christmas'
Deck the halls and man the battle stations. The fight has resumed. I'm referring, of course, to the so-called War on Christmas, a yearly call to arms ...
Gunman opens fire in Portland mall; 3 dead
A masked gunman wearing camouflage opened fire Tuesday in a busy Portland mall, leaving the gunman and two others dead and forcing the mall's Santa ...
Ariz. home: 'Ditto' to neighbor's Christmas lights
An Arizona woman who knew she couldn't compete head on with her neighbor's elaborate Christmas light display is attracting attention for her response.
3 dead, including gunman, in Oregon mall shooting
A gunman opened fire in a suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another as people were doing their Christmas ...
There arose such a clatter over pipe-free Santa
Santa has kicked the habit in time for Christmas. No, not the sugar plum habit, or his fur-wearing habit, or his penchant for romping recklessly ...
Peppermint pigs a smashing tradition in NY
A holiday tradition in this upstate New York resort town has a peppermint twist: pig-shaped hard candies are sold with little metal hammers to smash ...
Obamas attend annual holiday concert in Washington
A holiday concert attended Sunday by President Barack Obama and his family included some non-traditional entertainment this year: a performance by ...
Hanukkah festivities begin with candle lighting
Jews around the world ushered in the eight-day Hanukkah festival Saturday evening, lighting the first candles of ceremonial lamps that symbolize ...
Gary Sinise, Trombone Shorty to ride in Orpheus
Actor Gary Sinise and New Orleans musicians Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and Harry Connick Jr. will lead the parade of the Krewe of Orpheus on the ...
Snooki, JWOWW host MTV's New Year's Eve show
New York's Times Square is getting a little bit Jersey for New Year's Eve. MTV says "Jersey Shore" stars Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jenni "JWOWW" ...
Poll shows support for raising taxes on the rich
Americans prefer letting tax cuts expire for the country's top earners, as President Barack Obama insists, while support has declined for cutting ...
LA ports reopen after crippling 8-day strike ends
Port clerks returned to work Wednesday, jubilant in the knowledge that an eight-day strike that paralyzed the nation's busiest shipping complex had ...
Boston Market reports record Thanksgiving sales
Boston Market Corp. is reporting record Thanksgiving sales this year — and it's already planning for next Thanksgiving. The Golden, Colo.
Group gathers mistletoe for holidays on river trip
There's an old southern tradition of shooting mistletoe out of treetops with a .22 rifle, or even a shotgun. Forrest Altman prefers a kinder, gentler ...
LA judge dismisses suit over park Nativity scenes
A Los Angeles federal judge on Thursday dismissed a Christian group's lawsuit to force suburban Santa Monica to reopen spaces in a city park to ...
Guilty NM prankster returns stolen toilet paper
University officials say a New Mexico college graduate, apparently feeling guilty over a student prank years ago, has sent a box of toilet paper to ...
Retailers report weak sales gains for November
Black Friday was no match for Superstorm Sandy. Major retailers from Target to Macy's reported weak November sales as the strong start to the holiday ...
Review: Rooming with strangers _ a game of trust
"Do we still have a TV?" That's the text message I got from my husband as I walked up the steps to our Brooklyn apartment on a Friday afternoon this ...
Spat with neighbors sours Albanian century party
Albania celebrated 100 years of independence Wednesday with a military parade, festive cavalcades and an 18-ton cake. But the celebrations were soured ...
Microsoft ads deride Google as bad place to shop
Microsoft is trying to skewer Google as a lousy holiday shopping guide in its latest attempt to divert more traffic to its Bing search engine.
Zippers and "Bo-flakes" deck the White House
"Bo-flakes" featuring the first dog and ornaments fashioned from zippers are among the new twists on traditional favorites at the White House this ...
Fed survey: US economy growing at steady pace
A pickup in consumer spending and steady home sales helped lift economic growth from October through early November in most parts of the United ...
ABC celebrating Dick Clark on New Year's Eve
ABC is turning its first New Year's Eve without Dick Clark in four decades partly into a celebration of the showbiz impresario's life. Clark, who did ...
US economy gets lift from consumers, businesses
American consumers are growing more confident about the job market, companies are ordering more equipment and home prices are rising in most major ...
Oil prices up on brisk US retail sales, Greek deal
The price of oil inched up closer to $88 a barrel Tuesday as investors were encouraged by robust retail sales in the U.S. ahead of the Christmas ...