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Seoul (AFP) – South Korea’s economy grew at the fastest pace in more than five years in the third quarter, driven by a strong rebound in consumer spending, central bank data showed on Thursday.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy expanded by 1.3 percent in the July-September period, the fastest on-quarter growth since the second quarter of 2010, the Bank of Korea said.

The quarter saw consumers venture back into shopping malls as the threat posed by a serious outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) receded.

Thirty-six people died in the outbreak, during which local businesses including shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas reported a sharp drop in sales as people shunned public venues with large crowds.

The tourism industry was hit particularly hard, with the number of foreign visitors plunging by up to 60 percent.

The third-quarter figure was higher than an earlier estimate of 1.2 percent and marked the first time in five quarters that it has exceeded the 1.0 percent mark.

Output in the manufacturing industry inched up only 0.1 percent on-quarter, reflecting a persistent slump in exports, which account for about half of South Korea’s GDP.

The central bank has predicted South Korea’s GDP would grow 2.7 percent this year.

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NEW YORK (AP) — A 10-ton Christmas tree with 45,000 LED lights covering about five miles of wire has come alive in the rain to cap New York City’s annual ritual in Rockefeller Center.

The ceremony — nationally televised by NBC on Wednesday evening — included performances by Sting, Mary J. Blige, Andrea Bocelli, James Taylor and other stars. Tens of thousands had a close-up view of the show.

The celebration came with security restrictions including a prohibition on umbrellas.

Backpacks also were barred from the midtown festivities amid massive security.

Streets surrounding Rockefeller Plaza were closed and spectators were kept behind police barricades.

However, New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton says no credible threat has been reported.

The holiday tradition started in 1931. This year’s tree came from upstate Gardiner, New York.

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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Denzel Valentine had 25 points and Bryn Forbes scored a season-high 20 to help No. 3 Michigan State come back to beat No. 24 Louisville 71-67 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The Spartans (8-0) trailed by as much as 13 in the first half and took their first lead with 6:47 left.

Valentine later made a tiebreaking 3-pointer, set up Deyonta Davis for an alley-oop dunk and a connected on a shot in the lane to put Michigan State up 65-58 with 1:54 remaining.

Louisville pulled within two in the final minute, but Valentine made free throws to seal the victory.

Damion Lee finished with 23 points and Trey Lewis scored 21 points for the Cardinals (5-1) in their first game this season on an opponent’s home court.

TIP-INS

Louisville: The Cardinals took the lead and kept it for much of the game because they made a lot of shots following Michigan State’s baskets. Late in the game, though, their offense struggled to create open shots and their chance to earn a big win slipped away.

Michigan State: Kenny Goins made the most of an opportunity to play after starter Javon Bess got benched for poor play. The redshirt freshman forward had 13 rebounds, equaling his total from his first seven games, and scored a career-high five points.

UP NEXT

Louisville hosts Grand Canyon on Saturday.

Michigan State plays Binghamton at home on Saturday.

BIG-TIME COACHES

The game featured national-championship winning coaches, Louisville’s Rick Pitino and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, each of whom have seven Final Four appearances.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 40 points in three quarters and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 116-99 on Wednesday night to extend the best start in NBA history to 20-0.

On a night when the Hornets honored Curry’s father, Dell, the franchise’s career scoring leader, it was his oldest son who stole the spotlight by hitting 14 of 18 shots from the field and going 8 for 11 from 3-point range.

Stephen Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and starred at nearby Davidson College, scored 28 points in the pivotal third quarter. He hit 10 of 11 shots from the field, including all five 3s — many from well beyond the arc and in the face of a defender — to help the Warriors build a 21-point cushion.

The reigning MVP sat out the entire fourth quarter due to the big lead.

Nicolas Batum led Charlotte with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Klay Thompson had 15 of his 21 points in the first quarter as the Warriors bolted to an early 15-point lead.

