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Sinkhole's growth slowing, experts say
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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DAISETTA -- Geologists said a 260-foot-deep sinkhole that grew to the length of three football fields over just two days seemed to be slowing Thursday but that it could take months before it's clear whether surrounding areas are stable.
Th ...
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More than half of US diabetics have arthritis
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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ATLANTA -- More than half of U.S. adults with diabetes also have arthritis, raising a serious obstacle for diabetic patients urged to exercise, according to a government study.
The survey of nearly 800,000 people is the first extensive look at t ...
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Former lawmaker heading to prison
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A former Alaska legislator convicted of taking bribes to push legislation for a major natural gas pipeline was sentenced Thursday to 3 1/2 years in federal prison.
Former state Rep. Vic Kohring continued to proclaim his inno ...
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Judge rejects request to delay wolf lawsuit
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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BILLINGS, Mont. -- A federal judge in Montana has rejected a request by the government to delay a lawsuit seeking to place the gray wolf back on the endangered species list, saying he's "unwilling to risk more deaths."
At least 39 of the Northe ...
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Authorities: Shooter carried ammo, knife
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- About 12 seconds was all it took for two bailiffs to gun down a man who shot at them in a courthouse lobby, and authorities said the swift response helped prevent anyone else from being seriously hurt.
Glen Lee Powell car ...
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'Struggling in Silence'
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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CHICAGO -- There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own.
An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year -- a suicide r ...
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Defying Bush, House OKs housing aid plan
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- The House on Thursday passed a massive homeowner rescue plan to provide cheaper, government-backed mortgages to half a million debt-ridden borrowers and bolster an economy crippled by the housing crisis.
Defying veto threats ...
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Congress finishes farm bill
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- Married farmers with joint incomes of up to $1.5 million a year could still qualify for crop subsidies under a five-year, $300 billion farm bill compromise that would boost the Department of Agriculture's food and farm programs.
...
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Commencement readers' job hard
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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A week from Saturday, 453 new graduates will cross the commencement stage on the lawn of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. Among them: Nokuthula Sikhethiwe Kitikiti, Udochukwu Chinyere Obodo and Baitnairamdal Otgonshar.
Jayne Niemi wil ...
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Country star Arnold dies at 89
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs such as Make the World Go Away made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.
Arnold died at a care fa ...
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Dissolving offers burial alternative
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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CONCORD, N.H. -- Since they first walked the planet, humans have either buried or burned their dead. Now a new option is generating interest -- dissolving bodies in lye and flushing the brownish, syrupy residue down the drain.
The process, ...
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Storms batter three states; no one hurt
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A line of severe storms swept across the Southeast on Thursday, damaging homes and businesses in at least three states. No injuries were reported.
An apparent tornado wrecked a shopping area in Mississippi, and strong winds f ...
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Global hunt nets arrest
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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NEWARK, N.J. -- A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever see ...
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Deal near on farm bill, negotiators say
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- Negotiators on a five-year, $300 billion farm bill say they have reached a tentative agreement on the legislation and it will be considered by the House and Senate next week.
But the Bush administration has objected to the bill, an ...
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Bush blasts Dems on housing, energy
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Wednesday criticized Democrats in Congress for their approach to dealing with the nation's housing crisis and soaring energy prices and called anew for an extension of expiring tax cuts and government wiretapping autho ...
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Court: Gay partners can't get benefits
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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LANSING, Mich. -- Local governments and state universities in Michigan can't offer health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court ruled 5-2 that Michigan's 2004 ban on gay marriage also blocks ...
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Sea lions not shot, officials now saying
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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PORTLAND, Ore. -- Federal officials investigating the deaths of six sea lions at a Columbia River dam did an about-face Wednesday, saying their initial assumption that the animals had been shot to death was wrong.
Officials have not ruled out hu ...
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Student may sue over flag treatment
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- A high school student says he may file a lawsuit against a physical education teacher who took a Mexican flag he had brought for Cinco de Mayo and put it in the garbage.
Clint Straatman denies Froylan Camelo's version of eve ...
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Papa John's nets $1 in online orders
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sometimes during peak hours, the phones are silent in Andy Freitas' pizza restaurants, yet the cooks are busy keeping pace with hungry customers.
That's because orders are rolling in through the Internet.
"It's pret ...
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U.S. firms duck taxes overseas, inquiry shows
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- When the Pentagon announced that an obscure California company had won a lucrative military contract, no one mentioned plans for a Caribbean outpost -- a tropical shell the company quickly created that allowed it to duck millions ...
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Bush threatening to veto Democrats' rescue package
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- President Bush and Congress are clashing over how to address the housing crisis, clouding the prospects of an election-year rescue package.
Bush said Wednesday that he would veto Democrats' broad housing aid plan, saying it w ...
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6 fraternities suspended in Calif. drug probe
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State University has suspended six fraternities after a sweeping drug investigation that landed dozens of students in jail on suspicion of openly dealing drugs on campus.
The probe -- prompted by the cocaine overdose ...
