National news

Fire kills husband of missing Utah woman, 2 boys

GRAHAM, Wash. - Josh Powell's note was simple and short, a farewell to the world after two years of being scrutinized in the media, hammered by police and questioned by judges, prosecutors and social workers, living his life under a microscope since the day his wife vanished.
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Too many kids breathe others' smoke in cars: CDC

CHICAGO - Texting while driving, speeding and back-seat hanky-panky aren't all that parents need to worry about when their kids are in cars: Add secondhand smoke to the list.
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Could Wash. have done more to protect Powell boys?

SEATTLE - State authorities can expect tough questions about whether more might have been done to protect a missing Utah woman's two children, who died along with their father after authorities say he ignited his home in an inferno Sunday.
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Sac Bee fires photographer over altered pictures

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento Bee has fired a longtime photographer who editors say broke newspaper policy by digitally altering photos.
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Marine wife killed in Ca. explosion was Iowan, 31

COLEVILLE, Calif. - Families began returning to their homes Sunday following a propane gas explosion in a military housing complex outside a remote U.S.
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Family of missing Alaska barista increases reward

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The father of an 18-year-old Alaska woman who police say was abducted at gunpoint from her espresso stand says the reward for information that leads to her safe return has grown to $41,000.
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AP Newsbreak: 3 lost in Ore. considered eating dog

GOLD BEACH, Ore. - Three mushroom pickers lost six nights in the rugged forest of southwest Oregon with no food considered eating their dog, and used the screen on their dead cellphone and the blade of a sheath knife to flash a signal at the helicopter pilot who found them.
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Virus strikes cruise ship out of New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS - A stomach virus outbreak delayed the departure of the cruise ship "Voyager of the Seas" from New Orleans in one of three outbreaks of illness aboard U.S.-based cruise ships reported over the weekend.
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Service set for MN couple missing in ship disaster

WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. - A memorial Mass has been scheduled for a Minnesota couple who are missing in the Italian cruise ship disaster, their family announced Sunday.
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Authorities: It appears Josh Powell blew the house up on purpose that killed him, young sons

GRAHAM, Wash. - Authorities: It appears Josh Powell blew the house up on purpose that killed him, young sons ___ February 05, 2012 06:36 PM EST Copyright 2012, The Associated Press.
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