Famous Cross-Country Ski Resort In Sierra Nevada Protected

TRUCKEE, Calif., Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Conservation groups today announced the purchase and protection from development of the nation's largest cross-country ski area, the 3,000-acre Royal Gorge property on Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada.The Trust for Public Land and the Truckee Donner Land Trust, working as part of the Northern Sierra Partnership, raised $11.25 million, meeting...

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U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for December 21

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO)FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21: WINTER ARRIVESProfile America — Friday, December 21st.  Winter arrived this morning at 6:12 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.  While some parts of the country already have a blanket...

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World Chefs: Keller shares memories, spotlight in latest book

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thomas Keller, one of America's most respected chefs, shares the food memories of his childhood and his time in France in his new book "Bouchon Bakery," which is also the name of his chain of pastry shops in the United States.Keller is the only American chef who owns two three-Michelin-star restaurants - Per Se in New York City and The French Laundry in the Napa Valley wine region...

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Legendary Indian sitarist, composer Ravi Shankar dead at 92

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, who helped introduce the sitar to the Western world through his collaborations with The Beatles, died in Southern California on Tuesday, his family said. He was 92.Shankar, a three-time Grammy winner with legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Festival and at Woodstock, had been in fragile health for several years and last Thursday underwent...

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Actor Depardieu's Belgium move "pathetic": French PM

PARIS (Reuters) - Actor Gerard Depardieu's decision to establish residency in Belgium, which does not have a wealth tax, by buying a house just over the border with France, is "pathetic" and unpatriotic, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Wednesday.Depardieu has become the latest wealthy Frenchman after luxury magnate Bernard Arnault to look for shelter outside his native country following...

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Mick Jagger love letters fetch $300,000 at auction

LONDON (Reuters) - A collection of love letters written by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to American singer Marsha Hunt, believed to be the inspiration for the band's hit single "Brown Sugar", sold at Sotheby's on Wednesday for 187,250 pounds ($301,000).The 10 letters, dating from the summer of 1969, had been expected to fetch 70-100,000 pounds, according to the auctioneer."The passage of time...

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Actor Depardieu hits back at French PM over tax exile

PARIS (Reuters) - Actor Gerard Depardieu, accused by French government leaders of trying to dodge taxes by buying a house over the border in Belgium, retorted that he was leaving because "success" was now being punished in his homeland.A popular and colourful figure in France, the 63-year-old Depardieu is the latest wealthy Frenchman to seek shelter outside his native country after tax increases...

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How to Get Over the Twitter-Instagram War on Photos

So Instagram made sharing its photos a lot more annoying for Twitter users Wednesday morning, which stinks, but isn't likely to change. Because, see, the publicly traded, accountable-to-shareholders Facebook owns Instagram. Ergo, like the social network, the filtered photo-sharing site needs to do things that will make it money, which might sometimes get in the way of the user experience. That's...

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25 top-rated Facebook games from 2012

Games can be both a welcome and an annoying diversion on Facebook, the world's most popular online social network. This year, Facebook crossed a big milestone — reaching 1 billion active users. Game companies such as "FarmVille" creator Zynga Inc. and Rovio Entertainment Ltd. of "Angry Birds" fame seek to tap into that vast base of users to gain more players for their games.This week, Facebook Inc....

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Microsoft #DroidRage Tweet Shows How Malware Has Moved Past Windows

 "Do you have an Android malware horror story?" Microsoft asks through its @windowsphone Twitter account, in what may be one of the most ironic tweets of the year.After all, it wasn't that long ago that "virus" and "worm" stories made headlines on a regular basis, all of them about "computer viruses" which were really Windows viruses. Just a few years ago, Apple advertised the fact that a Mac...

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