| Mugabe turns 93, vowing to rule on in Zimbabwe Posted: 20 Feb 2017 07:17 PM PST  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the world's oldest national ruler, turns 93 on Tuesday, defiantly vowing to remain in power despite growing signs of frailty and failing health. The main celebrations will be held Saturday at Matobo National Park outside Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, and are expected to attract thousands of officials and ZANU-PF party faithful. In previous years Mugabe has reportedly been offered elephants, buffalo and impala for the feast.
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| Dozens of headstones toppled at Jewish cemetery in Missouri Posted: 21 Feb 2017 02:25 PM PST  UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vandals have damaged or tipped over as many as 200 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in suburban St. Louis, leaving the region's Jewish community shaken and anxious.
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| First-Grade Teacher Suspended Over 'Illegal Aliens' Post: School District Posted: 20 Feb 2017 05:45 PM PST  The elementary school teacher advocated reporting undocumented immigrants, according to school district officials, who suspended her.
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| Exclusive: China finishing South China Sea buildings that could house missiles - U.S. officials Posted: 21 Feb 2017 04:28 PM PST ![Exclusive: China finishing South China Sea buildings that could house missiles - U.S. officials]( "Exclusive: China finishing South China Sea buildings that could house missiles - U.S. officials") By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China, in an early test of U.S. President Donald Trump, is nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea that appear designed to house long-range surface-to-air missiles, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The development is likely to raise questions about whether and how the United States will respond, given its vows to take a tough line on China in the South China Sea. China claims almost all the South China Sea, which carries a third of the world's maritime traffic.
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| Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos resigns after controversial pedophilia comments Posted: 21 Feb 2017 02:17 PM PST  On Feb. 21, 2017, Milo Yiannopoulos announced his resignation as an editor at Breitbart News. The writer and commentator has been facing backlash since a video of him making controversial comments about pedophilia surfaced.
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| Time for Some Creative Solutions At the NSC Posted: 20 Feb 2017 08:52 AM PST  Here's how Trump can avoid getting trapped in an H.R. nightmare.
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| The Only Thing, Historically, That's Curbed Inequality: Catastrophe Posted: 21 Feb 2017 07:12 AM PST ![The Only Thing, Historically, That's Curbed Inequality: Catastrophe]( "The Only Thing, Historically, That's Curbed Inequality: Catastrophe") Calls to make America great again hark back to a time when income inequality receded even as the economy boomed and the middle class expanded. Yet it is all too easy to forget just how deeply this newfound equality was rooted in the cataclysm of the world wars.
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| ‘A Serbian Trap’: Freezing conditions in Belgrade are not the biggest problem for refugees in Belgrade Posted: 21 Feb 2017 09:35 AM PST !['A Serbian Trap': Freezing conditions in Belgrade are not the biggest problem for refugees in Belgrade]( "'A Serbian Trap': Freezing conditions in Belgrade are not the biggest problem for refugees in Belgrade") A trip along the refugee track within Serbia reveals that the old route through the Balkans is still being used despite strong border control, harsh conditions and frozen temperatures. Despite the existence of camps built by the Serbian state, the migrants are here trying to make their way into European Union countries illegally.
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| Woman Rescues Cop By Jumping on Attacker's Back: 'This Is a True Hero Right Here' Posted: 20 Feb 2017 04:35 PM PST  Vickie Williams-Tillman jumped on the back of a man beating a cop, authorities.
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| Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin dead at 64 Posted: 20 Feb 2017 06:46 PM PST  Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, who for years fended off Western criticism and defended Moscow's actions in Ukraine and Syria, has died in New York. Churkin collapsed while at work at the Russian mission to the United Nations Monday morning and was rushed to a Manhattan hospital, apparently suffering from heart problems, diplomatic sources said. In a statement announcing his death, the foreign ministry in Moscow described him as an "outstanding diplomat." There was no information on the cause of death.
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| Duck boats face increasing calls for improvements, bans Posted: 20 Feb 2017 10:20 AM PST  BOSTON (AP) — With their festive, party-like ambiance and ability to travel on land and in water, duck boats have long been tourist attractions for sightseers around the U.S. But a string of deadly accidents has left the industry reeling, forced safety improvements and led some advocates to call for a total ban on the vehicles.
