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US to seize New York skyscraper secretly owned by Iran

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The website for the building at 650 Fifth Avenue advertises for prospective tenants. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The U.S. government is set to seize a Manhattan skyscraper that prosecutors say is secretly owned and controlled by the Iranian government. The 36-story tower is located on Fifth Avenue in the heart of New York City, adjacent to Rockefeller Center, and is home to a number of corporate tenants. Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said Tuesday that the seizure and sale of the property would be the government's largest-ever terrorism-related forfeiture. A federal judge authorized the seizure in a ruling this week, finding that the building's owners had violated federal money laundering laws and sanctions against Iran . The building was constructed in the 1970's by a non-profit organization operated by the Shah of Iran, who was overthrown at the end of that decade. Today, the property is 60% owned by that organization, now called the Al...

Mark Wahlberg Gets a High School Diploma

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The 42-year-old dropped out of school in the ninth grade, but finally got his degree this year, he says, in order to set an example for his kids Getty Images Actor and producer Mark Wahlberg may boast an impressive list of career accomplishments , but until now, he lacked a high school diploma. In a column he penned for the Huffington Post , the 42-year-old announced that he’s now a high school graduate. “I never made it past the ninth grade,” Walhberg wrote. “My circumstances were not unlike millions of other teens today, who live in tough working class neighborhoods surrounded by drugs, violence and crime, and who struggle to stay on the right path without positive influences.” The  Ted star explains that for the past year, he’s been completing online courses, fitting in time to study while traveling and even while on set. He officially received his diploma in June, and said that his four kids were his greatest motivation. ...

When you can ignore a negative pregnancy test

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The BabyCenter Editorial Team If you take a home pregnancy test very soon after you think you may have conceived, a negative result doesn't mean much. When an egg is fertilized after you ovulate, it takes about a week to travel through the fallopian tube to the uterus. And it's only after a fertilized egg implants in the uterus that your body starts producing the pregnancy hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is what a home pregnancy test is looking for. A home pregnancy test can only give you a positive result if it detects hCG, says Hope Ricciotti, an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and a community editor at BeWell.com. So even if you did conceive, if you test too soon, you'll receive a negative result because the fertilized egg wouldn't have had time to become implanted. If you think you know exactly when conception might have occurred and wait until a week after th...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Uses Good Vibrations In Trailer For His Directorial Debut 'Don Jon'

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The Huffington Post  |  By Christopher Rosen Feel the vibrations. With a special personalized announcement from Joseph Gordon-Levitt himself, "Don Jon" has its first trailer . The film -- previously titled "Don Jon's Addiction" after it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January -- is Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut. (He also wrote the script). "There's only a few things I really care about in life," says Don Jon (Gordon-Levitt) in the trailer for "Don Jon," before rattling off a checklist of what he holds nearest and dearest to his heart. "My body, my pad, my ride, my family, my church, my boys, my girls, my porn." That's right: Don Jon is addicted to pornography, a crutch Gordon-Levitt uses to explore male and female relationships and the pressure of media-enhanced expectations. ...

Songwriter responsible for Mark Wahlberg's music sucess debuts new song

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It's been 22 years since the wildly popular, platinum-selling hit song, 'Good Vibrations' broke through the pop charts, even knocking the popular "I Wanna Sex You Up" to the number 2 position.The song was performed by Hollywood actor, Mark Wahlberg who was known to millions of fans across the world as 'Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch'. The song sold a whopping 1 million copies and helped jumpstart the career of the film star. His second single, "Wildside" sold 750,000 copies, just 250,000 copies shy of a million. What a lot of people don't know is the songs were both written by Boston's legendary emcee and Zulu Nation Minister of Information, Quadeer "M.C. Spice" Shakur. Boston's first rapper to sign a major deal (Atlantic Records 1986), MC Spice is now set to release his new CD this January entitled "Grown Folk Hip-Hop". The album features the first song "My Cashawna", a song dedicated to his wife, Cas...

MC Spice - "Possibly" (Tribute to Our Daughter Aaliyah)

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Boston Mayoral Race Historic with First Black Woman Candidate Charlotte Golar-Richie

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 When Boston Mayor Tomas Menino announced his decision to retire from politics after a 20-year hold on the mayor seat, a whopping 15 candidates ran for the title. With the race split and down to 12 candidates; 6 color – all eyes are on Charlotte Golar-Richie . With supporters from Harvard professor Charles Ogeltree to Reverend Eugene Rivers, Charlotte’s backing of Boston’s elite continues to grow. On September 24th, only two candidates will remain standing once the smoke settles, and if Boston voters make the historic moves they’ve made the past few years, the mayor’s seat could be filled by a black woman. Boston elected its first Haitian woman as State Senator [ Linda Dorcena Forry ]; and its first woman United States Senator, Elizabeth Murray . In 2009, State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz made history as the first Latina woman to hold office, and still holds that position. As Boston voters ready for the ballot box, the sitting mayor, Thomas Menino announced on a local radio ...