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John McCain, Barack Obama campaign in key Midwest states (U.S., 20 articles)
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Something similar might be said about today's economy, although Phil Gramm, a remarkably out-of-touch former senator from Micheal Ray's home state of Texas, would beg to differ. DAYTON, OHIO Democrat Barack Obama focused on energy today while Republican John McCain campaigned on women's issues as the presidential campaigns turned to two pivotal Midwest states. The adviser, former Senator Phil Gramm sought to clarify his remarks Thursday by saying he had been referring only to some of the nation's leaders. As the price of crude oil crept to $144.17 a barrel today, Obama said hostile nations could use oil profits to fund terrorism. Sen. Barack Obama blasted his Republican rival today after one of Sen. John McCain's top economic advisors said the nation was in a "mental recession" and complained America is " a nation of whiners. WASHINGTON John McCain, angling to win a bigger share of the fast-growing Latino vote, is taking the risky step of placing an immigration overhaul at the center of his appeal. The presumed Republican presidential nominee, who trails Barack Obama among Latinos, had been focused on assuring conservatives that securing the U.S. border with Mexico would be his immigration priority.
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Other stories about Obama, McCain and campaign:
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Global Warming Talks Leave Few Concrete Goals (U.S., 6 articles)
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The prospect of an international agreement on climate change appears as remote as ever after a week of frantic negotiations in which a US concession met a rebuff from developing countries. The consensus marked a significant shift from President George W. Bush, who had previously refused to set a figure on future emissions. India and China rejected the Group of Eight's declaration on climate change yesterday as leaders of the developing world demanded that rich countries should take a stronger lead on preventing global warming.
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Other stories about emissions, warming and greenhouse:
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Israel Announces First Cases of Deadly Bird Flu Strain, in Turkeys (U.S., 10 articles)
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JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 24 The World Health Organization might soon convene an expert panel to decide whether an unprecedented human outbreak of bird flu in Indonesia should trigger a higher global alert for a possible pandemic, health officials said Wednesday. Initial test results appeared to confirm that birds being raised on four farms in southern Israel died after being infected by the H5N1 virus, avian influenza's deadly strain. Federal officials announced plans yesterday to sharply increase testing of wild birds to try to detect the arrival of the deadly avian flu in the United States as early as possible and stanch any outbreaks of disease.
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Other stories about flu, virus and Influenza:
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Salmonella signs point to peppers - (U.S., 8 articles)
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New interviews with those who became infected found that many had eaten jalapeno peppers, often in salsa served with Mexican food, according to two state health officials. Echoing federal officials, who said this week that tomatoes remain the prime suspect, the health officials said that tomatoes cannot be ruled out as the cause of the outbreak. The results can't come too soon for the three Mexican states that were targeted by the FDA, along with farms in Texas and Florida.
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Doctors Press Senate to Undo Medicare Cuts (U.S., 5 articles)
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On Wednesday, Senate Democrats capitulated to the Bush administration on wiretapping - with Barack Obama joining the coalition of the craven. The advertisements, by the American Medical Association, urge Senate Republicans to reverse themselves and help pass legislation to fend off the cut. How to pay doctors through the federal health insurance program is an issue that lawmakers are forced to confront every year because of what is widely agreed to be an outdated reimbursement formula.
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Other stories about Medicare, Kennedy and Doctors:
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Screen Actors Guild rejects contract offer: Hollywood producers (U.S., 8 articles)
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LOS ANGELES The major Hollywood studios have told the Screen Actors Guild that if the union does not accept its final contract offer by Aug. 15 any proposed wage increases would not be retroactive, the studios said Wednesday. If the deadline passes before the union ratifies a contract, that means the actors could lose more than $200,000 a day in increases dating to July 1, the day the new contract would take effect. S.A.G., Hollywood's dominant actors' union with some 120,000 members, has been embroiled in increasingly rancorous negotiations with television and movie producers over a new contract since spring.
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Police source: Anyone but Olmert would have been arrested by now (U.S., 12 articles)
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Israel Police and the Justice Ministry released a joint statement Friday saying that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is suspected of asking a number of different public organizations, and the state, to pay for the same trips abroad. " The prime minister was asked to give his account about suspicions of serious fraud and other offenses said the police and the ministry joint statement, following a third round of questioning of Olmert in an ongoing corruption investigation. As far back as 1991, police investigated allegations that one or more third parties financed a trip overseas taken by the Olmert family and arranged through Rishon Tours.
