Wire
Palestinians look for investors at conference
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- The West Bank is open for business after years of bloody turmoil. At least that's the intended message of this week's international investors conference, where the Palestinians are seeking backing for nearly $2 billion in development projects, from fish farms to a new city of 25,000. The three-day gathering of hundreds of potential investors in the biblical town of Bethlehem is intended to signal a turning point...
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Americans worry about retirement NEW YORK -- Americans worry that inflation and the rising cost of health care are increasing the risk that they will run out of money in retirement, according to a study released today
Americans worry about retirement NEW YORK -- Americans worry that inflation and the rising cost of health care are increasing the risk that they will run out of money in retirement, according to a study released today. The survey by the Society of Actuaries found that people already retired were most worried about inflation and affording long-term care. Pre-retirees, meanwhile, ranked affordable health care as their top concern, followed by i...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Spot nonferrous metal prices today
NEW YORK (AP) -- Spot nonferrous metal prices today. Aluminum -$1.341 per lb., London Metal Exch. Fri. Copper -$3.8185 Cathode full plate, U.S. destinations. Copper $3.8465 N.Y. Merc spot Fri. Lead - $2249.00 metric ton, London Metal Exch. Zinc - $1.0624 per lb., delivered. Gold - $906.50 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Gold - $899.00 troy oz., NY Merc spot Fri. Silver - $16.975 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Silver -...
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China mourns victims
WENCHUAN, China (AP) -- China stood still today in mourning over tens of thousands of earthquake victims, and the government appealed for more international aid to cope with the country's deadliest disaster in a generation. Construction workers, shopkeepers and bureaucrats across the bustling nation of 1.3 billion people paused for three minutes at 2:28 p.m. -- exactly one week after the magnitude 7.9 quake hit central China. Air-raid sirens ...
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Chesney wins top ACM award, criticizes voting
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year for a fourth straight time Sunday, then promptly took issue with the way the Academy of Country music awarded the honor: through fan votes. For the first time in the show's 43 years, the top prize -- traditionally decided by ACM members -- was determined through online voting. With the win, Chesney ties Garth Brooks and trails only Alabama, which won five in a row. Chesney said immed...
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Thieves steal cooking oil SEGDWICK -- A Kansas biodiesel maker blames skyrocketing gasoline prices for recent thefts of used cooking oil, the prime ingredient in the fuel he produces
Thieves steal cooking oil SEGDWICK -- A Kansas biodiesel maker blames skyrocketing gasoline prices for recent thefts of used cooking oil, the prime ingredient in the fuel he produces. Healy Biodiesel president Ben Healy says that when he visits the 100 restaurants he serves, many don't have the leftover cooking oil he's there to pick up because it's been stolen. Healy says the amount of oil stolen from his clients is in the thousands of gallo...
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Sprint Nextel CEO asks for patience
RESTON, Va. (AP) -- Dan Hesse, chief executive officer at Sprint Nextel Corp. for less than five months, faced tough questions Tuesday about the company's continued trouble keeping wireless subscribers. Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint, the nation's third-largest wireless provider, lost about a million customers in 2007 and reported Monday that it lost 1.07 million more in the first quarter of 2008 alone. "Over the last year, AT&T and ...
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Federal official tours Missouri tornado damage
SENECA, Mo. (AP) -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Tuesday toured tornado-ravaged areas in southwest Missouri, offering condolences and reassurances of federal help. After seeing the damage from a helicopter, Chertoff visited the flattened farmstead that was once home to Betty Geary. The 73-year-old Missouri woman pointed out where different barns and outbuildings had once stood, and to the concrete back steps that are the on...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Spot nonferrous metal prices today
NEW YORK (AP) -- Spot nonferrous metal prices today. Aluminum -$1.311 per lb., London Metal Exch. today. Copper -$3.8275 Cathode full plate, U.S. destinations. Copper $3.7650 N.Y. Merc spot Tue. Lead - $2268.00 metric ton, London Metal Exch. Zinc - $1.0756 per lb., delivered. Gold - $866.50 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Gold - $868.50 troy oz., NY Merc spot Tue. Silver - $16.650 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Silver...
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Rescuers reach epicenter HANWANG, China -- Rescuers arrived for the first time in the epicenter of China's massive earthquake, scouring flattened mountain villages for thousands of victims and distributing air-dropped supplies to survivors
Rescuers reach epicenter HANWANG, China -- Rescuers arrived for the first time in the epicenter of China's massive earthquake, scouring flattened mountain villages for thousands of victims and distributing air-dropped supplies to survivors. The official Xinhua News Agency said some 2,000 soldiers were sent to repair "extremely dangerous" cracks in the Zipingpu Dam upriver from the earthquake-hit city of Dujiangyan. The government said late to...
