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Disney's Stock Shines even as Earnings Decline

Disney won over more fans on Wall Street with its latest quarterly performance, despite a slight drop in its earnings.

The downturn announced Tuesday was less pronounced than the modest dip analysts anticipated as Walt Disney Co. digested higher programming costs at its ESPN television network and dealt with a less appealing line-up of home video releases in its movie studio. Higher expenses for distributing box-office hits such as "Lincoln" and "''Wreck-It-Ralph" also created a drag during the holiday-season quarter.

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Chris Brown Returns to Court for Probation Issues

Chris Brown is set to return to court Wednesday to face a prosecutor who is asking a judge to revoke the singer's probation because investigators say they could not find credible evidence he completed his community labor sentence for the 2009 beating of Rihanna.

A motion filed Tuesday raises for the first time in Brown's felony assault case several incidents that prosecutors say demonstrate Brown has continuing anger management issues.

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Israel Vows Justice Day after Claim Hizbullah Behind Bulgaria Blast

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told relatives of victims of last year's attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that those responsible for the killings "will pay the price."

Netanyahu's office said Wednesday in a statement that the head of Israel's counterterrorism bureau told the victims' families in his name that "Israel will do everything so that those responsible for the crime will pay the price."

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Study: 'Tree of Life' has Kurdish Roots

Seen by some as emblematic of the Mediterranean landscape and cuisine, the olive tree in fact has its domesticated roots in Kurdish regions, said a study Wednesday that seeks to settle an age-old debate.

Harvesting of wild olive trees called oleasters has been documented from the Near East (the area around ancient Palestine and Jordan) to Spain since the Neolithic or New Stone Age that started about 10,000 BC.

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Nadal Makes Winning Return after 7 Months out

Now that he finally has a competitive match under his belt after seven months on the sidelines, Rafael Nadal wants to stop talking about his injured left knee.

Nadal, whose knee problem has lingered despite on-going therapy, marked his return to the tour with a doubles victory Tuesday alongside Juan Monaco at a little-known clay court tournament in Chile.

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Vonn to Have Surgery next Week after Crash

Lindsey Vonn will head home for surgery next week in Colorado after tearing ligaments in her right knee and breaking a bone in her lower leg in a crash at the world ski championships.

U.S. Ski Team physician William Sterett was with Vonn on the snow after the crash on Tuesday, then at a local hospital where she was airlifted to.

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F1's Marussia Announces Razia as 2nd Driver

Russian-owned Formula One team Marussia will have an all-rookie lineup this season after announcing that Brazilian Luiz Razia will join fellow British GP2 star Max Chilton on the grid for 2013.

The announcement Tuesday during preseason testing comes after Timo Glock left the team in January.

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Short-Handed Lakers Beat Nets 92-83

The Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absences of Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace, and the loss of Pau Gasol to beat the Brooklyn Nets 92-83 on Tuesday.

Kobe Bryant had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Antawn Jamison, starting for the suspended World Peace, made the go-ahead basket during a closing 14-3 run for the Lakers, who have won three straight and six of their last seven games.

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EU to Discuss 'Measures' after Bulgaria Implicates Hizbullah in Israeli Bus Attack

The European Union now faces the difficult task of dealing with demands to designate Hizbullah as a terrorist organization after Bulgaria announced Tuesday that the Lebanese party was behind a bomb attack in July that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement that the EU should “respond robustly to an attack on European soil.”

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Stewie the World's Longest Cat Dies in Nevada

Stewie the Cat, the longest domestic cat in the world at more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) long from nose to tail, has died.

Stewie was surrounded by family when he succumbed to a yearlong battle with cancer Monday evening at his Reno home, owner Robin Hendrickson said Tuesday. He was 8.

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