Tuesday, March 26, 2013

In the news, Tuesday, March 26, 2013


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MON 25      INDEX      WED 27
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from The Guardian (UK)

The all-new British citizenship test – take the quiz
The new citizenship test for aspiring Britons, intended to place more emphasis on British history and achievements than previous versions comes into force this week. Take the sample questions below and see whether you score the 75% necessary to pass.

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from iFIBER ONE News

Soap Lake meets hydroplanes in advance of June race

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from KXLY 4 News

Was deadly force justified in car thief shooting?

After years of cuts, Wash. state parks seeing neglect

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from New York Times
from The Spokesman-Review

North Dakota governor approves 6-week abortion ban

Alleged car thief shot, dies nearby
Investigation evaluating the use of deadly force

Alleged car thief died of gunshot wound to the head

Italian court orders new trial for Amanda Knox

Key dates in the Amanda Knox case

Gay marriage argument at high court today

Military widow struggles with ban
Woman wants Defense of Marriage Act repeal

Feel for numbers aids math success
Study shows kids who struggled in first grade not catching up later on

Man gets 18 years in Seattle terror plot
Center that processes enlistees was target

FTC seeks authority to punish ‘pay for delay’ on generic drugs

Afghanistan takes control of base detention facility
Meeting of Kerry, Karzai amicable despite comment

Cyprus keeps banks closed
Opening delayed until Thursday

Central African Republic in disarray after leader flees

Infighting clouds gains
Syrian rebels’ lack of unity threatens takeover

Emissions task force measure goes to Inslee

Levels of toxin focus of fight on wastewater
Tribe cites PCB dangers of eating fish

Inslee petitions Obama on coal
Worries loom about greenhouse gases

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In brief:  From Wire Reports:

Arrest of activists ordered in Egypt

CAIRO – Tensions between Egypt’s Islamist-led government and the opposition increased Monday as the prosecutor general ordered the arrest of five activists, including a prominent blogger, for violent protests against the Muslim Brotherhood over the weekend.

The arrest warrants and complaints against scores of other opposition figures came a day after President Mohamed Morsi threatened to crack down on political groups that he said were behind a surge in attacks on Muslim Brotherhood offices. Nearly 200 people were injured Friday when protesters attempted to storm the Brotherhood’s headquarters in Cairo.

The prosecutor general issued arrest warrants for Karim Shaer, Ahmed Douma, Hazem Abdel-Azim, Ahmed Ghoneimi and Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a blogger and integral figure in the 2011 uprising that brought down President Hosni Mubarak.


Democratic senator won’t seek new term

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota plans to retire at the end of his term, party officials said Monday – a departure that gives Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat as they attempt to win back control of the chamber in 2014.

Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2006 but later returned to the Senate and won re-election in 2008. He has recovered significantly, though sometimes uses a motorized scooter.

The Democratic officials who described Johnson’s plans spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. They said they were not authorized to pre-empt a formal announcement expected today.

Johnson’s retirement announcement is the fifth by Senate Democrats. Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey also say they won’t run for re-election in 2014. Two Republican senators have also said they plan to retire.


Ethics office probes Bachmann campaign

WASHINGTON – Rep. Michele Bachmann and her short-lived campaign last year for the GOP presidential nomination are being investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics.

A lawyer for the Minnesota Republican said Monday that Bachmann is cooperating with the investigation. The Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent investigative body established by the House five years ago to conduct preliminary investigations into allegations of misconduct by House members or their aides. The panel can dismiss cases or refer them to the House Ethics Committee.

“There are no allegations that the congresswoman engaged in any wrongdoing,” lawyer William McGinley, of Patton Boggs, said. “We are constructively engaged with the OCE and are confident that at the end of their review the OCE Board will conclude that congresswoman Bachmann did not do anything inappropriate.”


National monuments include San Juan site

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has designated five new national monuments, using executive authority to protect historic or ecologically significant sites.

Vice President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar joined Obama on Monday in the Oval Office as he signed five proclamations designating the sites under the Antiquities Act. The sites are San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington state; Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico; First State National Monument in Delaware; Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland; and Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio.


Judge upholds forest protections

SEATTLE – A court in Washington, D.C., has rejected the last legal challenge to prohibitions on logging and road building in backcountry roadless areas, ending more than 12 years of fighting over one of the nation’s signature wilderness protection policies.

The state of Alaska had challenged the rule adopted in 2001 by President Bill Clinton to preserve the last large tracts of untouched forest in states including Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska and California, which still have not been opened to logging and other development.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled Monday that Alaska’s challenge in 2011 came too late under the statute of limitations to invalidate a policy that had already survived multiple lawsuits in courts across the country.

A separate challenge seeking to exempt 9.3 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska is pending before a federal appeals court, but that case would not affect the bulk of the so-called “roadless rule” in effect across 58.5 million acres of the U.S.

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Boeing Dreamliner tests battery changes

T-Mobile gets rid of contracts for cellphones
Installment plan aims to halt slide

Exxon faces fine in spill
Feds seek $1.7 million for Yellowstone incident

Editorial: Next leader needs fresh approach at state hospital

Passover rich in traditions
Mona Charen

Disabled vessels
Vein treatments have grown easier, but artery problems may be more serious
Adrian Rogers      The Spokesman-Review

If you’re pain-free, embrace gallbladder
Dr. Alisa Hideg

A little salt goes a long way
Anthony L. Komaroff      Universal Uclick

Doctors missed scary drug interaction
Joe Graedon M.S.      Peoples Pharmacy

Cold and flu season brings a rash of pinkeye

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from WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION
shared by Similkameen Trail

Hiking Guide

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from The Wenatchee World

BPA celebrates 75th with snazzy book
By Christine Pratt      World staff writer

PORTLAND — The Bonneville Power Administration is capping its 75th anniversary this year with a full-color, 300-page book about the agency’s efforts since 1980 to market and transmit electricity generated by the Columbia River’s federal dams.

“Power of the River” uses little-known stories and lots of photographs to track the federal agency’s evolution amid growing environmental regulation and demand for electricity.

The history begins in 1980 because that’s where an earlier book published for the agency’s 50th anniversary left off, the agency said in a news release.

Print copies are available upon request for $10, postage included, by calling (503) 230-3000. The book can be downloaded for free from the BPA’s website, http://tinyurl.com/crau4kg.

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Central Washington senator emerges as champion of business
Janea Holmquist Newbry is making the most of her first chance to chair a committee. Business groups applaud while labor interests complain.

Wilf Woods: Calvin Coolidge was a true fiscal conservative
By Wilfred Woods      Chairman of the Board

Rufus Woods: Gonzalez challenges students to overcome biases

In the Garden: Trees, shrubs up for grabs April 6 at Arbor Day celebration sites

Chelan County may have a pack
Pitcher Canyon camera catches a pair of wolves — biologists calling them the Wenatchee Pack

Sky-high meringue

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US aids Honduran police despite death squad fears

Congress: Taxpayers got beamed
IRS apologizes for $60,000 ‘Star Trek’ training video

U.S. is training Syrian fighters
Ongoing effort aims to strengthen moderates in toppling Assad

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