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| Iceland's President said he would ban pineapple on pizza if he could Posted: 21 Feb 2017 09:00 AM PST  Pineapple on pizza: you love it, or you hate it so much you use your power as president of a small country to make it literally illegal. In what's being called a "political bombshell" by Iceland Magazine, President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson said he would ban pineapple as a topping on pizzas— if he were allowed to pass laws on his own. SEE ALSO: Trump thinks something terrible happened in Sweden, so here come the IKEA and ABBA jokes The incendiary comments were in response to questions from students about where he stood on the concept of pineapple as a topping while visiting a local high school. Word of his controversial opinion quickly spread across the internet, where it began trending on Twitter. With a debate as contentious as this one, everybody had to get a word in. not only does iceland use entirely renewable energy but their president is also a WOKE BAE pic.twitter.com/EkGbjmwHL1 — eva (@myIoveiscooI) February 21, 2017 Emotions flared. you can all stay in Iceland as well so us pineapple on pizza lovers can live in peace and tastiness pic.twitter.com/UOZ3g5shNp — Luke Brooks (@luke_brooks) February 21, 2017 Brands are even taking to Twitter to make their stance on the issue known. No ban here pic.twitter.com/vmSJw5F1ew — DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) February 21, 2017 Long after the last pineapple is thrown into the Icelandic sea, DiGiorno Pizza's Last Stand will be remembered: "No ban here ." BONUS: Snap's Spectacles
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| Philippines: framework of South China Sea pact possible soon Posted: 21 Feb 2017 05:30 AM PST  BORACAY, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines' top diplomat said Tuesday it remains to be seen whether China will cooperate fully in ongoing efforts to craft a legally binding pact designed to prevent aggressive behavior in the disputed South China Sea.
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| Iraqi Helpers Will Be Exempt From Travel Ban; Mattis Posted: 20 Feb 2017 06:23 AM PST  President Donald Trump is set to issue a new immigration executive order this week.
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| Los Angeles named the most gridlocked city in the world Posted: 20 Feb 2017 04:08 AM PST  Los Angeles has topped the INRIX Global Congestion Ranking to be named the most gridlocked city in the world. Los Angeles took the number one spot after the results revealed that in 2016 drivers in the city spent 104 hours in congestion during peak time periods, followed by Moscow (91 hours), New York (89 hours), San Francisco (83 hours) and Bogota (80 hours). The US was also named the most congested developed country in the world, with the country accounting for 11 of the top 25 cities worldwide with the worst traffic congestion and with drivers on average spending 42 hours a year in traffic during peak times.
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| Once Renowned Surgeon Sentenced to Life Behind Bars for Intentionally Maiming Patients Posted: 21 Feb 2017 01:31 PM PST  Christopher Duntsch once billed himself as the best neurosurgeon in all of Dallas.
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| Testosterone gel shows no benefit for older men's memories Posted: 21 Feb 2017 01:54 PM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — Testosterone treatment did not improve older men's memory or mental function in the latest results from landmark government research that challenges the anti-aging claims of popular supplements.
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| Africa's elusive forest elephants are disappearing Posted: 21 Feb 2017 11:34 AM PST  The clock is ticking to save Central Africa's forest elephants. Populations of the elusive elephants have plunged by around 80 percent inside one of the region's most important nature preserves. Within Gabon's Minkébé National Park, poachers likely killed about 25,000 forest elephants for their ivory tusks between 2004 and 2014, according to a Duke University-led study in the journal Current Biology. SEE ALSO: The world's fastest land animal is even more threatened than we thought That's a significant number of animals, considering that Gabon holds about half of the estimated 100,000 forest elephants across all of Central Africa. Forest elephants in Gabon's Minkébé National Park. Image: john poulsen "The loss of 25,000 elephants from this key sanctuary is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species," John Poulsen, an assistant professor of tropical ecology at Duke'd Nicholas School of the Environment, said Monday in a statement. The dramatic population decline from one of Central Africa's largest, most remote protected areas "is a startling warning that no place is safe from poaching," he added. Across the African continent, populations of all elephants have plummeted from about 1.3 million in the 1970s to less than 500,000 today due to poaching and habitat loss. This week's dismal numbers from Gabon arrive in spite of a concerted effort by governments and conversationists to halt the illegal killing of elephants for their ivory, meat and other parts. Soldiers watch as ivory elephant tusks are burned on a pyre in Libreville, Gabon. Image: Joel Bouopda Tatou/AP/REX/Shutterstock In December, two major global conversation unions adopted resolutions to ban all domestic ivory sales, on top of existing bans on international ivory trading. China, the world's largest ivory market, said it plans to