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National Headlines
U.S. & World News to help keep you informed.
| Navy asked to explain policy for naming ships |
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 WASHINGTON The Senate wants the Navy to explain how it selects names for new ships in the wake of controversy over the naming of a ship in memory of labor leader Cesar Chavez.
Published at 4:38pm, December 5, 2011
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| Scientists: Osteoporosis drug useful for astronauts |
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TOKYO A team of researchers has confirmed five astronauts who stayed long term at the International Space Station were able to prevent bone density loss by taking osteoporosis drugs.
Published at 4:35pm, December 5, 2011
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| Bombings target Shiite Muslim pilgrims in Iraq |
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BAGHDAD A series of powerful explosions ripped through processions of pilgrims celebrating a major Shiite Muslim religious holiday Monday, threatening to inflame sectarian tensions as U.S. troops streamed out of the country ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline.
Published at 4:35pm, December 5, 2011
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| Iran explosions prompt speculation of secret attacks |
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JERUSALEM A series of mishaps at Iranian nuclear facilities and weapons sites may be part of a covert organized attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons program, according to Western intelligence officials.
Published at 4:34pm, December 5, 2011
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| Peru’s president moves to quell protests over copper mine |
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LIMA, Peru Digging in his heels against opponents of a huge gold and copper mining project, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala declared a 60-day state of emergency and called on residents to maintain “serenity and calm.”
Published at 4:32pm, December 5, 2011
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| WikiLeaks’ Assange allowed to continue extradition fight |
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LONDON Julian Assange, founder of the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks website, is free to ask Britain’s highest court to decide whether he should be extradited to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault, judges ruled Monday.
Published at 4:32pm, December 5, 2011
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| Change in Chinese position bright spot at climate talks |
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DURBAN, South Africa China's delegate to the United Nations climate conference in South Africa kicked off the conference on Monday with a surprise announcement: China, he said, might favor carbon curbs eventually.
Published at 4:31pm, December 5, 2011
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| Syria says deal is close on Arab League monitors |
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BEIRUT With the threat of more sanctions looming, Syria said Monday that it is ready to sign a deal soon with the Arab League allowing foreign observers into the country to monitor a plan aimed at ending months of deadly unrest.
Published at 4:29pm, December 5, 2011
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| Thousands protest preliminary results in Russia elections |
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MOSCOW Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Moscow on Monday to voice their anger at polling irregularities they fear will allow the ruling party to maintain control of the parliament’s lower house, despite a relatively weak showing in elections held Sunday.
Published at 4:28pm, December 5, 2011
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| U.S. should lead the way to halt climate change |
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The U.N. Climate Summit opened over the weekend in Durban, South Africa, amid still more evidence of dangerous changes in extreme weather patterns.
Published at 4:24pm, December 5, 2011
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| Iran says its military has U.S. drone in its possession |
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TEHRAN, Iran Iran’s armed forces brought down a U.S. drone that officials said had violated the country’s airspace along the eastern border, Iranian media reported Sunday.
Published at 11:16pm, December 4, 2011
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| Mysterious blasts, slayings suggest covert efforts in Iran |
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WASHINGTON At an Iranian military base 30 miles west of Tehran, engineers were working on weapons that the armed forces chief of staff had boasted could give Israel a “strong punch in the mouth.”
Published at 11:14pm, December 4, 2011
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| Blagojevich to be sentenced this week |
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CHICAGO Throughout a long and now disgraced public career, Rod Blagojevich became known for his silver but often forked tongue. It is a reputation sure to loom large over this week’s sentencing hearing for the convicted former governor as he mounts a last-ditch argument for leniency.
Published at 7:48pm, December 4, 2011
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| As Iraq and Afghan wars end, costs mount on pace to exceed Vietnam |
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 WASHINGTON The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may be winding down, but the long-term costs of caring for those wounded in battle is on path to rival the costs of the Vietnam War. GRAPHIC: Chart compares the average number of disabilities claimed per veteran by war starting with World War II.
Published at 7:17pm, December 4, 2011
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| Syria again ignores Arab League deadline to allow observers |
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BEIRUT Syria on Sunday ignored another Arab League deadline to accept observers, saying it was still negotiating details of the mission to monitor a plan aimed at ending months of bloodshed.
Published at 7:14pm, December 4, 2011
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| Iran claims it shot down U.S. drone |
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WASHINGTON Iran’s military shot down an unmanned American drone over its eastern territory, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday.
