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Updated: 1 hour 36 min ago
Earl's center passing just east of Outer Banks
Hurricane Earl was downgraded to Category 2 today, but forecasters warned it was still "large and strong." Rain bands have moved onto the coast of North Carolina.
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Bonnie Blue actress from 'GWTW' dies
Cammie King Conlon, who played the ill-fated Bonnie Blue Butler in "Gone With the Wind," used to joke "that I peaked at age 5."
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Workers rescued after oil platform fire
A fire on an oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico is out and there is no indication of an oil sheen, the Coast Guard said. There were no serious injuries.
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BP removes cap from ruptured well
Thad Allen, the government's point man on the oil disaster, said crews are expected to begin efforts Thursday to remove the blowout preventer on BP's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Massacre survivor recounts experience
A survivor of a massacre in Mexico that left 72 dead advised other would-be migrants to stay at home to avoid a fate like the one he and his companions met.
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President to aides: Find economic spark
After a week mostly focused on Iraq and Mideast diplomacy, it's back to the economy for President Barack Obama, who will deliver remarks Friday on the August unemployment numbers.
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Hamas, 10 groups vow to target Israelis
"Resistance operations" will continue against Israelis despite the arrests of Hamas activists in the West Bank, a Hamas official said Thursday.
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Convicted killer spared death penalty
An Ohio death row inmate who has repeatedly claimed his innocence was spared execution, after the state's governor Thursday noted "legitimate questions" about evidence used to convict the man.
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Residents in Earl's path stock up
Chris Meek put his motorcycle in storage in Wilmington, North Carolina, to protect it from Hurricane Earl as the Category 4 hurricane headed toward the North Carolina coast.
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Opinion: Social Security can help states
State budgets are being squeezed by unprecedented amounts for the third year in a row as legislators are forced to close gaps of up to 50 percent of state spending.
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Hawking: God didn't create universe
God did not create the universe, world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book that aims to banish a divine creator from physics.
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Sheriff Arpaio sued by Justice Dept.
Justice Department civil rights lawyers filed suit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona on Thursday after talks collapsed on a deal to provide federal investigators with requested documents.
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What chance do Mideast talks have?
The latest round of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians is starting off much like similar endeavors in the past, but the Obama administration hopes that this time, the outcome will be different.
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U.S., Iran battle on basketball court
Political discussions about Iran's nuclear aspirations were benched Thursday when the United States' and Iran's national basketball teams went head-to-head at the FIBA World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Mideast peace talks start
Direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians will start Thursday as President Barack Obama urged both sides to come up with a peaceful solution to the long running Mideast conflict.
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Crowded web TV field awaits Apple
With Wednesday's announcement that it will be revamping its web TV offerings, Apple has made its most serious push into an emerging, and increasingly crowded, field.
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Calderon touts successes in cartel war
Mexican authorities have had significant successes against drug traffickers, President Felipe Calderon said in his fourth annual state-of-the-nation speech Thursday, noting that three major kingpins have been captured or killed in the past year.
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She drops 100 pounds, gains new life
I come from a small-ish town in Oklahoma where we've never met a vegetable we couldn't fry and the only things more super-sized than our portions are the huge church complexes that alternate with fast-food restaurants along our roads.
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Opinion: School reform takes courage
It's back-to-school time, which means some in the media have gone back to asking: "What's wrong with our schools? And how can we fix it?"
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