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Disney finds way to weather the recession
NEW YORK -- This is not a good economy to take a gamble in. Las Vegas has, and it's hurting casino profits. Disney has not, and the "Magic Kingdom" is reaping the winnings. In theory, it's not supposed to be this way. The gaming business often brags that it's recession-proof because gamblers will always like to gamble, but amusement destinations historically have seen their business get hard hit when consumers' wallets are pinched. The upscal...
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TheMagicismissing
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Antonio McDyess was inspired by a loss to help the Detroit Pistons win a decisive playoff game. As McDyess was arriving at The Palace, he was told his grandmother died. Before the power forward left the arena, he scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons eliminated the Orlando Magic with a 91-86 victory Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference sem...
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Revamped indictment out against Barry Bonds
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Federal prosecutors have unveiled a revamped indictment against Barry Bonds, but the career home run leader's lawyers say nothing has changed. "Barry Bonds is innocent," the player's lead attorney, Allen Ruby, said after his client was once again charged with lying to a grand jury and hampering the federal government's doping investigation. Bonds originally was indicted in November by a federal grand jury on four coun...
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Sorenstam was never afraid to push herself
It was just like Annika Sorenstam to start dropping hints about retiring right after one of the most spectacular seasons in LPGA history. "I don't think I'll play another 10 years because I have a lot of other interests," she said in November, 2002, a year in which Sorenstam won 13 tournaments and was in contention nearly every week. Most of the people in women's golf saw a 32-year-old coming into her prime and figured it was simply fatigue t...
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Court to hear new challenge to state gambling law
TOPEKA (AP) -- The future of four resort casinos in the state hangs on a Kansas Supreme Court ruling on whether what the Legislature calls state-owned and operated facilities really are that. The seven justices were to hear arguments Wednesday afternoon on the appeal of Shawnee County District Court Judge Charles Andrews' ruling in February upholding a law expanding gambling. Millions of dollars in profits for casino managers and revenue for ...
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Police arrest arson suspect PALM BAY, Fla
Police arrest arson suspect PALM BAY, Fla. -- Police say they've arrested a man who was seen sparking a small blaze in a town on Florida's Atlantic coast where wildfires have gutted at least 40 homes. Palm Bay Police Chief Bill Berger says 31-year-old Brian Crowder threw a glass bottle containing an accelerant from a car window into the woods early today. Officers tracked Crowder with the help of residents who spotted him running past their h...
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Guillen drives in two in Royals' win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Jose Guillen has turned jeers into cheers. He was booed after going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts to drop his average to .165 on May 5. Since then, Guillen has put together a five-game hitting streak, going 10 for 18, with five doubles, to raise his average to .216. He drove in a pair of runs Tuesday night to help the Kansas City Royals rally to beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2. "He's been swinging the bat pretty good the ...
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6 die in Picher
EPA testing air after twister in toxic town By Murray Evans Associated Press Writer PICHER, Okla. -- The Environmental Protection Agency planned to check for high lead levels today after a deadly tornado blew through a heavily polluted former mining town where lead-filled waste is piled into giant mounds. The tornado was one of several that combined to kill 22 people in the Midwest and the South over the weekend, raising the nation's 2008 ...
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NBA Daily Playoff Glance Playoffs By The Associated Press QUARTERFINALS (Best-of-7) Friday's Game Utah 104, L
NBA Daily Playoff Glance Playoffs By The Associated Press QUARTERFINALS (Best-of-7) Friday's Game Utah 104, L.A. Lakers 99 Saturday's Games Detroit 90, Orlando 89, Detroit leads series 3-1 Cleveland 108, Boston 84, Boston leads series 2-1 Sunday's Games Utah 123, L.A. Lakers 115, OT, series tied 2-2 San Antonio 100, New Orleans 80, series tied 2-2 Today's Game Boston at Cleveland, 7 p.m. Tuesday's Games...
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Quake's death toll reaches 9,000 CHONGQING, China -- One of the worst earthquakes in decades struck central China today, killing nearly 9,000 people, trapping about 900 students under the rubble of their school and causing a toxic chemical leak, state media reported
Quake's death toll reaches 9,000 CHONGQING, China -- One of the worst earthquakes in decades struck central China today, killing nearly 9,000 people, trapping about 900 students under the rubble of their school and causing a toxic chemical leak, state media reported. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated a hilly region of small cities and towns in Sichuan and nearby provinces. The official Xinhua News Agency said 8,533 people died in Sic...
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