NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST March 17, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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As the Economy Falters, So Do State Budgets
Programs for the elderly are being slashed in Maine. Government jobs arebeing eliminated in New Jersey. Prison construction has been put off inVirginia. Some schools in California will end their music programs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/us/17fiscal.html?ex=1206417600&en=79387fd6f020dbf5&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVERNEWS
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Lawyer in D.C. Gun Case Doesn't Own One
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Gun-Ban-Lawyer.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=GAY&st=nyt&oref=slogin
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Dow Slides on Fed Move and Bear Deal
Stock markets fell sharply at the opening bell as Wall Street reeled from astunning series of weekend developments that confirmed investors' worstfears about the fragile state of the financial industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/business/worldbusiness/17cnd-stox.html?hp
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Science at Risk
Nobody was greatly surprised last week when Stephen Johnson, theadministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, proposed new limits onsmog-forming pollutants that were weaker than those his scientists hadrecommended - and more to the liking of industry. In the Bushadministration, contests between politics and science are usually resolvedin favor of politics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/opinion/17mon1.html?ref=opinion
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The B Word
O.K., here it comes: The unthinkable is about to become the inevitable.
Last week, Robert Rubin, the former Treasury secretary, and John Lipsky, a top official at the International Monetary Fund, both suggested that public funds might be needed to rescue the U.S. financial system. Mr. Lipsky insisted that he wasn't talking about a bailout. But he was.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/opinion/17krugman.html?ref=opinion
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Obama's Brother in China
So there I was, a couple of weeks back, sitting under a mango tree inwestern Kenya, when Senator Barack Obama's half-sister Auma says to me:"My daughter's father is British. My mom's brother is married to a Russian.I have a brother in China engaged to a Chinese woman."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/opinion/29cohen.html?ref=opinion
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Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Rove's Second Act
Karl Rove, who has spent his career denigrating Democrats, was on the FoxNews set last Monday when he was asked a point-blank question: Should EliotSpitzer resign?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/17/AR2008031700567.html
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How Race Divides the Democrats
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/16/AR2008031602127.html
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White Male Vote Especially Critical
Questions Remain Over Obama's Ability to Appeal to Demographic
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/16/AR2008031602569.html?hpid=topnews
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House Panel Debates Iraq Refugee Quandary
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/16/AR2008031601784.html?hpid=sec-politics
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Bill's image damaged by campaign role
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9066.html
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A thirst for dreams and the outside world
Who says people in Cuba can't vote? Cubans are voting with their feet.
Soccer players, ballet dancers, boxers and entertainers -- not to mentionCubans in all kinds of boats -- are arriving in South Florida on any givenday. This isn't just a brain drain. It is an exodus of Cuban talent on ascale second only to the one in the 1960s, when the island lost most of itstechnocrats and business people.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/459383.html
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PRESIDENTIAL RACE: Democratic disaster ahead
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/459392.html
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Many voting for Clinton to boost GOP
Seek to prolong bitter battle
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/17/many_voting_for_clinton_to_boost_gop/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
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Affleck, Garner create their own political party
http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2008/03/17/affleck_garner_create_their_own_political_party/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
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Our "black Monday" for oil
The record high price of crude that was hit this month reflects the newreality of global energy consumption -- and may presage dark times forAmerica.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/03/17/oil/index_np.html
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