T O D A Y ' S     H E A D L I N E S


Marines marched in grueling
Afghan sun for July 4

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Taliban militants were nowhere in sight as the columns of U.S. Marines walked a third straight day across southern Afghanistan. But the desert heat proved an enemy in its own right, with several troops falling victim Saturday to temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit.


Really? Worst president gets
thunderous welcome

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Former President George W. Bush was greeted by thunderous applause on the Fourth of July as he told thousands of spectators in a rural Oklahoma rodeo arena that the U.S. was "the greatest nation on the face of the earth."


Omg! Positive tone boosts
Yahoo celeb site to top

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Think of the most popular brands in celebrity news, and you'll probably come up with a small list that includes Entertainment Tonight, US Weekly and People.

Kenya's Sammy Kitwara wins
Peachtree Road Race

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Runners from around the country converged on metro Atlanta for the 2009 AJC Peachtree Road Race.

Man drowns while kayaking
at Stone Mountain

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A man died Friday at Stone Mountain Park after authorities said he fell out of a kayak approximately 40 yards from shore.

Last cars pulled from
collapsed parking deck

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The last of the vehicles have been removed from the collapsed parking deck in midtown Atlanta.

Jackson memorial gets
1.6 million ticket requests

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The more than 1.6 million fans who registered for tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service will wait until Monday to learn if they received one of the 11,000 tickets for Tuesday's
ceremony.

Former DC Mayor Barry
charged with stalking

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Police say former Washington Mayor Marion Barry has been arrested and charged with stalking a woman.

Obama heads to Moscow
for 'reset' summit

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President Barack Obama heads to Moscow on Sunday promising a far-reaching effort to "reset" U.S.-Russia relations that hit a post-Cold War low under the Bush administration.

Cynthia McKinney refuses
Israel's offer of release

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Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who was taken into custody by the Israeli Navy on Tuesday with 20 others while trying to sail through a navy blockade to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza, has refused Israel's initial offer to release her from custody.

60 votes not so super for
Obama, Senate Democrats

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Congress returns for its midsummer session Monday with a Senate supermajority not super enough for President Barack Obama's top priorities to pass without Republican support.

Former NFL star McNair
found dead in Nashville

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Former star NFL quarterback Steve McNair was found shot to death in a Nashville condominium on Saturday, police said. A woman's body was also found at the scene.

Post publisher apologizes
for paid dinner plan

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The Washington Post's publisher apologized to readers Sunday for a plan to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner discussions with government officials and the newspaper's journalists.

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren
addresses US Muslims

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Defying some of his fellow conservative Christian critics, one of the most prominent religious leaders in the country told several thousand American Muslims on Saturday that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems.

Movement to shut down
shark tours in Hawaii grows

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Three women donned scuba masks and jumped into the waters off Oahu's North Shore, floating inside a submerged cage as about a dozen sharks glided toward bloody fish scraps tossed into the water by a tour company.

Georgia freemasons at loggerheads over admission of black man

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There is much about Freemasonry that remains shrouded in mystery to the outside world. But a group of members in the US state of Georgia appear to have clarified one thing - the supreme being in which all Masons are required to believe is not likely to be black.

Firefox 3.5 can still learn
from its competition

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While Mozilla lights a fire under competing browsers with support of emerging Web standards with Firefox 3.5, it can still improve its performance, reliability, and usability.

Much-needed tax refunds
delayed from Ga. to Calif.

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That prospect could soon become a reality in Georgia and Alabama, where tax officials are racing to beat a mid-July deadline to send hundreds of thousands of tax refunds or risk racking up millions of dollars in interest.

Four decades later, freedom
rider returns to Mississippi

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JACKSON, Miss. | Corey Carter could hear snippets of music in his head -- a calm and subtle melody that hadn't found its shape. The 19-year-old college student simply needed a hero to visualize before he could finish his composition for wind ensemble.

The old is new again at
Saturday Evening Post

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The Saturday Evening Post, a centuries-old publication that helped make illustrator Norman Rockwell an American icon and showcased some of the greatest U.S. writers, is returning to its roots to show readers the value of a quiet read in an increasingly frenetic digital age.