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Courthouse gunman slain, officials say
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| Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Bailiffs shot and killed a man who opened fire in the lobby of a downtown courthouse Wednesday afternoon, sheriff's officials said.
One of the two bailiffs who fired at the unidentified man suffered a non-life-threatening ...
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Inflation hits pocket change
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| Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- Further evidence that times are tough: It now costs more than a penny to make a penny. And the cost of a nickel is more than 71/2 cents.
Surging prices for copper, zinc and nickel have some in Congress trying to bring back th ...
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Police arrest New Mexico church leader
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| Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
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SANTA FE, N.M. -- The leader of an apocalyptic sect in northeastern New Mexico was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony sex crimes against children.
State police arrested Wayne Bent, 66, on three counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor ...
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Founder of Baskin-Robbins, 90, dies
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| Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
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LOS ANGELES -- Irvine Robbins, who as co-founder of Baskin-Robbins brought Rocky Road, Pralines 'n Cream and other exotic ice cream concoctions to every corner of America, has died at age 90.
Robbins had been ill for some time and died Monday at ...
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FBI seizes materials in raid on office
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| Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- Federal agents raided the office and home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch on Tuesday while investigating whether the nation's top protector of whistle-blowers destroyed evidence potentially showing he retaliated against his own staf ...
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Gas price protest singer arrested
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| Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
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VALPARAISO, Ind. -- A man with a guitar and a megaphone climbed atop a convenience store roof to serenade commuters with his musical protest of high gasoline prices -- until police halted the impromptu concert.
Once atop the roof of the Fa ...
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Police arrest 75 in university drug bust
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| Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
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SAN DIEGO -- Dozens of San Diego State University students were arrested after a sweeping drug investigation found that some fraternity members openly dealt drugs and one even sent a mass text message advertising cocaine, authorities said Tuesday.
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Ethanol questioned as food costs continue to rise
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| Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- Just months ago, ethanol was the Holy Grail to energy independence and a "green fuel" that would help nudge the country away from climate-changing fossil energy.
Democrats and Republicans cheered its benefits as Congress dire ...
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Pork, chicken may cost a little more
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| Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 |
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Americans may be getting another helping of food inflation, and it seems likely to come from higher prices for chicken and pork.
Overall food inflation could double this year, lifted by the rising costs of fuel, corn and soybeans, some ana ...
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Prince writing book about his concerts
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| Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 |
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NEW YORK -- Prince the musical auteur is becoming an author.
21 Nights, a "photographic essay" that offers "a rare glimpse into the life, lyrics, and mystique" of the maker of such hits as 1999 and Purple Rain, will be published worldwide come f ...
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Woman who fought marriage laws dies
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| Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 |
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RICHMOND, Va. -- Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide, has died, her daughter said Monday.
Peggy Fortune said Loving, 68 ...
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Study: Fewer teens smoke if it's banned
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| Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 |
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BOSTON -- A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in commun ...
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FDA hears concerns about new OxyContin
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| Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- Government advisers voiced skepticism Monday that a new version of the potent painkiller OxyContin would live up to its maker's claim of being harder to abuse.
Purdue Pharma LP contends that adding a plastic-like coating to the tab ...
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Clinton, Obama duel over rising gas costs
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| Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 |
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DURHAM, N.C. -- Arguing about gas prices, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama strained for every last vote Monday, the eve of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries that are the biggest prizes left in their epic Democratic nomination fight.
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Bush lauds community for its tornado recovery
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| Published Monday, May 05, 2008 |
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GREENSBURG, Kan. -- President Bush hailed the resilience of this town and its tiny high school graduating class Sunday, one year after a tornado barreled through with astonishing fury.
Never before had Bush delivered a commencement address ...
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Suspect charged in officer's slaying
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| Published Monday, May 05, 2008 |
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PHILADELPHIA -- One suspect was charged and a second was being sought Sunday in the killing of a police officer who was shot with an assault rifle while investigating a report of a bank robbery, police said.
Levon Warner, 38, was charged with mu ...
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FBI says courthouse damaged by bomb
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| Published Monday, May 05, 2008 |
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SAN DIEGO -- A suspected pipe bomb exploded at a federal courthouse in downtown San Diego early Sunday, damaging the front entrance and blowing out a window, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
Few people were around the building, which ...
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Evacuees return to N.M. area hit by fire
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| Published Monday, May 05, 2008 |
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Hundreds of evacuees were allowed to return home Sunday to two towns threatened by a wildfire that destroyed 59 houses as crews continued working to complete containment lines.
Light wind blew through the area Sunday, a welc ...
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Bush wedding to be a very private affair
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| Published Monday, May 05, 2008 |
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CRAWFORD -- Saturday's wedding of 26-year-old Jenna Bush, one of President and Laura Bush's twin daughters, will not be televised. Amid the spring wildflowers on the president's 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch, it will be a private affair. Extremely ...
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Teller: Gunman kept others from helping
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| Published Monday, May 05, 2008 |
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INDIANAPOLIS -- A pregnant bank teller who lost the twins she was carrying after being shot during a holdup choked back tears as she recalled lying on the bank's floor, bleeding and pleading for help, as the gunman demanded money from her co-workers. ...
