| Ted Cruz shrugs off past feud and lauds Trump in Time essay Posted: 19 Apr 2018 12:29 PM PDT  Ted Cruz wrote an essay for Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2018" issue, praising President Trump, who the Texas senator once described as a "bully," "narcissist" and "serial philanderer."
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| 2 Florida Deputies Shot Dead While Eating At Chinese Restaurant Posted: 19 Apr 2018 08:23 PM PDT  Two deputies were killed when a man shot at them through a window while they
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| What Two Men Say Happened When They Were Arrested At Philadelphia Starbucks Posted: 18 Apr 2018 09:00 PM PDT  Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, both 23-year-old entrepreneurs and longtime friends, said they were there for a business meeting they hoped would change their lives.
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| Sen. Corker: 'Not a sure thing' Trump will run in 2020 Posted: 19 Apr 2018 02:30 AM PDT  Senator Bob Corker, R-TN, discusses the push back that Mike Pomeo is facing during his nomination process for Secretary of State along with his thoughts on President Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.
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| Classic Recreations ready to churn out original Boss and Mach 1 Mustangs Posted: 19 Apr 2018 09:11 AM PDT  It's been a while since we last heard from the folks at Classic Recreations, but they've been busy. It turns out the Oklahoma-based company has secured a license from Ford to recreate some of the automaker's most cherished Mustangs. It will be a Boss 429, a car CR says only it's allowed to build under license.
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| Laura Ingraham's Guest Mocks Her On Live TV For Losing Advertisers Posted: 19 Apr 2018 12:31 AM PDT  > Guest Enrique Morones asks Ingraham: "Where's your sponsors @davidhogg111
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| Dog feared to have cancer had actually eaten four teddy bears... but vet didn't realise until midway through operation Posted: 20 Apr 2018 07:17 AM PDT  A dog feared to cancer had actually eaten four teddy bears, but the vet did not realise until halfway through the operation. Eight-year-old St Bernard Maisy was taken for a CT scan after she was taken ill, which showed a mass on her spleen and an unusually full stomach, seemingly showing she had not digested her food properly. Her owner, Jane Dickinson, from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, feared the worst as she took her pet to Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield. It would not be unusual for Maisy, an elderly dog, to have cancer at her advanced age. However, vet surgeon Nick Blackburn ruled out any fatal disease when he carried out the operation to remove Maisy's spleen and found her stomach was full of soft toys. Maisy is now reportedly 'loving life' Credit: Paragon Vet Referrals / SWNS.com He said : "It's fair to say this was not something we were expecting to find! We all know certain dogs enjoy chewing things they shouldn't but managing to devour four full teddy bears is quite a feat. "I know Jane was worried about Maisy as she is quite old for a St Bernard, so we were naturally delighted the operation was such a success and we were able to return a happy, healthy dog to the Dickinsons." Her owner said she had never seen the gentle giant chewing or eating toys, but that now the operation has been completed Maisy is "loving life". An x-ray showing the teddy bears within the stomach. Credit: Paragon Vet Referrals / SWNS.com Ms Dickinson explained: "When Maisy went in I did think 'is she coming out?' but she is loving life now - it's like she's got her youth back. "The toys weren't even hers! She will steal the chihuahuas' toys and play with them but I've never seen her trying to chew them. Her eating habits had been completely normal. "I didn't even recognise one of the toys - my brother also keeps chihuahuas and it turns out it belonged to his dog." Maisy has since made a full recovery from her operation and a histology report has shown no signs of cancer.
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| Alabama executes inmate, 83, oldest in modern U.S. history Posted: 19 Apr 2018 07:25 PM PDT ![Alabama executes inmate, 83, oldest in modern U.S. history]( "Alabama executes inmate, 83, oldest in modern U.S. history") Walter Moody was put to death by lethal injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore and gave no final statement, prison officials said. It was the eighth execution this year in the United States. Moody replaced John Nixon, who was 77 when put to death in December 2005 in Mississippi, as the oldest person executed since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which monitors U.S. capital punishment.