shut down its ivory trade by the end of 2017. Gabon itself has also taken important steps to curb poaching, Poulsen said. The government created a National Park Police force, elevated the conservation status of forest elephants to "fully protected," and doubled the national park agency's budget. In 2012, Gabon was the first African country to burn all its confiscated ivory — a gesture meant to snuff out the spike in poaching. Yet Gabon's elephants are still vanishing, as the new research shows. For their study, researchers estimated a population loss of between 78 and 81 percent by comparing data from two large-scale surveys of elephant dung in the Minkébé park, which were done in 2004 and 2014. The team also used different analytical approaches to account for periods of heavy rainfall, which might've sped up the dung's decay and skewed the accuracy of the surveys. Poulsen and his colleagues said that most poachers likely came from outside of Gabon, including the neighboring country of Cameroon. The edge of Minkébé National Park lies just 3.8 miles from a major Cameroon road, which makes it easy for Camaroonese poachers to cross into Gabon, do their dirty work and bring their illegal haul back into Cameroon. Poulsen and his colleagues urged governments in Central Africa to team up to stop illegal cross-border traffic, including by establishing new multinational protected areas and coordinating international law enforcement. BONUS: Elephants take their final bow at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
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| Brazil's race to save drought-hit city Posted: 21 Feb 2017 08:36 AM PST ![Brazil's race to save drought-hit city]( "Brazil's race to save drought-hit city") The shrunken carcasses of cows lie in scorched fields outside the city of Campina Grande in northeast Brazil, and hungry goats search for food on the cracked-earth floor of the Boqueirao reservoir that serves the desperate town. After five years of drought, farmer Edivaldo Brito says he cannot remember when the Boqueirão reservoir was last full. Brazil's arid northeast is weathering its worst drought on record and Campina Grande, which has 400,000 residents that depend on the reservoir, is running out of water.
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| Interracial couple fined for not removing graffiti slur Posted: 21 Feb 2017 05:04 AM PST  An interracial Connecticut couple whose home was vandalized by a racial slur has been fined for failing to cover it up.
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| Trump Boasts Accomplishments In First Month Posted: 20 Feb 2017 08:33 AM PST  The White House detailed its work over the last four weeks but avoided some of the controversies around the administration.
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| Bodies of 74 migrants wash up on Libya beach Posted: 21 Feb 2017 12:41 PM PST  The bodies of 74 migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe have washed up on a beach west of the Libyan capital, the Red Crescent said Tuesday. Residents of the village of Harcha, outside Zawiya, 45 kilometres (30 miles) from Tripoli, alerted the emergency services after finding a wrecked boat on the beach with bodies inside, the Red Crescent said. "We don't have an appropriate vehicle to transport the bodies or a cemetery for unidentified bodies to bury them in," the group said.
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| Mass funeral held for 20 Haitians who died in dismal prison Posted: 21 Feb 2017 03:30 PM PST  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Relatives wailed in grief or stared stoically as flowers were placed on 20 caskets at a mass funeral Tuesday for the latest group of inmates who died miserably in Haiti's largest prison, most without ever having been convicted of any crime.
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| Russia's U.N. envoy Churkin dies suddenly in New York Posted: 20 Feb 2017 03:54 PM PST ![Russia's U.N. envoy Churkin dies suddenly in New York]( "Russia's U.N. envoy Churkin dies suddenly in New York") By Jack Stubbs MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's combative ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, died suddenly in New York on Monday after being taken ill at work, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. It declined to comment on reports that Churkin had been taken to a hospital shortly before his death. A U.S. government official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the case, said that Churkin had died of an apparent heart attack.
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| Philippine minister stands by call to shut mines as review begins Posted: 20 Feb 2017 04:54 AM PST ![Philippine minister stands by call to shut mines as review begins]( "Philippine minister stands by call to shut mines as review begins") By Manolo Serapio Jr MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' environment minister said on Monday she stands by her decision to shut more than half the country's operating mines and bar mining in watershed zones as an inter-agency panel began a review of her actions. Members of the government's Mining Industry Coordinating Council will scrutinize the affected mines to ensure due process was followed and consider the impact on jobs and the economy after an outcry by the mining industry in the world's top nickel ore supplier. The council cannot overturn her orders, but its findings could feed into a decision by President Rodrigo Duterte, who has said he will review the planned closures after initially throwing his support behind his environment minister.