Published at 7:13pm, December 4, 2011
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| Snipping the bud: Prep work is a payday in the marijuana business |
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 SEBASTOPOL, Calif. In an old, shingled house not far from the center of town, the trim crew hunkered over trays in the living room, snipping away at the strain of the day, Blue Dream. Its pungency knifed the air, like a medley of French roasted coffee beans and roadkill skunk. PHOTO: People from all over the world descend on Northern California to "trim" the marijuana crop.
Published at 11:24am, December 4, 2011
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| Noisy mob? Cops shoot back with sound cannons |
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 LOS ANGELES Sound has long been used as a weapon. The Germans put sirens on Stuka dive bombers in World War II to amplify the terror to unlucky souls below. Jamaican maroons fugitive slaves used the abeng horn to unnerve British colonial soldiers. PHOTO: The ultra high output sound broadcast machine has been used by police across the U.S. for crowd control at Occupy Wall Street events.
Published at 11:16am, December 4, 2011
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| Turn on, tune in and get better? |
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 LOS ANGELES Janeen Delany describes herself as an “old hippie” who’s smoked plenty of marijuana. But she never really dabbled in hallucinogens until two years ago, at the age of 59. PHOTO: Dr. Charles S. Grob, Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, has researched hallucinoges as treatment for terminal cancer patients.
Published at 11:14am, December 4, 2011
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| Can coal plants afford EPA’s new air-toxics rule? |
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 LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. America has never had a nationwide limit on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants. That’s about to change, though, and it will cost companies such as American Electric Power, which runs the Tanners Creek power station here on the Ohio River, billions of dollars. PHOTO: Steam rises from the stack of the scrubber as the primary emission after the cleaning process at Brandon Shores, one of Constellation Energy's biggest coal-fired plants located outside Baltimore, Maryland, November 21, 2011.
Published at 11:08am, December 4, 2011
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| Penn State's legal, PR bills could run into the millions |
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. One of the first things Penn State University did after learning that former football coach Jerry Sandusky and two university administrators had been charged in a sex abuse scandal was to hire a public relations firm.
Published at 11:05am, December 4, 2011
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| Workers rake up dollars in wake of big wind storm |
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 LOS ANGELES The fiercest windstorm in a decade may have caught Laurie Amaya off guard, but on Friday, she was quick to find a solution to the sea of debris blanketing her yard in South Pasadena. PHOTO: Fallen power poles block an avenue in Temple City, California, as crew survey the damage and attempt to restore power, Friday, December 2, 2011.
Published at 1:17pm, December 3, 2011
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| Obama administration issues diversity guidelines for schools |
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LOS ANGELES The Obama administration has released new guidelines aimed at encouraging school districts and colleges to keep and pursue policies that promote racial diversity. In the process, they withdrew directives put forward during the administration of George W. Bush.
Published at 1:16pm, December 3, 2011
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| Bah, humbug! Fort Worth schools ban Santa, gifts in classroom |
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FORT WORTH, Texas Some parents say the Fort Worth school district is playing Grinch this holiday season.
“In their effort to be PC, they’ve achieved the absurd,” parent Brandon Brewer wrote in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Published at 1:14pm, December 3, 2011
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| House Ethics Committee to extend probe of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. |
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WASHINGTON The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it would extend its investigation of Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., assuring that his part in the Rod Blagojevich scandal will be a major issue as the lawmaker seeks re-election next year.
Published at 1:07pm, December 3, 2011
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| Pakistan orders troops to return fire if attacked by US |
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ISLAMABAD Pakistan’s top military commander has issued orders to the country’s troops to return fire should they come under attack again from U.S.-led coalition forces, a move that’s likely to increase tensions after an American-led air raid on two border outposts last week killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Published at 4:28pm, December 2, 2011
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| Latin and Caribbean leaders challenge US role in region |
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On Friday, the leaders of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries are gathering in Venezuela to forge a new organization that will include every nation in the region except the United States and Canada.
Published at 2:12am, December 2, 2011
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| Brain change linked to video gaming |
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CHICAGO _ Regularly playing a violent video game for a week led to brain changes seen in MRI scans that researchers say may desensitize young men to violence, according to a study presented this week.
Published at 2:11am, December 2, 2011
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| Senate OKs new sanctions on Iran with defense bill vote |
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WASHINGTON Disregarding White House opposition, the Senate unanimously approved new sanctions on Iran as part of the defense bill Thursday night, then passed the bill which already faced a veto threat because it requires military custody for certain detainees suspected of terrorism.
