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    Hilary Mantel wins best-novel Costa Book Award

    LONDON (AP) — British writer and two-time Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has been named novelist of the year at Britain's Costa Book Awards for "Bring Up the Bodies."

    Mantel's achievement Wednesday for her blood-soaked Tudor saga makes her the first author to win both the Costa novel award and Booker Prize in the same year.

    The Costa Book Awards carry a 5,000 pound ($8,125) prize and are given in five categories: novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children's book.

    Other winners included Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie for "The Overhaul," and Francesca Segal for her first-novel "The Innocents," which is set in a tightly-knit Jewish community in northwest London and modeled on Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence."

    "Dotter of Her Father's Eyes," written by Mary Talbot and drawn by her husband, Bryan, won the biography category, marking the first time a graphic work has won a Costa award. Severely dyslexic writer and illustrator Sally Gardner won the children's book prize for her fifth novel, "Maggot Moon."

    The five winners are now shortlisted for the 25,000 pound grand prize of 2012 Costa Book of the Year which will be announced Jan. 29 in London.

    The awards, known until 2006 as the Whitbread Book Awards, were established in 1971 and recognize "outstanding and enjoyable books" by writers based in the U.K. and Ireland.

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    • Trucker bumps I-5 bridge, sees tragedy behind him

      MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — The trucker was hauling a load of drilling equipment when his load bumped against the steel framework over an Interstate 5 bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror and watched in horror as the span collapsed into the water behind him. Two vehicles fell into the icy Skagit River.

    • Fired for word: 'Negro' in Spanish class

      One of the first lessons one learns in English class is that context is everything. The same holds true in Spanish.

    • Multiple aftershocks follow 5.7 quake in N. Calif.

      GREENVILLE, Calif. (AP) — At least 22 aftershocks have struck following an earthquake in far northeastern California that was felt as far away as San Francisco and in two other states.

    • Magnitude 5.7 quake strikes Northern California

      (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Northern California on Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter of the quake was 6 miles northwest of the town of Greenville, and near the smaller community of Canyondam, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Allen Shephard, a hunting and fishing guide at Quail Lodge at Lake Almanor in Canyondam, said the quake knocked him "right off the couch and onto the floor." The floor of the lodge was littered with broken dishware, and cabinets were in disarray, said Shephard, 62. ...

    • Damage reported from magnitude-5.7 quake in Calif.

      GREENVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Residents in rural northeastern California assessed damage to their homes and businesses Friday from a magnitude-5.7 earthquake, one of the strongest temblors to hit the densely forested region in decades.

    • No Wonder Republican Criticism of Obama Isn’t Working

      Henny Youngman, the late borscht belt comedian, told hundreds of politically incorrect jokes. One of them was his response when asked, “How’s your wife?” “Compared to what?” he’d say.

    • The Video of the Washington Bridge Collapse Is Terrifying

      Seattle's KIRO-TV got their hands on surveillance video capturing the very moment when a too-heavy truck starts crossing the bridge and the supports start to collapse. You can see the next truck start to cross the bridge as the whole thing is coming apart. It is a terrifying video. Watch the whole thing below: 

    • 6 Fascinating Spy Gadgets You’ll Probably Want (and Can Have) After Seeing

      "Most people don't really know products like this exist..."

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