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ABC News: Rising Gas Prices Cause 'Hybrid Fever' (U.S., 7 articles)
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Starting in 2010, Toyota plans to make the Prius at a new factory in Blue Springs, Miss., that was originally intended to assemble sport utility vehicles. The company will suspend production of the Toyota Tundra pickup at its San Antonio truck plant and the Toyota Sequoia sport utility vehicle at its Princeton, Ind., plant for three months starting Aug. 8 because of declining demand. Toyota acknowledged Thursday that, like its rival automakers in Detroit, it misjudged the drastic swing in the American market away from larger vehicles.
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Brinkley awarded sole custody (U.S., 7 articles)
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Following a tense week in court, the former couple announced it had reached an agreement in the early hours of Thursday morning. Over the course of the trial, testimony included revelations of Cook's affair and his alleged $3,000 monthly porn habit. CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. Christie Brinkley's lurid divorce trial came to an abrupt end Thursday when lawyers for the former supermodel and her fourth husband reached an out-of-court settlement that gives her custody of their two children.
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IndyMac Bank seized by federal regulators (U.S., 6 articles)
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The bank, once part of the Countrywide Financial Corporation, is the first major bank to shut its doors since the mortgage crisis erupted more than a year ago. The federal government took control of Pasadena-based IndyMac Bank on Friday in what regulators called the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. The bank's 33 branches will be closed over the weekend, but the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will reopen the bank on Monday as IndyMac Federal Bank, said the Office of Thrift Supervision in Washington.
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Sepp Blatter urges Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid (U.S., 6 articles)
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United's following have clung wishfully to the hope that comments attributed to Ronaldo affirming his desire to move to Real Madrid have at best been fabricated, at worst misconstrued or misinterpreted. Fifa president Sepp Blatter is refusing to give up on his plan to limit foreign players in a team, despite conceding it is against European Union law. Blatter believes the move would benefit the English game and is determined to press ahead after being given encouragement from a vote of Fifa's members in May.
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Find best rates on VA mortgages (U.S., 4 articles)
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There is one change that may help stem fraud in the mortgage industry, and it could reduce the number of unscrupulous or unlicensed brokers and loan officers who move from state to state preying on borrowers. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators have launched the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, which is designed to help state licensing officials keep track of individuals and companies responsible for arranging mortgage loans. The system streamlines the regulatory process by allowing state-licensed mortgage lenders, brokers and loan officers to use one form to apply for, amend, update or renew their licenses online.
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Comcast violated internet rules, U.S. cable regulator says (U.S., 6 articles)
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Mr. Martin's recommendation is a strong push for network neutrality, the idea that Internet access providers like Comcast should not be allowed to favor some uses of their networks over others. The potentially precedent-setting move stems from a complaint against Comcast Corp. that the company had blocked Internet traffic among users of a certain type of "file sharing" software that allows them to exchange large amounts of data. " The commission has adopted a set of principles that protects consumers access to the Internet FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press late Thursday.
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Spokane Valley fire destroys at least 13 homes, burns 1,200 acres (U.S., 10 articles)
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SPOKANE - The number of homes destroyed by a wildfire in the Spokane Valley rose to 13 as firefighters gradually moved into a heavily-wooded area that was devastated by wind-driven flames on Thursday. Firefighters in California, America, are keeping up their battle to bring two huge blazes that are threatening two towns under control. Here's a look at the wildfires burning across Eastern Washington on Friday as firefighters were aided by cooler temperatures and diminishing winds: -The Valley View Fire in the Spokane Valley has burned 13 houses east of Spokane.
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FDA panel sees suicide risks with epilepsy drugs; analyzed 200 studies (U.S., 4 articles)
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BELTSVILLE, Maryland (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc said its epilepsy drugs do not increase the risk of suicidal behavior and should be exempt from tougher warnings being sought for similar medications, despite concerns from U.S. health regulators. The company told a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday that its Lyrica and Neurontin drugs work differently than those of rivals. WASHINGTON - Drugs used by millions of Americans to treat epileptic seizures can cause increased risks of suicide, a government panel said Thursday.
