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Europe
11:50 am
Wed February 1, 2012

Russian Communists Court Discontented Youth

A snazzy new Communist Party poster shows two young, tech-savvy and attractive Russians. Both are smiling and dressed in red: The woman holds a red iPhone; the man holds a red laptop, his T-shirt emblazoned with a hammer and sickle.

The slogan: "For the victory of the majority."

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Election 2012
2:03 am
Wed February 1, 2012

Despite Florida, GOP Concerns About Romney Linger

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 11:03 am

With his lopsided win in Florida, Mitt Romney displayed nearly all the skills and talents a front-runner might need.

He was able to decimate his leading opponent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, through a series of disciplined and sustained attacks, and he had the organizational capacity to press every tactical advantage.

The only thing he failed to do, some critics maintain, was present a convincing case that he's the best possible Republican candidate to take on President Obama.

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It's All Politics
12:05 am
Wed February 1, 2012

Santorum Reacts To Romney Romp In Florida By Going After Gingrich

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum chose to characterize his distant third-place finish in Florida's Republican presidential primary as a victory, of sorts.

"Speaker Gingrich spent 5 or 6 million bucks in the state of Florida and walked away with no delegates," he told NPR after a packed primary night event at his Nevada headquarters in Las Vegas. "I didn't spend a penny."

"We are in a cash-positive position," he said, adding that his campaign on Tuesday raised $200,000 online.

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Science
12:01 am
Wed February 1, 2012

New Silica Rules Languish In Regulatory Black Hole

Any job that involves breaking up rock or concrete or brick can potentially expose workers to dangerous silica dust, and last year it looked like the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration was about to put stricter controls in place to limit this health hazard.

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Europe
12:01 am
Wed February 1, 2012

Grumbling, Excitement Build For London Olympics

The last time the British did this, they had a king: George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth, was on the throne.

George was so often tongue-tied, yet he proclaimed open the 1948 London Olympics flawlessly.

It was late July. The sun shone down on London from a cloudless sky. The BBC had acquired the TV broadcasting rights for just $4,000 and made the most of them.

People packed Wembley Stadium, eager to forget the horrors of the second world war.

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Presidential Race
12:01 am
Wed February 1, 2012

Romney Leads Gingrich In Money; Obama Bests Both

As the Republican candidates were rallying their supporters in Florida on Tuesday night, their campaigns were quietly sending disclosure reports to the Federal Election Commission in Washington. The big picture: Mitt Romney had more money than Newt Gingrich. President Obama had more than either of them. And a few of the new superPACs filed donor lists filled with high rollers.

Tuesday's disclosures run only through Dec. 31 but still reveal some essential truths.

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Around the Nation
12:01 am
Wed February 1, 2012

Monsanto Accused In Suit Tied To Agent Orange

For about two decades, ending in 1971, a former Monsanto chemical plant in West Virginia produced the herbicide 2,4,5-T which was used in "Agent Orange" — the defoliant the military sprayed over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

Now, Monsanto faces a class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of people living where the herbicide was manufactured in Nitro, W.Va.

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Middle East
12:01 am
Wed February 1, 2012

In Booming Istanbul, A Clash Between Old And New

Originally published on Wed July 25, 2012 3:43 pm

On a frigid January morning, bundled-up travelers step off a ferry and scurry toward the imposing stone walls of the Haydarpasa train station, a 19th century landmark in Istanbul, a city full of history.

The people boarding this morning are nostalgic. They're longtime station employees, taking one of the last train runs to Eskesihir, where the station's first director-general is buried.

They're going, as it were, to give him bad news — that Haydarpasa's 150-year service as a public transportation center may be coming to an end.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:01 am
Wed February 1, 2012

Cystic Fibrosis Drug Wins Approval

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug that can treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis.

The drug, known as Kalydeco, works by helping to fix one defect in the protein that causes the disease.

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Sweetness And Light
10:16 pm
Tue January 31, 2012

Signing Day: Like Christmas For College Sports

Credit L.G. Patterson / AP
Ahead of signing day, wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham of Springfield, Mo., was the highest-ranking recruit who had yet to announce his college choice. Here, he visits a basketball game at the University of Missouri.

Originally published on Thu February 2, 2012 12:03 am

Well, here we are starting February, with the single most important day in sports upon us.

No, of course I don't mean a silly little thing like Super Bowl Sunday. But today, the first Wednesday of the second month, is by some sort of — what, pagan lunar calendar? –– officially decreed National Signing Day, when all over America, high school seniors can officially plight their troth to a college football program.

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