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| Conservative Pundit S.E. Cupp Hits Trump White House Right In The Balls Posted: 18 Apr 2018 07:12 PM PDT  > .@secupp just now on @HLNTV: "I for one hope Nikki Haley is looking to run
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| Indonesian fishermen rescue Rohingya in seas off Aceh Posted: 20 Apr 2018 06:04 AM PDT  BIREUEN, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian fishermen rescued 76 Rohingya Muslims stranded off the coast of Aceh on Friday, authorities said, in the latest attempt by members of the persecuted ethnic group to flee Myanmar by sea.
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| The Best Of Urban Outfitters' Spring Shoe Sale Posted: 19 Apr 2018 10:14 AM PDT  Forget the holidays, it's officially the most wonderful time of the year. If
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| France, Britain, US want to regain 'prestige' with Syria strikes: dissident Posted: 18 Apr 2018 06:47 PM PDT  Far from "saving Syrians from brutality", the United States, France and Britain were likely only trying to regain international "prestige" when they attacked Bashar al-Assad's regime, prominent Syrian dissident Yassin al Haj Saleh told AFP. The three countries launched missile strikes against suspected chemical weapons development and storage sites in Syria on Saturday in response to an alleged chemical attack in the town of Douma which killed at least 40 people. French President Emmanuel Macron himself recognised Tuesday that the air strikes didn't "necessarily resolve anything" in a civil war that has lasted for seven years, leaving more than 350,000 people dead and millions displaced.
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| 2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke Diesel rated at 30 mpg highway, with a big catch Posted: 18 Apr 2018 09:01 PM PDT  A new turbodiesel V-6 gives the rear-wheel drive 2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke Diesel fuel economy akin to a mid-size sedan, but the four-wheel drive version is much thirstier. Ford said Thursday that the EPA rates the rear-wheel-drive diesel pickup at: 22 mpg city, 30 highway, 25 combined. The four-wheel drive one comes in at just 20/25/22 mpg, a figure on par with most gas-fueled pickups and not far off of the 18/25/21 mpg rating of the most powerful engine available in the F-150, the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6. That 30 mpg figure is enough to make the rear-drive F-150 a teetotaler among half-ton pickups, however. Its next-closest rival is the 2018 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, which is rated by the EPA at 20/27/23 mpg with rear-wheel drive. The Ram with four-wheel drive and the diesel is rated at 19/27/22 mpg. MORE: Read our 2018 Ford F-150 review It's not clear how long Ford will hold the most fuel-efficient claim, however. The redesigned 2019 Ram 1500 will offer a diesel V-6, though the truckmaker hasn't detailed that engine yet. Additionally, its standard gas V-6 will come with 48-volt mild-hybrid technology designed to reduce fuel consumption, too—but, again, EPA figures haven't been released. The F-150's 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 produces 250 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque, and Ford says that's good for a tow rating of up to 11,400 pounds when properly equipped. Curiously, that's nearly 2,000 pounds shy of the maximum trailer rating for a properly-equipped gas-engined F-150. Additionally, Ford says that fleet versions of its F-150 Power Stroke Diesel have a 2,020-pound payload capacity, which shrinks to a still decent 1,940 pounds for versions offered to retail customers. DON'T MISS: Ford's 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 explained Ford expects just 5 percent of F-150 buyers to opt for the turbodiesel V-6, which joins four gasoline engines ranging from a 3.3-liter V-6 to a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. Fleet buyers will be able to order the F-150 Power Stroke Diesel in XL and XLT trim levels, while retail shoppers will have to stick with Lariat, King Ranch, and Limited trims. It won't come cheaply, either. On the 2018 F-150, the turbodiesel V-6 is being positioned as the range-topping engine, and it is saddled with a premium of as much to $4,000 depending on the trim level.
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| These Were The Most Popular Baby Names In The 1920s Posted: 19 Apr 2018 08:29 AM PDT  Thanks to the Social Security Administration, Americans can see which baby
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| U.S. says ex-official at PDVSA unit pleads guilty to money laundering Posted: 19 Apr 2018 11:49 AM PDT  A former official of a subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] pleaded guilty on Thursday to a U.S. charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Justice Department said. Cesar Rincon, a Venezuelan citizen who was extradited to the United States from Spain after his arrest there last year, pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the department said.