Published at 1:57am, December 2, 2011
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| All eyes on jury diversity in N. Carolina |
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RALEIGH, N.C. The recent repeal of North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act has re ignited debate over the death penalty.
Published at 1:56am, December 2, 2011
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| Pay ban on donor organs doesn’t include bone marrow, court says |
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LOS ANGELES A federal law banning compensation for organ transplants doesn’t extend to bone marrow harvested from a donor’s blood, a federal appeals court said Thursday in a ruling that could attract thousands of new donors in a national campaign to save the lives of those afflicted with cancer, leukemia and genetic disorders.
Published at 1:55am, December 2, 2011
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| Occupiers’ treasures become the city’s trash |
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 LOS ANGELES There were vinyl albums by Etta James and the punk band X. There were cosmetic kits, one with seven kinds of nail polish. There were sleeping bags, luggage, cutlery, a small red guitar with a broken neck and a collection of Ernest Hemingway stories. PHOTO: Sanitation worker Gino Ramirez starts the daunting tasks of clearing all the debris left behind by Occupy LA protesters after Los Angeles police successfully cleared out the camp at City Hall early Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
Published at 1:09pm, December 1, 2011
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| U.S. Secretary of State Clinton meets Myanmar president Thein Sein |
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NAYPYITAW, Myanmar U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton held talks Thursday with Myanmar’s new reform-minded President Thein Sein, at the start of a two-day fact-finding mission to the former pariah state.
Published at 12:57pm, December 1, 2011
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| Union strikes deal with Boeing, will push for end of NLRB case |
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SEATTLE After secret talks that began in earnest in mid-October, Boeing and the Machinists union have reached a landmark tentative agreement that would ensure the 737 MAX is built in Renton, Wash., and lead to settlement of the National Labor Relations Board case against the company.
Published at 12:42pm, December 1, 2011
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| Britain evacuates its diplomats from Iran; Norway shuts embassy |
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BAGHDAD One day after the sacking of its embassy in Tehran by pro-regime Iranian militants, Britain on Wednesday evacuated all its diplomats from Iran, closed its embassy and ordered the expulsion of all Iranian diplomats from London within 48 hours.
Published at 12:38pm, December 1, 2011
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| On World AIDS Day, blacks remain outcasts |
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Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, and in the United States we must draw attention to the need to combat AIDS in the African-American community.
Published at 10:11pm, November 30, 2011
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| Conrad Murray gets four years for role in Michael Jackson’s death |
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 LOS ANGELES The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray in the drug overdose death of Michael Jackson ended with a resounding rebuke from the trial judge, who lambasted his treatment as “money for medicine madness.” PHOTO: Kamal Ali Jr., 6, impersonates Michael Jackson outside Los Angeles Superior court where Jackson's personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray, 58, was sentenced to four years behind bars for the singer's June 2009 death.
Published at 1:12pm, November 30, 2011
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| Nationwide strike hits Britain |
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LONDON Up to 2 million public-sector workers walked off the job in Britain on Wednesday, potentially the biggest nationwide strike to hit the country in a generation.
Published at 1:00pm, November 30, 2011
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| Russia Mars probe failure underlined by successful US launch |
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MOSCOW Russia’s space program has a bad case of the Red Planet blues. As the NASA rover Curiosity, launched Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Fla., streaks toward Mars, Russia’s Phobos-Ground probe is marooned in near-Earth orbit and largely unresponsive to commands from ground controllers.
Published at 1:00pm, November 30, 2011
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| Chilean judge seeks extradition of ex-US military officer in slaying of journalist |
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SANTIAGO, Chile A Chilean judge is seeking the extradition of a former U.S. military officer to face murder charges for the 1973 slaying of freelance journalist and filmmaker Charles Horman, a case dramatized in the Oscar-winning film “Missing,” court sources confirmed Tuesday.
Published at 12:58pm, November 30, 2011
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| Postwar US-Afghanistan ties are expected to remain rocky |
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KABUL, Afghanistan The wartime alliance between Afghanistan and the United States in the last decade has been fraught with suspicions over sharply differing goals and tactics. It is becoming clear that any postwar partnership to prevent a Taliban comeback is likely to be just as problematic.