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| Elderly woman finds £5 note worth £50,000, donates the money to young people Posted: 20 Feb 2017 05:05 AM PST  Finding out that the fiver in your wallet is worth thousands of pounds is a dream-come-true for some — but not everyone. A Northern Irish woman who discovered a rare £5 note worth £50,000 ($62,317) has given the note to charity because she says she has no use for the money. SEE ALSO: Some lucky duck got a £5 note 'worth £50,000' in a Christmas card The note is one of just four ultra-rare notes worth £50,000 in circulation in the UK. The note — which is engraved with a special Jane Austen inscription — is the third one to be snapped up, leaving just one left. The woman who discovered the note contacted the gallery founded by Graham Short — the artist who engraved the notes — stating her wish to donate the note to charity. "£5 note enclosed, I don't need it at my time of life. Please use it to help young people," reads the letter sent to the gallery by the donor, who prefers to remain anonymous. Image: graham short "The lady who found the note has surprised us all by sending it to the gallery and asking that it be used to help young people," reads a blog post on Short's website. According to the post, the proceeds from the note will be donated to children's charity Children in Need. "Currently contacting outlets connected to Children in Need to try and give this to a good cause so we honour the request of the lucky woman who originally discovered the note," the post continues. BONUS: This keychain can take away that annoying jingle your keys make
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| 1,000 protesters greet Mitch McConnell at Kentucky speech Posted: 21 Feb 2017 09:32 AM PST  LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (AP) — Nearly a thousand people have crowded behind a chain link fence to try to catch Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's attention as he made his first stop on a tour of Kentucky during the congressional recess.
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| Donald Trump Tries to Clarify His Remarks About Sweden, Slams the Media Again Posted: 20 Feb 2017 08:23 AM PST  The president had everyone scratching their heads with his comment.
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| The Great Cheese Scare Posted: 21 Feb 2017 04:14 AM PST  "We deeply regret any inconvenience or concern this issue has caused," Sargento Foods Chief Executive Officer Louie Gentine said in a statement.
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| A big day in the history of the United States Postal Service Posted: 20 Feb 2017 06:55 AM PST  On February 20, 1792, President George Washington officially created the modern United States Postal Service by signing a sweeping act that promoted a free press and put privacy safeguards in place.
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| Turkey puts 47 on trial for 'coup plot to kill Erdogan' Posted: 20 Feb 2017 08:02 AM PST  One of the nearly 50 suspects in an alleged plot to assassinate Turkey's president admitted involvement in the botched July 15 putsch bid as the mass trial opened Monday. Forty-four suspects, mainly soldiers, are under arrest over the alleged plot to kill Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while three others still on the run are being tried in absentia at the court in the southern city of Mugla. Onlookers heckled the accused as they stepped out of the buses that took them from prison, shouting "we want the death penalty!" and "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Greatest").
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| Fresh ceasefire appears to hold for now in eastern Ukraine Posted: 20 Feb 2017 04:47 AM PST ![Fresh ceasefire appears to hold for now in eastern Ukraine]( "Fresh ceasefire appears to hold for now in eastern Ukraine") By Pavel Polityuk AVDIYIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists appeared to be respecting a new ceasefire attempt on Monday after international powers called for shelling to stop and for the withdrawal of banned heavy weapons. In recent weeks, the area around the government-held town of Avdiyivka has seen some of the heaviest artillery fire of the past two years, refocusing global attention on a simmering conflict that has strained relations between Russia and the West. Violence has since lessened, but the close proximity of the opposing sides and continued use of heavy weapons prompted the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine to call on Sunday for renewed efforts to implement the terms of the much-violated Minsk peace agreement of 2015.
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| UPS has a functioning drone delivery concept, and it makes more sense than Amazon’s Posted: 21 Feb 2017 03:32 PM PST 
Companies like Amazon are going all-in on drone deliveries and have already shown off warehouses that send packages out to customers exclusively via drone. For delivery companies like UPS, the idea of converting operations to rely exclusively on drones is laughable, but that doesn't mean they won't find a way to utilize the new technology to streamline the delivery process. This week, UPS tested out a delivery drone concept that doesn't so much do away with its iconic brown box trucks as augment them.