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| Comey memos immediately leaked after FBI delivers to Congress Posted: 19 Apr 2018 11:28 AM PDT  Former FBI Director James Comey talks with Rachel Maddow about the notes he took after meeting with Donald Trump, which have now leaked to the public after they were delivered by the FBI to Congress.
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| No surprise: Charles to succeed queen as Commonwealth head Posted: 20 Apr 2018 02:55 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Prince Charles has spent a lifetime waiting to be king. On Friday the 69-year-old heir to the British throne got another position to wait for — he was approved as the next head of the Commonwealth made up of the U.K. and the countries that once were its colonies.
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| The Funniest Tweets From Parents This Week Posted: 20 Apr 2018 08:09 AM PDT  Kids may say the darndest things, but parents tweet about them in the funniest
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| 'Flamboyant' jihadi linked to 9/11 terror cell captured by Kurdish forces in Syria Posted: 20 Apr 2018 08:59 AM PDT  A Syrian-German jihadist linked to the 9/11 attacks on the United States has been captured in Syria by US-backed forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Mohammad Haydar Zammar, who has been accused of recruiting some of the 9/11 Al-Qaeda hijackers, was captured over a month ago by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia backed by the US. News of his capture was first reported on Wednesday by the Kurdish group. The Pentagon had said it was looking into the reports before confirming Zammar's arrest. "We can confirm that Mohammad Haydar Zammar, a Syrian-born German national, was captured more than a month ago by SDF partners as part of their ongoing operations to defeat ISIS inside Syria," Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said, using an alternate name for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). "We are working with our SDF partners to obtain additional details," Pahon said. The 9/11 Commission report into the attacks in Washington and New York that led to the deaths of almost 3,000 people described Zammar as an "outspoken, flamboyant Islamist" who "had fought in Afghanistan and relished any opportunity to extol the virtues of violent jihad." According to the report, Zammar took credit for influencing people linked to the attacks including Mohammed Atta, who hijacked an American Airlines plane and flew it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Zammar had come into contact with Atta and others linked to the attacks while living in Hamburg, in 1997, the report says. Seven foiled UK terror plots Zammar was detained in Morocco in December 2001 in an operation involving CIA agents, and was handed over to the Syrian authorities two weeks later. He was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2007 for belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood. He was reportedly freed from prison in 2014 in a prison swap organised with Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham. The SDF, which has been a key western ally in the fight against Isil, has detained several high-profile foreign members of Isil as the jihadist group's grip on Syria has collapsed. They are currently holding two alleged members of the notorious Isil torture cell known as 'the Beatles.' El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexandra Kotey were captured by the group in February. The two are accused of being involved in the execution and torture of hostages. US officials believe there are hundreds of foreign fighters and thousands of Syrian Isil militants in SDF custody.
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| Toddler shoots pregnant mother while playing with dad's gun Posted: 19 Apr 2018 01:03 PM PDT  Raw video: Police say 3-year-old accidentally shot her pregnant mom in parking lot in Indiana.
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| The Best Cookie Recipes To Bake This Weekend Posted: 20 Apr 2018 02:46 AM PDT  Baking for others is a delicious form of altruism that's been proven to boost
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| US Air National Guard member fired over woman who took enlistment oath with dinosaur puppet Posted: 19 Apr 2018 01:32 PM PDT  Three US Air National Guard members have been disciplined, and one of them fired, for an incident involving a children's dinosaur puppet. Master Sergeant Robin Brown, a senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) with the Air National Guard, was removed from her position at the Tennessee Joint Public Affairs Office after video circulated of her taking her enlistment oath with a tyrannosaurus rex puppet in hand. Ms Brown repeats each line of the oath back, moving the sock puppet's mouth along as she speaks.
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| 9 Worst Muscle Cars Of The 1990s Posted: 20 Apr 2018 12:40 PM PDT |
| Midwest farmers fear tariff war, while their steelworker neighbors cheer Posted: 19 Apr 2018 02:16 AM PDT  Trump's trade policies may be helping some steel companies — and steelworkers — but China is threatening to retaliate with tariffs on American agricultural exports. Farmers in this Illinois town are worried about losing their market.
