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 (Associated Press) Obama touts Mandela's message of peace and justice to cheering crowd in rain U.S. President Barack Obama exhorted the world Tuesday to embrace Nelson Mandela's universal message of peace and justice, electrifying tens of thousands of rain-lashed spectators and prompting a standing ovation by scores of heads of state in a South African stadium. |
 Firearms in the family: The role of guns in American lives These are stories of young people and families across America, many of whom share little in common, except that their lives have been changed, for better or worse, by guns. |
 (
Handout
) Review: 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' 'The Desolation of Smaug,' the second film in Peter Jackson's 'Hobbit' trilogy, runs rings around the first film -- with more focus and fast action that lets fans feel like kids again. |
 (
Nhat V. Meyer
) Legal pot supported by California majority for first time, Field Poll shows  Clear majorities of California voters support marijuana legalization in general and a specific legalization measure at next November's ballot, the Field Poll finds. |
BUSINESS  ((AP Photo/Richard Drew)) Twitter shares climb to roughly double its IPO price Twitter has seen a dramatic rise in recent days, fueled by announcements about new targeted advertising services and a successful campaign to build viewership for a National Geographic TV special. |
SPORTS  (
Dai Sugano
) Emotional Evgeni Nabokov recalls his years with San Jose Sharks Nabokov, with the New York Islanders, won't play against Sharks because of an injured groin, but he fondly remembered his 10 years with San Jose. |
LOCAL NEWS  ( ) Share the Spirit: Hope 4 the Heart provides food for thousands of families Hope 4 the Heart in Hayward continues family's tradition of generosity. |
 (David Zalubowski/AP Photo) Want to be Santa? There's a school for that. Each year at the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School, dozens of prospective St. Nicks come to learn the art of being Santa. They are given instruction on the finer points of makeup, wardrobe, sign language and even reindeer care. Full Story |
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Chris Pizzello
) How Miley Cyrus landed MTV's Best Artist of 2013 honors Cyrus twerked her way to the top of the music scene this year with the most watched videos of 2013. |
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) Bay Area residents live longer; here's why Bay Area residents are among the nation's longest-lived people, surviving on average more than a decade longer than residents of rural Kentucky, West Virginia or Mississippi. |
 (HERALD FILE) Mi Pueblo files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Mi Pueblo, the festive Bay Area supermarket chain and icon of family-grown Hispanic businesses, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, citing a dispute with its primary lender, Wells Fargo. |