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Measure has fake weapons under fire
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Concerns that realistic-looking toy weapons are confusing police and threatening safety have led 15 states to try going beyond gun control and cracking down on fake firearms.
Officer Micheal Hoover knows a fair amount about g ...
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Man wants name to be 'In God We Trust'
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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ZION, Ill. -- Steve Kreuscher wants a judge to allow him to legally change his name. He wants to be known as "In God We Trust."
Kreuscher (CROY'-shir) says the new name would symbolize the help God gave him through tough times.
The 57-year- ...
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Smoking ban snuffs out pipe gathering
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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ST. CHARLES, Ill. -- There will be no indoor smoking at a large convention for pipe smokers in Illinois.
A new Illinois law bans smoking in public places. That's taken some of the steam out of this weekend's Chicagoland International Pipe & ...
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Buffett rebuffs bid to remove dams
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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OMAHA, Neb. -- American Indian tribes and salmon fishermen were rebuffed a second time Saturday in their bid to win support from billionaire Warren Buffett for a proposal to remove four hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River.
Buffett again to ...
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Study: Most black kids can't swim
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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NEW YORK -- Nearly 60 percent of African-American children can't swim, almost twice the figure for white children, according to a first-of-its-kind survey USA Swimming hopes will strengthen its efforts to lower minority drowning rates and draw ...
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Some cross the border often
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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EL PASO -- Josefa Gonzalez Loya has sneaked across the Mexican border at least 128 times in the past eight years. And each time, the Border Patrol has been nice enough to give her a lift home.
Gonzalez and a group of other women and childr ...
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Fire burns nearly 60 homes, officials say
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Firefighters worked in cooler, calmer weather Saturday to clear lines around a blaze that has burned nearly 60 homes and more than 20 square miles in the mountains of central New Mexico.
Authorities were able to confirm Satu ...
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Death toll rises in Ark. tornado
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| Published Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
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DAMASCUS, Ark. -- Smoke rose from burning heaps of wreckage Saturday as residents of rural Arkansas cleaned up what was left of their homes after deadly tornadoes scoured a state that has been plagued by severe weather this year.
All that ...
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Economy shows resilience
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- The economy showed off unexpected signs of resilience Friday as job losses slowed, the dollar gained a bit of muscle for a change and there were even indications that food prices may be easing. The unemployment rate dipped, though ...
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Fed plan aimed at 'unfair' practices
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve and other regulators initiated steps Friday to end "unfair and deceptive" credit card industry practices assailing consumers who are already struggling to cope in a bad economy.
The proposed rules would be ...
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Twisters tear up parts of 4 states
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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DAMASCUS, Ark. -- Violent storms rolling across the nation's midsection unleashed tornadoes, high winds and hail in four states and killed seven people in Arkansas on Friday, including a teenager who died when a tree fell into her bedroom as sh ...
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Colleges allowing coed dorm living
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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Michelle Garcia and Erik Youngdahl share a dorm room at Connecticut's Wesleyan University. But they say there's no funny business going on. Really. They mean it.
They have set up their beds side by side like Lucy and Ricky in I Love Lucy, ...
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Bush asks for money to defend Europe
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has pushed Congress on $20 million for military aid to Poland as it seeks to complete a missile defense deal.
The administration wants to build a European missile shield that would include a radar installati ...
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Forecast for Arctic isn't optimistic
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- The Arctic will remain on thinning ice, and climate warming is expected to also begin affecting the Antarctic, scientists said Friday.
"The long-term prognosis is not very optimistic," atmospheric scientist Jennifer Francis of Rutg ...
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House to consider housing package
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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WASHINGTON -- Democrats, working to build Republican support for a broad homeowner rescue plan, will pair the bill next week with several housing measures President Bush has demanded.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said combining Bush's wish list w ...
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Videos thrown out in Fla. explosives trial
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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TAMPA, Fla. -- An Egyptian college student facing federal explosives charges won a victory Friday when a judge threw out some videos considered by prosecutors to be key evidence in his trial next week.
Videos of armed rockets found on Youssef Sa ...
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Doctors to reassess guidelines on 'chronic Lyme' disease cure
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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HARTFORD, Conn. -- Patients who believe they suffer long-term problems from Lyme disease are claiming victory over a national doctors group.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America has agreed to review its guidelines, which say there's ...
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Minnesota OKs deal over bridge collapse
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota lawmakers reached an agreement on a $38 million compensation package for victims of a deadly bridge collapse, culminating months of work to provide relief beyond the state's legal liability.
The deal struck in a join ...
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Scandal at Okla. college prompts some to leave
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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TULSA, Okla. -- As Oral Roberts University prepares to hand out diplomas to its Class of 2008, Anna Siebring, a junior, will be mailing out applications to transfer to another school.
Siebring, a government major, is among many students ha ...
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More moms breast-feeding
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| Published Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
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ATLANTA -- More than 3 out of 4 new moms now breast-feed their infants, the highest rate in the U.S. in at least 20 years, according to a a government report released Wednesday.
About 77 percent of new mothers breast-feed, at least briefly ...
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