The test was conducted using a specially equipped UPS delivery truck which has a drone compartment built right into its roof. When the driver stops to deliver a package, the drone can be sent out to deliver one to a nearby location as well. UPS used the example of a rural delivery where sending a driver and truck down a long, winding road would be less efficient than sending the drone to deliver the package instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx9_6OyjJrQ Once the drone has completed its delivery it automatically docks with the truck once again, and long arms grab and situate the device so that it can be recharged for the next stop. The drone is capable of carrying packages as heavy as ten pounds, which is double the five pound weight limit of Amazon's initial drone delivery tests. Due to current FAA regulations which require drones to remain within visual of its operator — and avoid flying over buildings or people — even UPS's modest drone ambitions have some serious limitations. However, there's hope that those restrictions will be made a bit more workable in the future.
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| Zimbabwe's Mugabe says he is people's choice for 2018 election Posted: 20 Feb 2017 12:04 AM PST ![Zimbabwe's Mugabe says he is people's choice for 2018 election]( "Zimbabwe's Mugabe says he is people's choice for 2018 election") By Cris Chinaka HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's people and the ruling ZANU-PF party see no viable alternative candidate to President Robert Mugabe for general elections in 2018, state media quoted him as saying on Sunday. "The people, you know, would want to judge everyone else on the basis of President Mugabe as the criteria," Mugabe, who is Africa's oldest leader, said. Mugabe has been in power in the southern African country since 1980 and in December his party confirmed him as its candidate for the next presidential election expected in mid-2018, when he will be 94.
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| Beta Shows Off New Trials Models Posted: 20 Feb 2017 08:45 AM PST ![Beta Shows Off New Trials Models]( "Beta Shows Off New Trials Models") Beta Shows Off New Trials Models Italian off-road manufacturer Beta has unveiled a number of new and updated Evo Factory range of Trials models. The new line-up features two-stroke 125, 250 and 300cc engines and a 300cc 4-stroke. Beta says the Factory
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| The 5 Most Promising Exoplanets ... So Far Posted: 20 Feb 2017 11:47 PM PST  As we wait for NASA to reveal its latest findings on planets beyond our solar system, here is a list of some of the most potentially habitable exoplanets discovered so far.
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| Waitress evicts huge, pesky goanna that snuck into her restaurant Posted: 20 Feb 2017 06:12 PM PST  What comes in, must go out. Especially if it's a massive goanna and it's in a restaurant. Especially in the case of French waitress Samia Lila, who was tasked with evicting a pesky and rather large goanna which had snuck into a winery's restaurant on Sunday. SEE ALSO: Wild koala and dog hang out, proving that we really can all get along According to ABC News, Lila was serving diners at Mimosa Wines on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, when one of the customers pointed to a goanna on the deck. "I couldn't believe it was a goanna. I thought it was big dog," Lila told the news outlet. She bravely leapt into action, pulling the goanna by its tail out of the venue. The moment was captured and posted on the Mimosa Wines Facebook page. While some commenters on the video have noted that dragging a goanna by its tail is cruel, Lila said she was trying to be gentle in removing the intruder. "I like reptiles, I think he is a really beautiful creature [and] I didn't want to hurt him," she said. Following the encounter, she said was a bit "shaky." Goannas are often timid and aren't really a risk to humans, but they can produce a nasty bite if threatened. BONUS: This flying motorcycle is straight out of Star Wars
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| Iraqi forces on Mosul hilltop gird for fierce fight ahead Posted: 21 Feb 2017 09:16 AM PST  ABU SAIF, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi troops worked to secure a strategic hilltop overlooking Mosul's international airport and a nearby military base on Tuesday, fearing the Islamic State group, which still holds both facilities, may launch another wave of nighttime counterattacks.
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| Storms, tornadoes damage dozens of homes in San Antonio area Posted: 20 Feb 2017 04:10 PM PST  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Severe storms that pushed several tornadoes through parts of Central Texas ripped the roofs from homes and damaged dozens of other houses and apartments in San Antonio and toppled auto-carrier cars of a freight train near Austin, authorities said Monday.
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| 6 Ways to Take Control of Your Retirement Posted: 21 Feb 2017 07:45 AM PST ![6 Ways to Take Control of Your Retirement]( "6 Ways to Take Control of Your Retirement") One of the most unsettling aspects of retirement is that you give up a lot of control in life. Your kids are growing up, becoming independent and ignoring your best advice, and your friends may be slipping away due to illness, infirmity or perhaps they're moving to a retirement mecca. Here are six key areas where you can take steps to improve your retirement.
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