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The world’s scariest runways (U.S., 4 articles)
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WASHINGTON - Two airborne planes one landing and the other taking off came within a half-mile of colliding at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday in the second such incident at the airport in a week, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The FAA moved quickly to change takeoff and landing procedures at JFK on perpendicular runways the kind of runways involved in both incidents. NEW YORK (CNN) An incident involving two airborne passenger jets on Friday has raised questions of a second possible near collision within a week at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
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Stand Down steps up with aid and comfort for veterans (U.S., 4 articles)
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The union, which endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president last month, plans to form state councils of union veterans in key election battlegrounds, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio and West Virginia. In an effort to attract more veterans to Ohio s public universities, Gov. Ted Strickland announced Tuesday that the state would charge in-state tuition to all veterans attending college on the G.I. bill. The Ohio plan, the first of its kind in the nation, makes all veterans "honorary Ohioans" for the purpose of a college education.
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Cameron considers Davis's future (U.S., 4 articles)
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Former shadow home secretary David Davis has eased to victory in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election with a 15,355 majority and 72% of the vote. David Davis hoped to silence his critics on Thursday night after the voters of Haltemprice and Howden returned him as their MP with a huge majority and a face-saving turnout of nearly 35 per cent. The Conservative politician had risked appearing quixotic and egotistical by stepping down as shadow home secretary a month ago to embark on a single-issue by-election on civil liberties.
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Edward Gunts (U.S., 4 articles)
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Even in an age when most architectural design work is carried out on computers, many architects still draw by hand at least part of the time. As a precursor to the city's annual Artscape festival later this month, the Baltimore Architecture Foundation is presenting four exhibits on Sunday to display the range of work architects produce when they are sitting in front of a computer terminal. Baltimore barely missed being ranked as one of " America's Best Cities for Design according to a new survey that measures factors such as the number of award-winning contemporary buildings in a city and examples of environmentally friendly architecture.
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Sri Lanka put IPL money before England tour (U.S., 8 articles)
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The time when England cricketers are being offered the opportunity to become dollar millionaires in an afternoon is not a good time to be out of form and Ian Bell is understandably jittery. England and Wales Cricket Board chief Giles Clarke has played down a new proposal for a $50m Twenty20 event to rival the Indian Premier League. Duleep Mendis, the SLC chief executive, will tell the ECB today that his country will send a second-string team for the two Test matches in May, unless dates agreed last week can be rearranged.
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Downtown Dallas Rental Guides (U.S., 8 articles)
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It is published by the oldest business institution in Texas, Belo Corp., now A.H. Belo, which has chronicled Texas history for more than 160 years. The Dallas Morning News traces its origins to The Daily News in Galveston, which was born on April 11, 1842, in a one-room unpainted shack, three years before the Republic of Texas was admitted to the Union. In the decade and a half before the Civil War, Richardson built The Galveston Daily News into the largest, wealthiest and most influential newspaper in Texas.
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Moving Crew (U.S., 4 articles)
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Personal trainer and writer Lennie Magida was online Tuesday, April 17, at 11:30 a.m. ET to take your questions about health and fitness. Health section contributor John Briley and assistant editor Susan Morse were online Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 11:30 a.m. ET to talk with you throughout the hour. As the, we specialize in helping beginners get started, regular exercisers reach the next level and everybody avoid injuries, stick with their programs and have fun.
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Bodies of missing MI, MA soldiers found in Iraq (U.S., 7 articles)
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DETROIT (AP) The Pentagon confirmed Friday that remains found in Iraq were two U.S. soldiers missing for more than a year, a discovery that dashed any hope the men would be found alive. Jim Wareing a family support group, said the agency set up a meeting of the Jimenez and Fouty families with President Bush on Memorial Day to show support. For more than a year, Gordon Dibler held out hope that his stepson, Army Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, would return home from Iraq.
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News for Dallas, Texas (U.S., 7 articles)
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The dream scenario for someone selling his or her home is a long line of prospective buyers shouting at the top of their lungs in a protracted bidding war for the home. Real estate agents generally have a variety of standard forms, including residential purchase agreements that are kept up to date and made available to those who use the services of an agent. Finally, in many states there are disclosure laws a seller must comply with, and real estate agents can make sure that happens as well.