ESPN: Braves are
Atlanta's best

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The Atlanta Braves scored higher than Atlanta’s other three professional teams, according to ESPN the Magazine’s seventh annual rankings of all 122 professional sports teams in America.

Lawsuit filed in Taser prank

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A Waffle House employee is suing the Gwinnett County Police Department over what he says was an unprovoked encounter with an officer who stunned him with a Taser.

Body found near Turner Field
may be hit and run

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Atlanta police are investigating a body found Friday morning in southeast Atlanta as a possible hit and run.

SC gov's wife says husband
must earn back trust

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South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford says her husband's affair with an Argentine woman broke a trust that he must earn back -- first from his family, then his constituents.

Atlanta Homeless Center
Builds New Wing

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An Atlanta transitional program will use more than half a million dollars to create more space for homeless women.

UGA Public Health Program
Gets Accreditation

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The University of Georgia's 4-year-old College of Public Health has gained full accreditation.

Sandy Springs Homeowner
Due in Court

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A man is due in court Thursday, accused of letting a once beautiful Sandy Springs home turn to ruins.

Kaplan to move operations
to Alpharetta

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Education and career services company, Kaplan Inc., signed a lease Wednesday for a nearly 100,000-square-foot building in Alpharetta.

Freddie Mac allows financing
of 125% of home value

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Freddie Mac announced Wednesday that it would offer loan-to-value ratios on home mortgage refinancings of up to 125 percent for qualified borrowers.

N. Korea Fires 2
Short- Range Missiles: Reports

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North Korea has test-fired two short-range missiles, according to South Korean media reports that could not be immediately verified. As the AP reports.

Teenage Air Crash Survivor
Reunited With Family

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The young girl believed to be the only survivor of Tuesday's Indian Ocean plane crash flew back to Paris today, to the waiting arms of her father and siblings.

India Legalizes Gay Sex

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An Indian court has struck down a colonial-era law that declared gay sex an "unnatural offense" and made it punishable by up to 10 years in jail, the BBC reports.

North Korea Not Preparing
Hawaii Missile Launch

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North Korea shows no sign of preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile towards Hawaii, four US government officials tell Bloomberg.

200-Year-Old Presidential
Code Cracked

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A code that stumped Thomas Jefferson and other cryptologists for over two centuries has finally been cracked, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Vatican Steps Up Scrutiny
of American Nuns

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The Vatican has launched two major probes into the lives of America's 60,000 nuns, the New York Times reports.

DEA Joins Jackson Death Probe

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Federal investigators are assisting local authorities with the probe into Michael Jackson's death, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Sanford Digs In as Calls
for Resignation Escalate

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The vise is tightening around Mark Sanford's political career. South Carolina officials, including fellow Republicans, are lining up to urge the governor to resign, reports the State.

Eldest Jonas Brother Engaged

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Sorry, girls, only two chances left to snag a singing Jonas Brother. The eldest, Kevin, popped the question to his girlfriend on her New Jersey doorstep this morning, and "she said yes, yes, yes like 500 times super fast in a row," he tells People.

Transformers Will Soon
Rule World Box Office

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The Transformers juggernaut rolls on. The Revenge of the Fallen sequel is about to become the biggest grossing film of 2009 worldwide, reports Variety.

Ford, Toyota Say
Sales Slide Ending

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A rare sentiment emerged from the auto industry today: cautious optimism. New sales figures show that Americans bought 860,000 vehicles in June, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Anderson vs. Gladwell:
The Battle Over Free

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Chris Anderson's new book, Free, examining the repercussions the Internet trend of bringing costs to zero, triggered a mini-war with Malcolm Gladwell.

Fasten Seat Belt, and Please
Keep Your Clothes On

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A US Airways flight to Los Angeles had to be diverted to Albuquerque this evening after a passenger removed all of his clothing mid-flight, forcing flight attendants to cover him with a blanket before he was arrested.

Marines Launch New
Afghan Strategy

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US Marines today launched a major offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan that will serve as the first big test of a new American strategy.

Politico's Obsessive Focus
Is Future of News

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If you want to see the future of news—and how it will be delivered—look no further than Politico as a reasonable guide, writes Newser founder Michael Wolff in Vanity Fair.