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| The Latest: Student: Confederate flag theft sparked protests Posted: 19 Apr 2018 02:11 PM PDT  AUBURN, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on Confederate flag demonstrations outside of a Michigan high school (all times local):
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| Natalie Portman Backs Out Of Israel Award Over 'Recent Events' Posted: 20 Apr 2018 03:49 AM PDT  Actress Natalie Portman has pulled out of accepting a prestigious award in
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| Ex-FBI No. 2 alerted then-FBI chief Comey of plans to talk to press: lawyer Posted: 20 Apr 2018 09:04 AM PDT  By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe sent emails to then-Director James Comey alerting him he planned to push back against negative news coverage related to his oversight of probes into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a lawyer for McCabe said on Friday. In an interview with reporters, Michael Bromwich said the emails could help clear McCabe of allegations by the Justice Department's internal watchdog that McCabe "lacked candor" with Comey by misleading him into thinking McCabe did not authorize disclosures to a newspaper to combat articles about his wife's political campaign and his role in overseeing an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
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| Three Former U.S. Soldiers Have Been Convicted for the Contract Killing of a Filipino Woman Posted: 18 Apr 2018 07:15 PM PDT  The 12-day trial offered a window into the clandestine world of private mercenaries
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| Syrian rebels give up Damascus area town to government Posted: 19 Apr 2018 01:43 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian government took control of a town northeast of Damascus on Thursday after rebels evacuated to north Syria — the latest in a string of handovers by rebels to the government.
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| Cynthia Nixon Would 'Rather Be The Good Nixon Than The Bad Cuomo' Posted: 19 Apr 2018 08:54 AM PDT  New York gubernatorial challenger Cynthia Nixon took a swipe at incumbent Gov.
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| Deployed Airman Surprises Teacher Mom During 'Student of the Month' Assembly Posted: 19 Apr 2018 07:55 AM PDT  "I was like, 'What? They made a mistake.' I can't believe this," said Regina Benzing as she called her son's name during a monthly assembly.
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| Ford's New Engine That Can Run On Two Cylinders Heading To U.S. Posted: 18 Apr 2018 11:36 PM PDT  The new three-cylinder 1.5 EcoBoost replaces the previous four-cylinder 1.5 EcoBoost.
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| Several members of migrant caravan have reached the US-Mexico border to seek asylum Posted: 20 Apr 2018 12:02 PM PDT  At least 50 members of a migrant caravan that has been travelling through Central America and Mexico has reached the US border and are seeking asylum. The group, which at one point reached a peak of 1,500 people from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, had prompted US President Donald Trump to call in the National Guard troops from Arizona and Texas in order to secure the border and continues on with plans to build a 2,000-mile border wall. The group dwindled as word of Mr Trump's threats spread and Mexican authorities separated those who were legally allowed to stay in Mexico from those who were not.
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| Nanny who killed children while parents away convicted of murder Posted: 18 Apr 2018 08:02 PM PDT  A once-trusted nanny who stabbed to death two children in her care in Manhattan while their parents were away was convicted of murder by a jury that didn't believe her claims that a mental illness at the time of the crime meant she could not be held responsible. Jurors on Wednesday concluded Yoselyn Ortega knew what she was doing when she killed Lucia Krim, 6, and Leo Krim, 2, in October 2012. Ortega expressed no reaction to the verdict, staring straight ahead as it was read, but later wiped tears from her eyes as she was led from the courtroom. The children's father, Kevin Krim, sat in the front row, clasping hands with two alternate jurors who had been dismissed but stayed for the verdict. He hugged them, and they wept together. The children's mother, Marina Krim, who had returned home to discover them dead in a blood-soaked bathroom, was not in the audience but posted photos of them online after the verdict and expressed her undying adoration for them, writing, "I love you." Ortega's lawyer Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg didn't dispute that Ortega killed the children but contended she had an undiagnosed mental illness that worsened in the moments leading up to the attack. She said Ortega snapped and didn't know what she was doing when she stabbed the children to death. Yoselyn Ortega killed 6-year-old Lucia Krim and 2-year-old Leo Krim in October 2012 Credit: AP Mental illness "does not announce itself like a bad cough or a limp," Van Leer-Greenberg said during closing arguments. "Sometimes it sneaks up and nestles in before anyone takes notice." But prosecutors maintained that Ortega, who's from the Dominican Republic, acted out of jealous hatred of the children's mother. "She did it intentionally with