Published at 12:57pm, November 30, 2011
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| Mexico seeks to fill drug war gap with focus on dirty money |
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 MEXICO CITY Tainted drug money runs like whispered rumors all over Mexico’s economy in gleaming high-rises in beach resorts such as Cancun, in bustling casinos in Monterrey, in skyscrapers and restaurants in Mexico City that sit empty for months. It seeps into the construction sector, the night-life industry, even political campaigns. PHOTO: The estate of Victor Emilio Cazares Gestelum in Culliacan, Mexico, is shown in September 2009.
Published at 12:23pm, November 30, 2011
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| First suicide blast since 2007 hits Iraq’s restricted Green Zone |
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BAGHDAD An explosion Monday in Baghdad’s Green Zone that Iraqi officials at first attributed to a rocket that landed harmlessly in a parking lot was in fact a suicide car bomb that detonated at the entrance to the parliament building and killed five people, officials revealed Tuesday.
Published at 11:39am, November 30, 2011
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| Portion of Council Bluffs Exceeds Lead National Air Quality Standard |
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The DNR received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalized determination that a 3.4 square mile area of central Council Bluffs violated the national air quality standard for lead in 2010 and is designated in nonattainment. The only known source of lead emissions in this area is Griffin Pipe Products Company.
Published at 10:10am, November 30, 2011
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| Toddler in grave condition after gunfire injures seven in West Oakland |
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 OAKLAND, Calif. When a 3-year-old boy was fatally wounded in a gang-related shooting three months ago in East Oakland, no one thought there could be a more devastating act of violence. PHOTO: Oakland police investigate the scene of a multiple shooting Monday, November 28, 2011 in west Oakland, California. Seven people were wounded in the attack, including a woman and an infant.
Published at 11:09pm, November 29, 2011
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| Funding plan for California bullet train is faulted |
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LOS ANGELES The funding plan for the California bullet train does not comply with key provisions of a ballot measure that voters approved to authorize the project and $9 billion in state bonds to help finance it, according to a report released Tuesday.
Published at 10:47pm, November 29, 2011
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| Iranian protesters storm British compounds in Tehran |
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TEHRAN, Iran In scenes that evoked the seizing of the U.S. Embassy in 1979, hundreds of demonstrators stormed two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran on Tuesday, hurling gasoline bombs, ransacking offices and tearing down the British flag.
Published at 10:18pm, November 29, 2011
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| EDITORIAL: Fighting a moving target |
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Nov. 29--A rash of local heroin-related deaths is a sad reminder that our fight against drug abuse is a perpetual one.
Published at 7:58pm, November 29, 2011
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| Resistance and survival at Auschwitz |
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On Jan. 24, 1943, 230 French women who had been arrested for resistance activities were put on a train at Compiegne, outside Paris, and sent to Auschwitz. The youngest had just celebrated her 17th birthday; the oldest was 67. They were teachers and seamstresses, students and farmers’ wives; there was a doctor, a dentist and several editors and chemists. They were to be a lesson to other would-be troublemakers.
Published at 12:33pm, November 29, 2011
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| Bureaucracy has blossomed in military’s war on rape |
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 WASHINGTON Under the political gun, the Pentagon has bulked up its anti-rape campaign far more than many people realize. It’s expensive, aggressive and imperfect. GRAPHIC: Charts show what happened to the 2,039 allegations of sexual assault in the U.S. military, 2009-10; about a quarter of them went on to courts- martial.
Published at 12:27pm, November 29, 2011
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| Mix of booze and sex can spell trouble for military |
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 WASHINGTON It’s often the toxic ingredient of a military rape allegation: binge drinking. Many times, the woman knows the man and was drinking alcohol with him. Lots of it. PHOTO: Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces dismissed charges against Stephen Prather, shown here in his print shop where he works as a graphic artist.
Published at 12:23pm, November 29, 2011
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| After days of chaos, Egypt's post-Mubarak vote is smooth |
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 CAIRO _ Ballots never arrived at some polling stations. Judges were so late that voting was delayed by hours in some populous districts. Political parties openly campaigned in violation of the law. And voters puzzled over long lists of candidates. PHOTO: Egyptian voters queue at a polling station in the Manial neighborhood of Cairo on November 28, 2011.
Published at 10:17pm, November 28, 2011
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| Election shows Islamists truly are Egypt’s best-organized force |
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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt It rained here on election day, but the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party was prepared: Its election workers, sometimes a half-dozen men or more at each polling station, sported matching neon yellow raincoats and baseball caps bearing the party logo.
