After her son Justin was killed serving in Iraq, a grieving Jan Johnson resolved to see the place where he died and to better understand why it happened.Johnson and her husband, Joe, who also served in Iraq, were among a group of seven parents who lost children in the war who were picked to travel to northern Iraq in November as a scout team for a bigger trip next year."I wanted to go see where my son died," she said. "You hear in the news how bad Iraq is, that it isn't worth saving. ... I wanted to go find out for myself."Family members of U.S. casualties of war have made pilgrimages in the past to Vietnam and other war zones where their sons and daughters died.But the fighting in Iraq was far from over, so a similar journey seemed unlikely until a nonprofit organization called Move America Forward decided to organize a trip.... http://www.cnn.com censor News |
Editor - 09:27:00 12-26-06 |
Cops: Man Kills Girlfriend, Her Son, Self Wishes Neighbor 'Merry Christmas' Shortly Before Calling 911 To Report 3 Dead Bodies |
Neighbors say a man who killed his girlfriend and her son before killing himself was pleasant and easygoing. Neighbors in Butler, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, say they didn't see it coming from 60-year-old Joel Bodley. A short time after wishing his neighbor a merry Christmas, he killed 55-year-old Debby Chuba and her 17-year-old son, Andrew. Then he called 911 and told police there were three dead bodies in his home. By the time police arrived, he'd shot himself. Autopsies are planned for all three bodies from the Christmas double murder-suicide, but police recovered a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun they believe was the murder weapon. "It's just unbelievable," the neighbor, Kathy Kovach, told the Pittsburgh Tribune. "This is a horrible way to spend Christmas." ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/26/national/main2296141.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2296141
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Editor - 09:25:00 12-26-06 |
At Least 36 Iraqis Killed in Bombings At least 36 Iraqis killed in bombings, including 25 in coordinated Baghdad strike |
At least 36 Iraqis died Tuesday in bombings, officials said, including a coordinated strike that killed 25 in western Baghdad. Separately, the deaths of six U.S. soldiers pushed the American toll beyond the number of victims in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.The three coordinated car bombs in western Baghdad injured at least 55 people, a doctor at Yarmouk hospital, where the victims were taken, said on condition of anonymity because of safety concerns. The attacks occurred in a mixed Sunni and Shiite neighborhood.In separate attacks, a bomb exploded in a central Baghdad market, killing four people and wounding 15 others, police said. Two roadside bombs targeted an Iraqi police patrol in an eastern neighborhood of the capital, killing four policemen and injuring 12 people.In Kirkuk, 180 miles north of the Iraqi capital, another roadside bomb killed three civilians _ including an 8-year-old girl _ and wounded six other people, police said.... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/26/ap/world/mainD8M8JBQ00.shtml
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Editor - 09:22:00 12-26-06 |
Retailers hope gift cards can salvage season Stores ‘are going to use all 31 days in December’ in hopes to hit goals |
The nation’s retailers ushered in the post-Christmas shopping season on Tuesday by slashing prices even more on holiday items and stocking up on fresh merchandise.With the 2006 pre-Christmas season falling short of sales expectations for many merchants, the retail industry hoped that shoppers, armed with gift cards, would spend freely in the weeks ahead on discounted items as well as full-priced merchandise. That would boost business in December and in the fourth-quarter.Federated Department Stores Inc.’s Macy’s opened its doors at 7 a.m. and offered discounts ranging from 50 percent to 75 percent. Toys “R” Us Inc. offered 50 percent discounts on selected toys. The toy seller was also showcasing hot toys from 2007 in its stores. Merchants “are going to use all 31 days in December,” and the month of January, said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group Inc., a market research company in Port Washington, N.Y.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16356199/
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Editor - 09:20:00 12-26-06 |
'Longevity gene keeps mind sharp' |
A gene variation that helps people live to a ripe old age also appears to preserve memory and thinking power, US work suggests. The "longevity" gene alters the size of fatty cholesterol particles in the blood, making them bigger than normal. This stops them causing the fatty build up in blood vessels that is linked with brain impairment, and deadly strokes and heart attacks, Neurology reports. The study involved nearly 300 Ashkenazi Jews in their 70s, 80s and 90s. The nonagenarians who possessed the longevity gene were twice as likely to have good brain function than those who did not have the gene variant. Their performance on tests of memory and concentration was far superior. Also, those who had reached a century were three times more likely to have the longevity gene variation than their 70-year-old counterparts. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6200359.stm
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Editor - 09:17:00 12-26-06 |
Dozens killed by Baghdad blasts |
More than 30 people have been killed and scores hurt in a wave of car blasts in Baghdad, Iraqi officials say. An attack near a Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad killed at least 15 and wounded 35, medical officials said. Earlier, at least 15 people died and 60 were wounded in a triple bombing on a busy market street in the south-west of the capital, officials said. The US military in Iraq said three of its soldiers had been killed in more bombings just outside Baghdad. The total number of US military deaths in Iraq is said to have reached 2,972 since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, according to Pentagon figures. Many commentators believe this to be a symbolic milestone, as it is close to exceeding the number of people who were killed in the 9/11 attacks - 2,973. Those attacks launched the Bush administration's so-called war on terror. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6209591.stm
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Editor - 09:13:00 12-26-06 |
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