Despite missing the inside presence of center Al Jefferson — out at least two weeks with a strained left calf — and 0-for-8 shooting from Kemba Walker in the first half, the Hornets fought back to cut the lead to 60-51 at the break.

But midway through the third quarter Curry got rolling, launching deep 3-pointers, several times turning and jogging back down court well before the ball even went through the net.

It marked the fourth time this season Curry has scored 40 points by the end of the third quarter. The rest of the NBA combined has reached that mark just once. Curry hit jumpers from 24, 25, 30, 29 and 30 feet in the third period.

Hornets rookie Frank Kaminsky had a career-high 16 points.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Golden State was 16 of 34 from 3-point range. … The Warriors outrebounded the Hornets 53-41.

Hornets: Charlotte officially signed coach Steve Clifford to a multiyear contract extension. The team announced last week he had agreed to terms. … Associate head coach Patrick Ewing missed the game after having a minor procedure on his knee. … The Hornets wore their alternate black, short-sleeve jerseys for the first time.

UP NEXT

Warriors: At Toronto on Saturday.

Hornets: At Chicago on Saturday night.

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CHICAGO (AP) — Breanna Stewart had 29 points and 12 rebounds and Morgan Tuck added 16 points as No. 1 Connecticut won its 42nd straight game, 86-70 over No. 23 DePaul on Wednesday night.

The three-time defending national champion Huskies (5-0) have not lost since Nov. 17, 2014, an 88-86 loss to Stanford.

Stewart was dominant with her double-double, but had plenty of help. Katie Lou Samuelson and Kia Nurse each scored 10 points for the Huskies.

DePaul (5-2) was led by Jessica January, who scored 18 points. Brooke Schulte scored 12 and Chanise Jenkins finished with 10.

DePaul, which hit a season-high 13 3-pointers, got as close as 65-60 with under eight minutes to play on Brandi Harvey-Carr’s putback basket. But Connecticut responded with six straight points to extend the Huskies lead back to double digits.

The Huskies began the second half on a 12-2 run to build a 13-point lead. Stewart, the nation’s top player, capped the run with a three-point play that gave Connecticut its biggest lead of the night.

Stewart finished off another three-point play later in the third quarter to extend the Huskies lead back to nine after DePaul had closed to within six.

Connecticut led 44-41 at halftime behind Stewart, who had 16 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting.

DePaul, which suffered its only other loss to No. 5 Baylor, remained close with 3-point shooting. The Blue Demons were 9 of 17 from beyond the arc during the first two quarters, led by January, who hit three of her five first-half 3-point attempts.

TIP-INS

Connecticut: improved to 13-1 all-time against DePaul.The Huskies -point win marked the first time this season they have beaten an opponent by less than 40 points.

DePaul: The 13 3-pointers were the most the Blue Demons have hit in a game this season after connecting on 11 on Nov. 19 in an 84-69 win over Indiana.

UP NEXT

Connecticut: Hosts No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday.

DePaul: Hosts Illinois State on Saturday.

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Igor Volsky, an editor at progressive political publication ThinkProgress, is using Twitter to publicize lawmakers who have taken contributions from the National Rifle Association, then expressed sorrow for today’s mass shooting in San Bernardino.

He’s posted more than 20 tweets with this construction:

 The implication is that accepting money from the NRA, which staunchly opposes restrictions on gun sales and use, then expressing grief over the tragedy, is hypocritical.

It’s becoming a bit of a sensation — he’s got dozens of people pointing to his stream, and his follower count is exploding. It was around 15,000 earlier today, and is over 24,000 at the time of this writing — and growing by what seems like about 100 followers every minute .

 And so on.

See for yourself.

SEE ALSO: At least 14 people dead after shooting in San Bernardino, California

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NOW WATCH: These teachers are learning to fight school shooters — but not with guns

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The Daily News has another hard-hitting cover on the gun-control issue.

On Wednesday night, the New York tabloid published an early look at its Thursday cover, which takes Congress to task for its inaction in the aftermath of mass shootings.