Published at 10:11pm, November 28, 2011
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| Pakistan denies it fired first in NATO attack that killed 24 |
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ISLAMABAD Pakistani military officials on Monday angrily dismissed Afghan government claims that a NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers was a retaliatory measure against fire from the soldiers’ two border posts or from nearby militants.
Published at 10:10pm, November 28, 2011
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| Michael Jackson’s problematic comeback |
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LOS ANGELES In the film “This Is It,” Michael Jackson is shown as agile and energetic as ever, on the cusp of possibly the greatest comeback in music history.
Published at 10:07pm, November 28, 2011
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| Sexually harassed interns often feel they have nowhere to turn |
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 CHICAGO The young woman ignored the school principal’s voicemails asking her to meet for cocktails. Her eventual reply, after persistent text messages that included explicit sexual requests and a photo of his private parts, was emphatic: “LEAVE ME ALONE!!” PHOTO: In the struggle to find work, some interns may brush off sexual harassment from supervisors but this one would not put up with it and came forward about her situation.
Published at 4:09pm, November 28, 2011
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| Pakistan denies it fired first in NATO attack that killed 24 |
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, and KABUL, Afghanistan Pakistani military officials on Monday angrily dismissed Afghan government claims that a NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers was a retaliatory measure against fire from the soldiers’ two border posts or from nearby militants.
Published at 4:02pm, November 28, 2011
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| Pakistan seethes after U.S. border attack |
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KARACHI, Pakistan Tension between Pakistan and the United States rose Sunday over a U.S. airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, as the two sides offered widely disparate accounts of what might have happened.
Published at 3:56pm, November 28, 2011
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| Despite disarray, Egyptians go to the polls Monday |
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CAIRO Millions of Egyptians will vote Monday in the first election since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, but the mood is somber rather than celebratory.
Published at 10:32am, November 28, 2011
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| Fact Sheet: New Sanctions on Iran |
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The United States is taking a series of actions to confront the threat posed by Iran and significantly increase pressure on Iran to comply with the full range of its international obligations and to address the international community’s longstanding concerns regarding its nuclear program.
Published at 10:26am, November 28, 2011
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| Tensions grow at Occupy L.A. as deadline nears |
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LOS ANGELES Activists and Los Angeles officials faced difficult choices over the next phase of the Occupy L.A. movement as a 12:01 a.m. Monday deadline approached for the departure of nearly 700 protesters at an encampment on City Hall grounds.
Published at 1:06am, November 28, 2011
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| Chicagoans line up to honor memory of Maggie Daley |
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 CHICAGO As hymns sung by a small choir echoed off stone walls, former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley stood for hours in front of his wife’s copper-colored casket to shake hands and accept kisses on the cheek from powerful acquaintances and ordinary strangers. PHOTO: The Daley family, including former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, left, gather before the start of the public wake for Maggie Daley at the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, November 27, 2011.
Published at 1:05am, November 28, 2011
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| Karzai finalizes plans to bring more areas under Afghan forces’ control |
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KABUL, Afghanistan Afghan President Hamid Karzai finalized plans Sunday to bring more cities and provinces under the control of his nation’s security forces, a step that will formally place more than half the population under the protection of Afghanistan’s troops and police.
Published at 1:03am, November 28, 2011
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| In Congo election, the outcome is certain and violence is likely |
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JOHANNESBURG In the Democratic Republic of Congo’s second stab at democracy since the end of a ruinous civil war, President Joseph Kabila is likely to cling to power. But Monday’s election is already so flawed that the result will probably be contested, and the odds of violence or even a return to war are high, analysts and human rights activists warn.
Published at 1:02am, November 28, 2011
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| Cynicism rises ahead of Egypt parliamentary elections |
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CAIRO Once an outpost for camel traders, the Cairo neighborhood of Imbaba is an unforgiving stretch along the Nile, suspicious of political promises and candidates in polished shoes who disappear before the tea cools.
Published at 12:59am, November 28, 2011
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| NASA launches largest-ever Mars rover |
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 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. With the roar of an Atlas 5 engine, NASA on Saturday began its boldest venture yet to another planet sending the Mars Science Laboratory on an eight-month journey expected to provide more detailed information about whether the red planet is, or ever has been, hospitable to life. PHOTO: An Atlas V rocket blasts off on Saturday, November 26, 2011, from Cap Canaveral, Florida, carrying a rover bound for Mars.
Published at 11:39am, November 27, 2011
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