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AMA formally apologizes to black physicians for discriminatory policies (U.S., 7 articles)
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So when the American Medical Association (AMA) formally apologized Thursday for more than 100 years of policies that excluded blacks from a group long considered the voice of American doctors, it was belated but welcome. It's conceivable patient care suffered " to the extent that our practices may have impeded the ability of African-American physicians to interact collegially with white physicians Davis said Thursday. By AINA HUNTER July 11, 2008The American Medical Association has agreed to support proposed legislation that, some physicians say, could make make having a planned birth in one's home difficult, to virtually impossible.
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Air Force tanker rebid fair to Boeing, Northrop (U.S., 7 articles)
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WASHINGTON - Lawmakers on Thursday demanded a detailed explanation of what went wrong with the Air Force's management of a $40 billion tanker contract awarded to Northrop Grumman and its European partner over Boeing. " This isn't the first time the acquisition system has failed said Rep. Neil Abercrombie chairman of a House Armed Services subcommittee. The Pentagon's announcement Wednesday that it will rebid the Air Force tanker contract was initially greeted as good news by most supporters of Boeing's bid for the $35 billion job.
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Gangs use violence to steal pets (U.S., 6 articles)
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The Missing Pets Bureau, which says one-third of missing dogs are actually stolen, reports a surge in owners using pet detectives to find their animals. Ms Hayes said that part of the problem was that the police did not take dog thefts seriously. While breed has some influence on a dog's behavior, dogs are individuals; each has a unique personality.
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Health Insurance's New Wave And the Man Behind the Plans (U.S., 6 articles)
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The efforts, one by a coalition of labor and liberal groups and another by AARP, also include direct appeals to the presidential contenders and congressional candidates to change a system in which millions of people are without coverage. A coalition of labor unions and Democratic-leaning organizations called Health Care for America Now on Tuesday was announcing a $40 million campaign to promote affordable health care coverage for all. A top goal is to encourage lawmakers to devise a plan that would offer consumers the choice of retaining their current private coverage, choosing a new insurance plan or joining a government-run plan.
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Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) News (U.S., 5 articles)
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The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was enacted in 1978, passed in response to revelations by the Church Committee showing widespread abuse of government wiretaps, and to growing concerns on the part of the Supreme Court over eavesdropping practices. President Bush signed a bill Thursday that overhauls rules about government eavesdropping and grants immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the U.S. spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases. The court will not be told specifics about who will be wiretapped, which means the law provides woefully inadequate safeguards to protect innocent people whose communications are caught up in the government's dragnet surveillance program.
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Report to slam Government pension scheme (U.S., 5 articles)
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Plans for a low cost pensions scheme aimed at encouraging millions of workers to save for their retirement will be unveiled today by the Government. John Hutton, the Work and Pensions Secretary, will publish a White Paper setting out details of the new "personal accounts" which are due to take effect from 2012. WHO shot General Motors? The company's stock is at its lowest level in 50 years, and its market valuation has plunged to $5.9 billion, less than that of the Hershey candy-bar company.
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Dwain Chambers seeks injunction against doping ban (U.S., 5 articles)
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND OLYMPIC TRIALS Friday 11 July to Sunday 13 July Coverage: BBC One (Sat 12 at 1645 BST), BBC Two (Sun 13 at 1730), Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website. Dwain Chambers eased to victory in his heat to qualify for the semi-finals of the 100m at the British Olympic trials. The 30-year-old, who is seeking a High Court injunction next Wednesday to lift his lifetime Olympic ban for drug offences, clocked 10.14 seconds.
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'That Was the Desk I Chose to Die Under' (U.S., 5 articles)
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IT'S A CHILLING thought: Seung Hui Cho's rampage at Virginia Tech might have been avoided but for what might have seemed until recently a minor flaw in Virginia state policy. In 2005 Mr. Cho's disturbed behavior persuaded a state special justice to declare him "an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness" after police detained him. That's because Virginia authorities never reported Mr. Cho's status to the database, which relies on information that states decide to provide.
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Ways and Means (U.S., 5 articles)
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America's romance with Indians surged, and, in his defiance, Means seemed like a reincarnation of such Lakota legends as Sitting Bull, Rain in the Face, Gall and Crazy Horse. When Means went to court in the wake of the Wounded Knee mayhem, Marlon Brando and Harry Belafonte showed up, voicing support. There's a timeworn tradition of Indians capitalizing on the white man's fascination Sitting Bull and Gall signed on as part of Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling "Wild West" show in the late 19th century.