a full understanding of exactly what it was she was doing - every stab, every slash," Assistant District Attorney Stuart Silberg said during closing arguments. The verdict capped an emotional seven-week trial that kept jurors and members of the audience in tears. Jurors heard heart-wrenching testimony from Marina Krim, who spoke of the sickening, desperate moments when she saw her children's vacant eyes, their small bodies perforated by stab wounds. Krim had been at a swimming class with her 3-year-old daughter, Nessie. Ortega was to have dropped off Lucia at her dance class, and Krim was to pick her up. But when Krim arrived, Lucia wasn't there. Krim frantically tried to reach Ortega, who had worked for the family for more than two years. She did it intentionally with a full understanding of exactly what it was she was doing - every stab, every slashStuart Silberg, Assistant District Attorney Krim spoke of coming home to an eerily quiet apartment, darkened but for the light in the back bathroom, where she found the children and Ortega, who had stabbed herself in a failed suicide attempt. Krim ran to the landing outside the apartment clutching Nessie and started screaming. "It was a scream you can't imagine is even inside of you," she testified. "I don't even know where it came from. I just thought: 'I'm never going to be able to talk to them ever again. They are dead. I just saw my kids dead.'" Lucia, nicknamed Lulu, was stabbed more than 30 times, and Leo was stabbed five times. At Ortega's trial, the children's father, who had been on a business trip and received news of their deaths when his plane landed, spoke of walking down a long hallway at the hospital where he saw their bodies. "They still had this perfect skin and these long eyelashes," Kevin Krim said. "They had like sandy brown hair. ... You could see they tried really hard to wash all the blood out, but there was still kind of an auburn tint to it that I remember to this day." Flowers are laid in front of the Krim family's Upper West Side apartment Credit: Getty/ Spencer Platt Jurors, who deliberated for more than a day, said the trial affected them deeply. One, David Curtis, an actor, said it was difficult for him to set aside thoughts of his own children, now in their 20s. "It is horrifying to think of being in a position of having to experience or go through the process that the Krims had to go through," said Curtis, who had tears in his eyes. Kevin Krim said after the verdict he and his wife wanted to thank the judge and the jurors "for their commitment to justice." He stood at a press conference with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, who said, "Marina and Kevin have lived through the worst nightmare any parent could endure." Ortega, who's 55, faces life in prison when she's sentenced next month. Had she been found not responsible, she would have been committed to a mental institution. Marina Krim is a stay-at-home mom, and Kevin Krim is a former CNBC executive now at a startup. They use a Facebook page to post updates on how they're doing, writing about the arrival of two new children, Felix, born in 2013, and Linus, born in 2016. The couple started the Lulu and Leo Fund, which aims to support innovative art programs for children. After the verdict, they posted a collage of images of Lulu and Leo. On Instagram, Marina Krim posted a photo from atop the Empire State Building. "You two never made it to the top but I'm up here now for the first time, in peace, on top of the world, remembering another lifetime and thinking of you," she wrote. "NYC, Lulu and Leo loved you and I love you too!"
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| The Best-Looking Factory Exhausts Ever Made Posted: 20 Apr 2018 08:00 AM PDT |
| U.S. Senate committee to vote on bill to protect Mueller next week Posted: 19 Apr 2018 09:47 AM PDT  The leader of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Thursday the committee would vote on a bill to protect Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, despite objections by the chamber's Republican leadership. Senator Chuck Grassley, the Judiciary Committee's Republican chairman, said he was keeping his word to the bill's backers that the panel would take up the measure if they reached a bipartisan compromise, which they had. U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had told Fox News on Tuesday that he would not allow a vote on the measure in the full Senate.
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| What It's Like to Study at the Strictest School in Britain Posted: 20 Apr 2018 07:20 AM PDT  Students at Michaela Community School can get a detention for slouching or forgetting a pen. But they seem happy, and they're getting good grades...
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| The Latest: France demands access for chemical inspectors Posted: 20 Apr 2018 10:55 AM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the Syria conflict (all times local):
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| The scientists behind the most innovative cancer research Posted: 19 Apr 2018 11:37 AM PDT  Thousands of top scientists and researchers from around the world gathered at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Chicago to discuss innovative cancer science that will hopefully lead to new therapies and maybe even a cure. Meet two of the top investigators aiming to make cancer a manageable disease so patients can live long and live well.
