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AP - As southeastern Iowa prepared for the Mississippi River’s wrath, the rest of Iowa began the slow move from protection to cleanup.

AP - Hundreds of Taliban fighters invaded villages just outside Afghanistan’s second-largest city Monday, forcing NATO and Afghan troops to rush in while frightened residents fled.

AP - Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples had appointments to secure marriage licenses and exchange vows Tuesday, the first full day same-sex nuptials will be legal throughout California.

AP - Military psychologists were enlisted to help develop more aggressive interrogation methods, including snarling dogs, forced nudity and long periods of standing, against terrorism suspects, according to a Senate investigation.

AP - Make more than $250,000 a year? Watch out. Barack Obama wants to raise your income taxes. Social Security taxes, too.

AP - Soldiers scrambled to shore up soggy levies with sandbags Tuesday in southern China as forecasters warned that more heavy rain in the central region could trigger flooding on the country’s second-longest river.

AP - Security agents hoping to prevent displays of defiance jogged alongside Olympic torchbearers Tuesday as the flame began its journey through China’s restive West, drawing cheers from carefully controlled crowds.

AP - A serial killer who mutilated the bodies of four young girls and reportedly drank the blood of one of his victims was among three convicted murderers executed in Japan on Tuesday for crimes an official called indescribably cruel.

AP - A newly discovered batch of well-preserved dinosaur bones, petrified trees and even freshwater clams in southeastern Utah could provide new clues about life in the region some 150 million years ago.

AP - Willie Randolph is out as manager of the New York Mets, fired 2 1/2 months into a disappointing season that has followed the team’s colossal collapse last September.

Reuters - Democratic presidential hopeful
Barack Obama opens the general election campaign with a narrow
lead over Republican John McCain but the two score near even
among independent voters, The Washington Post reported on
Tuesday.

Reuters - The worst flooding in the U.S. Midwest
in 15 years sent fresh shocks to global markets and consumers
as corn prices hit record highs on devastating crop losses in
the heart of the world’s top grain exporter.