News

For decades, comic books have gone through major shakeups, with varying degrees of fan support and outrage as popular characters' fates are revealed.

The social media age is only enhancing the controversy over Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter Parker, over whom a firestorm has erupted in recent days.

Why? SPOILER ALERT: Be warned, major details ahead ...

Marvel revealed that Parker will die, and the role of Spider-Man will be taken over by his archenemy, Doctor Octopus, after “Amazing Spider-Man” #700.

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It looks like Kim Kardashian isn't the only person upset over the new Instagram Terms of Service agreement.

Southern California-based law firm Finkelstein and Krinsk has filed a class action lawsuit against the photo-sharing service, referring its altered policy to federal court in hopes of barring any changes to users' contracts.

"Instagram is taking its customers property rights while insulating itself from all liability," says the firm in the filing. "In short, Instagram declares that 'possession is nine tenths of the law and if you don't like it, you can't stop us.'"

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The city of Los Angeles is holding its annual gun buyback event at two locations today in response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., this month.

In a campaign that probably wouldn't inspire a Jesse James' gun rant, LAPD officials don't try to take away your guns - they basically buy them off you.

The guns can be turned in anonymously, with no questions asked, in exchange for up to $100 in Ralph's gift cards for handguns, shotguns and rifles.

Assault weapons can fetch up to $200 in rewards cards at the grocery store.

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Santa's grey outfit did not sit too well in Sweden over the weekend. Some guest at a spa and conference center was apparently angered by such a sight.

Police had to intervene after a foreign visitor grew angry because the Santa Claus on the premises was wearing grey instead of his usual red costume.

No one was arrested during the incident in Vallsta, three hours north of Stockholm, but police said the guest grew irate and argued with the staff over it.

They did not say where the guest was from. As for the photo above, don't even ask. It's just what comes up if you do a Google Image search on "grey Santa."

Wow, and we thought Rihanna and Chris Brown were a bad pairing...

Edith Casas, a 22-year old Argentine, wants to marry Victor Cingolani, the man serving a 13-year old prison sentence… for murdering Edith's twin sister.

Edith Casas News Report

In 2010, the body of Johana Casas turned up in a field with two bullets holes in it; Cingolani was subsequently convicted of the crime, though Edith maintains her fiancé's innocence.

She tells The BBC that Cingolani "would not hurt a fly."

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Toy-makers Mattel and Hasbro are said to be "terrified" by increasingly the high-tech gift demands of the youngest Americans, according to research.

Today’s children are so interested in tablets and smartphones that major toy manufacturers Hasbro and Mattel are said to be worried sick about business.

“The top two guys, Mattel and Hasbro, are terrified,” Sean McGowan, managing director of equity research at Needham & Company, told the Financial Times.

“They should be terrified, but the official party line is they’re not terrified.”

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William Spengler, the killer of two New York State firefighters, apparently left a chilling note before opening fire on first responders earlier this week.

An ex-con with the same military-style rifle used in the Connecticut school shooting, Spengler typed a note pledging to burn down his neighborhood.

He said he was going to "do what I like doing best, killing people," police said as another body, believed to be the gunman’s missing sister, was found.

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From Gangnam Style to the Sloppy Swish, Angelina Jolie leg thrusts to Chris Brown neck tattoos, and grumpy cats to photogenic peeps, 2012 was a great year for memes.

On this Christmas Day, THG looks back at 12 of the best photos, videos, trends and topics that captured the Internet's fascination (and creativity) over the past 12 months.

Here's what was imitated, parodied and shared with a vengeance in 2012:

12. Stingray Photo Bomb. Best. Photo. Bomb. Ever.

The expression on the face of the aquatic resident of the waters off the Cayman Islands - and the terrified tourists he surprised - really says it all.

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Very sad news today out of Puerto Rico:

Dylan Smith, a 23-year old surfer named by People Magazine as a Hero of the Year for his actions following Hurricane Sandy, has passed away. He body turned up on a beach yesterday morning in Rincon.

Smith, a lifeguard, used his surfboard and a homemade bridge to save six people in Queens, New York during the aftermath of the tragic storm this fall.

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Two firefighters were shot and killed and two others were hospitalized after a gunman opened fire on them as they responded to a house fire in Webster, N.Y.

Officials at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., told ABC News that two men were taken there this morning and were in "guarded condition."

They were said to suffer gunshot wounds.

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