Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

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  Al-Qaida may be easing effort in Iraq, Petraeus says AP - 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

  BAGHDAD - After intense U.S. assaults, al-Qaida may be considering shifting focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are running higher than in Iraq, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said Saturday.

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  As wars lengthen, toll on military families mounts AP - 1 hour, 12 minutes ago

  FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Far from the combat zones, the strains and separations of no-end-in-sight wars are taking an ever-growing toll on military families despite the armed services' earnest efforts to help.

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  'Dark Knight' sets box office record with $66.4M AP - 1 hour, 11 minutes ago

  LOS ANGELES - Batman's joust with the Joker has set another box office record. Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, "The Dark Knight" set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday.

• It's the law: No sagging pants in Chicago suburb AP - 26 minutes ago

  LYNWOOD, Ill. - Be careful if you have saggy pants in the south Chicago suburb of Lynwood. Village leaders have passed an ordinance that would levy $25 fines against anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public.

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  Norman tries to win an Open for the ages AP - 24 minutes ago

  SOUTHPORT, England - On another blustery day alongside the Irish Sea, Greg Norman tried to clinch a win for the ages.

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  Obama meets Afghan President Karzai in Kabul Reuters - Sun Jul 20, 5:17 AM ET

  KABUL (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Sunday, the second day of a visit to Afghanistan that is meant to bolster the senator's foreign policy credentials.

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  Iran says nuclear talks a step forward Reuters - 1 hour, 27 minutes ago

  TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president described talks with world powers on its disputed nuclear program as a step forward on Sunday, official media said, even though the meeting in Geneva failed to produce any breakthrough in the standoff.

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  Mugabe threatens to seize foreign firms over sanctions Reuters - 13 minutes ago

  HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will transfer ownership of all foreign-owned firms that support Western sanctions against President Robert Mugabe's government to locals and investors from "friendly" countries, a state newspaper reported on Sunday.

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  Foreign airstrike kills 9 Afghan police: official Reuters - Sun Jul 20, 3:27 AM ET

  KABUL (Reuters) - A foreign airstrike killed nine Afghan policemen in western Afghanistan overnight after a clash in which both sides mistook the other for Taliban militants, Afghan officials said on Sunday.

• ETA blamed for blasts in northern Spain Reuters - 46 minutes ago

  MADRID (Reuters) - Two explosive devices went off in seaside resorts in Cantabria, northern Spain, after a warning telephone call on Sunday that said the devices had been planted by Basque separatists ETA, government officials said.

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  Iraq PM did not back Obama troop exit plan: government Reuters - Sun Jul 20, 1:46 AM ET

  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not back the plan of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and his comments to a German magazine on the issue were misunderstood, the government's spokesman said on Sunday.

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  Pope warns youth of materialist "spiritual desert" Reuters - Sun Jul 20, 5:03 AM ET

  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, wrapping up his visit to Australia, on Sunday urged a crowd of 400,000 young people to beware the spreading "spiritual desert" that often accompanied modern prosperity.

• Storm Cristobal forms off U.S., Bertha weakens Reuters - Sat Jul 19, 11:23 PM ET

  MIAMI (Reuters) - The third tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Cristobal, formed off the U.S. East Coast on Saturday, with gale-force winds and heavy rains expected to lash the Carolinas as the storm grazes the shoreline on a northeasterly path.

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  International strikes kill nine Afghan police AFP - Sun Jul 20, 4:59 AM ET

  HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) - Nine policemen were killed in Afghanistan Sunday in international military air strikes called in when police and troops clashed after mistaking each other for Taliban, authorities said.

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  Pope warns Catholic youth of 'spiritual desert' AFP - 1 hour, 58 minutes ago

  SYDNEY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to beat back a "spiritual desert" spreading through the modern world as he closed Catholic World Youth Day in Australia.

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  German climbers held by Kurdish rebels freed AFP - 1 hour, 23 minutes ago

  ANKARA (AFP) - Three German climbers kidnapped earlier this month by Kurdish rebels in eastern Turkey were freed Sunday, the Turkish foreign ministry announced.

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  Arab League chief to Sudan over war crimes call AFP - Sun Jul 20, 5:25 AM ET

  KHARTOUM (AFP) - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa was to fly to Khartoum on Sunday with a plan aimed at heading off potential charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir of masterminding genocide in Darfur.

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  Scientists to discuss climate risk posed by wetlands destruction AFP - Sun Jul 20, 3:10 AM ET

  SAO PAULO (AFP) - Moves around the world to drain marshes and other wetlands to make space for farming could be hastening climate change, scientists gathering in Brazil from Monday will be hearing.

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  Drought threatens drinking water for a million Australians AFP - Sun Jul 20, 5:38 AM ET

  SYDNEY (AFP) - Up to a million people in Australia could face a shortage of drinking water if the country's drought continues, a report on the state of the nation's largest river system revealed Sunday.

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  WTO ministers gather for crunch summit to nail Doha deal AFP - Sun Jul 20, 12:14 AM ET

  GENEVA (AFP) - Trade ministers from more than 30 countries, deeply divided and still clinging to core interests, mount another bid Monday to nail down a global trade accord before the arrival of a new US president early next year.

Most Popular Top Stories

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  Alaskans suffer nation's highest gasoline prices Reuters - Fri Jul 18, 11:51 AM ET

  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Think you're feeling pain at the gas pump? Consider the residents of Lime Village, Alaska, an isolated Denaina Athabascan Indian community where gasoline prices have hit $8.55 a gallon.

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  North Korea's "Hotel of Doom" wakes from its coma Reuters - Thu Jul 17, 3:56 AM ET

  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's phantom hotel is stirring back to life. Once dubbed by Esquire magazine as "the worst building in the history of mankind," the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel is back under construction after a 16-year lull in the capital of one of the world's most reclusive and destitute countries.

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  Britain grapples with surge of knife attacks AFP - Sat Jul 19, 10:54 PM ET

  LONDON (AFP) - Britain is struggling to get to grips with a surge of fatal knife attacks, which analysts say reflects a growing sense of insecurity on the country's streets.