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| The Boldest Looks From Coachella 2018 We've Seen So Far Posted: 20 Apr 2018 09:58 AM PDT  Coachella has long been a place for festivalgoers to experiment with style,
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| Land Rover Defender Pickup Single Cab Rumored For 2020 Launch Posted: 20 Apr 2018 12:21 AM PDT  While Mercedes is exclusively selling a double cab X-Class, Land Rover will only offer a single cab Defender pickup.
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| Trump Blasts California Over Troops Who Won't Focus On Immigration Enforcement Posted: 19 Apr 2018 01:09 PM PDT  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump attacked California on Thursday for doing
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| Actress arrested in sex trafficking in 'guru to stars' case Posted: 20 Apr 2018 03:45 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — A television actress best known for playing a young Superman's close friend pleaded not guilty Friday to sex trafficking after federal prosecutors said she worked as a slave "master" recruiting unsuspecting women to a cult-like group led by a man who sold himself as a self-improvement guru to the stars.
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| America's F-35s, F-15s and F/A-18s Will Soon Have a New Bomb to Drop Posted: 19 Apr 2018 04:35 PM PDT  Raytheon has completed developmental testing of the 250-pound GBU-53B Small Diameter Bomb II. The new glide bomb, which incorporates a tri-modal seeker, will now have to complete government "confidence testing" before it enters into its operational test phase before being fielded onboard the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
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| Southwest challenged engine maker CFM over proposed FAA inspections Posted: 19 Apr 2018 03:33 PM PDT  The documents, which are on a U.S. federal website and were viewed by Reuters, reveal the wrangling over previously proposed safety checks on CFM engines that are now the focus of investigations following a fatal engine explosion this week. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday it would order the inspection of some CFM jet engines after investigators said a broken fan blade touched off the engine explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight, shattering a window and killing a passenger.
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| US awards $1bn contract for hypersonic missile as it falls behind Russia and China in new arms race Posted: 19 Apr 2018 11:53 AM PDT  The US Air Force is awarding almost $1 billion (£700m) to Lockheed Martin to develop a hypersonic missile as it tries to keep up with recent strides made by Russia and China in building ever faster weapons. Moscow last month claimed the lead in the race to develop missiles that can travel at many times the speed of sound. Its defence ministry revealed video footage of its plane-launched Kinzhal missile, which is reportedly capable of accelerating to ten times the speed of sound. American officials have also expressed concern that China was building missiles that could outrace or outfox its existing defence and interceptor systems. Now the Pentagon says Lockheed is to receive up to $929 million to design and build a "hypersonic conventional strike weapon". "This contract provides for the design, development, engineering, systems integration, test, logistics planning, and aircraft integration support of all the elements of a hypersonic, conventional, air-launched, stand-off weapon," it said in a statement. The technology is at the forefront of today's non-nuclear arms race. Most efforts focus on "boost-glide" weapons that use rockets to accelerate to high speeds at the edge of space, before the payload separates and glides unpowered to the target. Not only can they outrun efforts to shoot them down, but they can be manoeuvred in-flight unlike ballistic missiles that follow parabolic trajectories. Last month, Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia had tested a new generation of nuclear weapons that were invulnerable to US missile defences. A Kinzhal hypersonic missile is fired from a MiG-31 get in footage released by Moscow Credit: AP His rhetoric was backed up days later when the defence ministry released footage of a Kinzhal – Russian for "dagger" - missile being launched from a Mig-31 fighter jet. Earlier this week, Mike Griffin, the Pentagon's new defence undersecretary for research and engineering told Congress that China had also pulled ahead of the US in hypersonic technologies. 'Like a ball of fire' | New strategic weapons announced by Vladimir Putin "Our adversaries are presenting us today with a renewed challenge of a sophisticated, evolving threat," he told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. "We are in turn preparing to meet that challenge and to restore the technical overmatch of the United States armed forces that we have traditionally held." He has repeatedly warned that time is running out for the US to maintain its technological dominance over enemies.
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