The front page features the tweets of Republican leaders offering their “thoughts and prayers” after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which left at least 14 people dead earlier in the day.

“GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS,” the cover blared. “As the latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards who could truly end [the] gun scourge continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes.”

The Daily News frequently crusades about gun control after mass shootings. Last month, it blasted the National Rifle Association’s “sick jihad” in the aftermath of the massacre in Paris, France.

View its latest cover below:

SEE ALSO: Daily News publishes explosive cover: ‘NRA’S SICK JIHAD’

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NOW WATCH: Stadium security prevented one of the bombers from entering with an explosive vest, WSJ reports

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is calling for a federal investigation into the shooting of a black teen by a white Chicago police officer.

The recent release of squad-car video showing the officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014 led to days of demonstrations in Chicago and the firing of the city’s police superintendent.

Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon says, “Hillary Clinton is deeply troubled by the shooting of Laquan McDonald and the outstanding questions related to both the shooting and the video.”

He says while Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s call for a review of the city’s police department is an “important step,” Clinton supports a full review by the Justice Department.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago has said it is actively investigating the case.

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San Bernardino (United States) (AFP) – A man and a woman suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at a center for the disabled in California on Wednesday were killed in a shootout with police, while a third person was detained, police said.

The slain suspects were armed with assault rifles and handguns, San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters, adding that investigators were looking at the possibility that they had left an explosive device at the scene of the shooting.

At least 14 people were killed and 17 others wounded in the shooting at a holiday party in the Inland Regional Center — the deadliest since the 2012 massacre at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.

David Bowdich, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, cautioned against using the term “terrorism” to describe the incident, saying: “It is a possibility, but we don’t know that yet. And we’re not willing to go down that road yet.”

The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, quoting law enforcement officials, reported that one of the assailants, who had worked at the facility, had left the party following a dispute with fellow employees and returned with one or two others.

Burguan told reporters it was not yet clear if those involved in the dispute were the people who opened fire.

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US Capitol Police arrested a congressional staffer on Tuesday morning after he tried to enter a US Senate building with a loaded 9 mm handgun in his backpack, according to CNN.

The staffer, Christopher Carpenter of Stafford, Virginia, works for the Senate sergeant at arms, the officer who oversees security, law enforcement, and protocol measures in the upper chamber, said CNN. He was entering the Dirksen Senate Office Building when the gun was discovered by a routine X-ray screening.

He was charged with unlawful activities and possession of unregistered firearms and unregistered ammunition, Capitol Police Capt. Kimberly Schneider told The Associated Press.

Carpenter manages the Senate ID office and has been working for the sergeant at arms for 1 1/2 years, according to Roll Call.

Carpenter will be on annual leave while the charges are being processed, but will return to work, an official familiar with the matter told CNN.

Carpenter pleaded not guilty to his charges on Wednesday, according to a court docket cited by Roll Call.

According to Roll Call, the “charging document” reportedly noted that, after his gun was detected and Carpenter was asked if he had anything in his bag, he “indicated that he had forgot to remove his handgun from his bag this morning when he left for work.”

While Carpenter claimed to have a license to carry a concealed firearm in Virginia, the charging document noted that he did not have a license for a pistol in Washington, DC, where the Dirksen Senate Office Building is and where the arrest took place, Roll Call said.

The Dirksen Senate Office Building contains the offices of 18 US senators, according to the Capitol Visitor Center. A large part of the building was evacuated in June following a phone call reporting a suspicious package, described by police as a bomb threat. Investigating police ultimately found nothing suspicious.

In August, a US Marine assigned to a congressman’s office was arrested in August on a charge of bringing a handgun onto congressional property. The incident was described as a mistake, but was one of several instances of a staffer bringing a gun onto congressional property that summer.

Roll Call noted that Carpenter’s LinkedIn profile lists his service for the US Marine Corps.

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NOW WATCH: The brilliant reason Trump let Obama insult him

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