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Man accused of lying about seeing sharks near Martha's Vineyard (U.S., 5 articles)
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EDGARTOWN, Mass. - A 60-year-old man was charged Friday with disorderly conduct for allegedly lying about seeing two great white sharks off the island where the movie "Jaws" was filmed, authorities said. Edgartown police Chief Paul Condlin said Michael Lopenzo warned people to get out of the water at the Joseph Silva State Beach on Martha's Vineyard Thursday. A 60-year-old Boston man is facing a charge of disturbing the peace for allegedly concocting a story about a shark sighting off a Martha's Vineyard beach Thursday morning.
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ABC News: Ramseys Off the Hook in JonBenet's Death (U.S., 4 articles)
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Lacy said new "touch DNA" tests on skin cells left behind on JonBenet's long underwear point to an "unexplained third party" and not a member of the family. John Ramsey, a software entrepreneur who now lives in Michigan, said yesterday that he is hopeful that the killer will be found, based on the DNA evidence NEW YORK - Crime scene DNA is typically recovered from blood or semen stains, but the DNA that exonerated members of JonBenet Ramsey's family came from invisible skin cells.
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Experts: Mosquito Season Worse Than Previous Years (U.S., 4 articles)
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Some mosquito surveillance traps in Iowa have up to 20 times more mosquitoes than in recent years, said Lyric Bartholomay, an Iowa State University insect expert. A relative, Aedes vexans, is doing much of the biting in Chicago's suburbs, hit by recent heavy rains, said Mike Szyska of the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District. Mosquito numbers in northwestern suburbs peaked last week at about five times higher than normal for this time of year, Szyska said.
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Tysons Planners Thinking 'Circulator' (U.S., 4 articles)
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Virginia leaders who are nearing a decision on whether to build a Metrorail line below ground through Tysons Corner face a question that goes well beyond disputes over cost estimates and construction timelines. The extension's top congressional sponsors warn that delays and cost escalations associated with a tunnel could imperil the 23-mile line to Dulles. Virginia officials are considering a proposal from contractors allied with a major Tysons Corner landowner to take over construction of at least half of the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport, a prospect that threatens to further delay the project.
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Italian prosecutors seek murder indictment against Amanda Knox (U.S., 4 articles)
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Prosecutors in Perugia requested that Amanda Knox a University of Washington student; her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito; and Ivory Coast citizen Rudy Hermann Guede be tried in the death of Meredith Kercher. The requested indictment also would charge the three with sexual violence and stealing $475, two credit cards and two cell phones from Kercher. The slaying in the small town that attracts thousands of foreigner students and tourists every year drew attention in Italy for weeks and made headlines worldwide.
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Metro Posts Alerts for Bus Riders (U.S., 4 articles)
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Authorities said Friday two people were severely injured after a double-decker tour bus was involved in a crash. Police said the two men, who were on top of the bus, were hit as the bus was trying to travel under an underpass. The bus was shuttling Nationals fans from the parking lots at RFK Stadium to the Nationals' ballpark when the accident occurred.
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Test results late for 1.2 million pupils as private marking firm fails to deliver (U.S., 4 articles)
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Headteachers are expecting "widespread problems" with the quality of marking of this year's national curriculum tests, following the announcement last week that the release of results would be delayed this year. Mr Brookes is advising schools to issue returned test results as "provisional" - and to accompany these results with the teachers' assessments of the levels achieved by pupils. The results of national curriculum tests taken by 1.2 million 11 and 14-year-olds in England are to be delivered to schools a week late amid concerns over the accuracy of marking.
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SEC Aims to Limit Credit Ratings' Influence (U.S., 4 articles)
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Among the conflicts of interest cited in the SEC report were the practice of companies that issue the securities paying the rating agencies for their work. Their grades can be key factors in determining a company's ability to raise or borrow money, and the cost at which securities will be purchased by banks, mutual funds, state pension funds or local governments. Among other things, the rules would ban the rating agencies from advising the investment banks on how to package securities to secure favorable ratings.
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Obama, slavery and Jonah Goldberg (U.S., 4 articles)
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I think all the folks who think that mandatory public service is such a grand idea should be asked this question. Not to point out the obvious, but Goldberg was clearly talking about the "involuntary servitude" portion of the Amendment, not the "slavery" part. After building up a case for national service as slavery that had never been done with such care, what does he end the piece with? No, national service isn't slavery.
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blaster@cs.columbia.edu
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