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The Short List: New smack in Microsoft-Apple rivalry; 11 trillion gallons of rain; man gags bear, escapes

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Panos Panay, Microsoft corporate vice president,  introduces the Microsoft Surface Pro 4.

Microsoft wants Windows 10 to be the sexiest operating system ever

And it wants you to love it and all its other products more than anything from Apple. At Tuesday's Windows 10 event in New York, Microsoft unveiled some new phones, plus the Surface Pro 4 and something billed as a "wearable hologram." (Holograms? Yes, holograms.) But the company surprised everyone with the first Microsoft-built, full-scale laptop: Behold, the Surface Book, which the company boldly claims is twice as fast as Apple's MacBook Pro. (Are you listening, Apple?) Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 4 — Microsoft's well-received tablet PC — was bragged to be 50% faster than the Apple MacBook Air. (It also has 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM and four USB ports, but who's counting?) And in the tech threat to end all tech threats, Microsoft introduced the Windows Eraser. That's not the official name, but it's the eraser of the Surface Pen and clearly a swipe at the iPencil  — sorry, Apple Pencil — that has no eraser. What about the holograms? A "wearable hologram" was demonstrated as part of the holographic HoloLens mixed reality system, which some argue is the coolest of Microsoft's initiatives. But really, what could possibly be cooler than the Windows Eraser?

How much water has fallen in the Carolinas? A staggering 11 trillion gallons

Roughly 11 trillion gallons of rain fell on North and South Carolina over the past week: 5.8 trillion gallons in South Carolina and 5.2 trillion in North Carolina. This is according to data gathered by WeatherBell meteorologist Ryan Maue. He says 11 trillion gallons would be enough to fill 636 million swimming pools (16 x 32 feet each). Or 130,370 Rose Bowls (filled to the top). It's also about one-third the volume of Lake Tahoe. And, amazingly, it's the exact amount needed to end the drought in California. So far, the flooding in the Carolinas has killed more than a dozen people and caused more than $1 billion in damages.

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Gunman in Oregon rampage reportedly ranted about not having a girlfriend

Chris Mercer, the gunman who killed nine people at a community college in Roseburg, Ore., had ranted about not having a girlfriend in a manifesto he left behind, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. A law enforcement official told the AP that the mother of the 26-year-old gunman, who killed himself as police closed in, told investigators he was struggling with mental health issues. Two days before the shootings, according to The New York Times, Mercer commented online in a post titled "How many girlfriends have you had?" by saying "0. Never had anyone." Umpqua Community College is still grief-stricken. Some returned to campus Monday, but classes do not resume until next week. President Obama will go to the community college Friday to meet privately with victims' families.

Man fends off grizzly bear by ramming his arm down its throat

Chase Dellwo, 26, has a couple hundred stitches, staples in his head and a series of other wounds — but he's alive, with an incredible story to tell about his tangle with a 350-pound grizzly in Montana. You can read the full account here, but we'll cut to the chase: "I remembered an article that my grandmother gave me a long time ago that said large animals have bad gag reflexes," Dellwo said. "So I shoved my right arm down his throat." It worked. The bear left. Dellwo is recovering in the hospital, but is expected to be released soon. Just, whoa.

Chase Dellwo, 26, survived an attack by a grizzly bear Saturday morning. He was attacked after surprising a 350-400 pound male grizzly he encountered while bow hunting for elk.

In case you haven't heard, there's a little more 'Twilight' in the world now

That's right, friends, whether you like it or not, Stephenie Meyer has penned a new version of the story that swaps Edward and Bella's genders, giving us Edythe and Beau. In Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, available as of Tuesday as bonus material in the 10th anniversary edition of Twilight, the gender of the two main characters (played by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in the film adaptations — swoon) has been swapped, and the book becomes the story of a female vampire and the human teenage boy she falls in love with. But really, Twilight was released 10 years ago? It seems like just yesterday the world got all vampire-crazy. Here's what the fans think.

Just Edward and Bella saying hi to Edythe and Beau.

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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.

Contributing: Ed Baig, Kelly Lawler, Matthew Diebel, Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; Jo Dee Black, Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune; the Associated Press

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