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Daily Headlines & Top News Stories for:   07/30/10

Firefighters attack river of flame northeast of LA (AP)

A fast moving wildfire burns above Elizabeth Lake Road in Leona Valley near Palmdale, Calif. on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Mandatory evacuations were issued for the community of Leona Valley on Thursday evening, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Matt Levesque said. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)AP - Aircraft and about 500 firefighters are attacking a river of flame running through grassy hills northeast of Los Angeles and residents of about 1,000 homes wait to see if the blaze is kept away.


Time to scrap BP brand? Gas-station owners divided (AP)

FILE - In this file photo made Oct. 25, 2007, the BP (British Petroleum) logo is seen at a gas station in Washington. BP gas station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant stained by its handling of the Gulf spill should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name as part of its effort to repair the company's badly damaged reputation. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)AP - BP gas station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant stained by its handling of the Gulf spill should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name as part of its effort to repair the company's badly damaged reputation.


Obama to sell auto bailout good news in Michigan (AP)

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the National Urban League 100th Anniversary Convention in Washington, Thursday, July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - President Barack Obama is going to the heart of the U.S. auto industry to push an important election-year claim: his administration's unpopular auto industry bailout has turned into an economic good-news story.


Dudley to outline BP plans to help Gulf recover (AP)

File - In this June 16, 2010 file photo, BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, left, and BP Managing Director Bob Dudley arrive with other BP executives at the White House in Washington DC. The appointment of American oilman Robert Dudley to replace luckless Briton Tony Hayward as CEO is the latest milestone in the waning Britishness of the company once known as British Petroleum. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh, file)AP - Incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley was set to outline his company's long-term efforts to help the Gulf of Mexico recover from the oil spill Friday morning, and will be getting help from a Clinton administration-era emergency management official.


Zients will be acting OMB chief (Politico)

Politico - A top official tells POLITICO that he will be acting director while Jack Lew awaits confirmation.

GOP gets wish: Rangel case in campaign season (AP)

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., puts on his jacket as he leaves his office to go for a vote on the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, July 29, 2010.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)AP - Republicans wanted an election-season ethics case against Democratic powerhouse Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. And now, it looks like they have one.


Audubon official: No environmental damage caused by Groton fires

GROTON -- There will be no lasting environmental damage to several hundred acres of open land along the Groton-Ayer town line scorched by recent brush fires, according to a top official of the Massachusetts Audubon Society which owns the acreage.

NM governor considers pardon for Billy the Kid (AP)

Susannah Floyd Garrett, left, and her brother Jarvis Patrick Garrett, grandchildren of frontier lawman Pat Garrett, pose for photos Thursday, July 29, 2010 at the La Posada Hotel in Santa Fe, N.M. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is considering granting a posthumous pardon to Billy the Kid, angering descendants of Pat Garrett who call it an insult to recognize such a violent outlaw. (AP Photo/Sergio Salvador)AP - The showdown between Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid has fascinated the American public for nearly 130 years with its classic, Old West storyline of the frontier lawman hunting down the notorious gunslinger.


In Rhinebeck with Chelsea: Rocky Horror, cows (AP)

Joy, center, and Gerry Gallagher, of Rhinebeck inspect a sign and photos commemorating Chelsea Clinton's wedding in the window of Pete's Famous restaurant, Wednesday, July 28, 2010 in Rhinebeck, N.Y.  Chelsea Clinton and her parents have not yet confirmed that the former first daughter's wedding  is being held in Rhinebeck Saturday. Still, signs congratulating her hang in shop windows, residents are talking to TV crews and officials are bracing for crowds.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)AP - If some of Chelsea Clinton's wedding guests want to make a weekend of it in Rhinebeck, there's a stage production of "The Rocky Horror Show" on the boards Saturday night and Sunday.


Arizona sheriff not relenting after court ruling (AP)

Angry protesters shout at sheriff's deputies outside the offices of controversial Maricopa county sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix. Several hundred activists marched here Thursday as a new Arizona immigration law went into effect, sparking a tense standoff with riot police in which about two dozen people were arrested.(AFP/Mark Ralston)AP - Lost in the hoopla over Arizona's immigration law is the fact that state and local authorities for years have been doing their own aggressive crackdowns in the busiest illegal gateway into the country.


Moms work full-time for hikers' release from Iran (AP)

In this photo taken July 26, 2010, Cindy Hickey, left, the mother of Shane Bauer, and Nora Shourd, mother of Sarah Shourd, are seen at Hickey's home in Pine City, Minn., talking about their children and efforts to get them released from prison in Iran. Sarah and Shane and one other friend were hiking when captured and imprisoned on July 31, 2009. Shourd moved to Pine City to work with Bauer's mother on the childrens' release. (AP Photo/Amy Forliti)AP - Cindy Hickey was sitting in her home office last summer, preparing a receipt for a client of her animal physical therapy business when the phone rang. She picked up, then nearly hung up, thinking it was a sales call.


Rod Blagojevich's Trial: A Look at the Court's 12 Jurors (Time.com)

Time.com - A brief look at the six men and six women who are tasked with deciding whether the guilt or innocence of the ex-governor of Illinois and his brother

Immigration Debate: Border Cities See Less Violent Crime (Time.com)

Time.com - The crime rates in large U.S. cities near the border, contrary to the fears that lie behind Arizona's tough new immigration law, are among the lowest in the country

Aspiring police officers train, compete at event (AP)

Broward County, Fla., Sherriff's Department police Explorers  Jeffery Aylor, right, and Kyle Wuensch,  arrest a mock drug dealer played by DEA Special Agent Greg Peckingpugh, left,  as they participate in a search and arrest scenario at the Law Enforcement Explorers Conference Thursday July 22, 2010 in Atlanta. The program's best gathered in Atlanta for the conference, which is partly a recruitment tool the help ready the next generation of law enforcement officers. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)AP - Shoot or don't shoot? Eighteen-year-old William Bryant takes a deep breath and gulps before he aims his pistol and shoots a passenger in a van who appears to be reaching for a weapon.


Prosecutors: Revenge pushed Ark. doctor to bombing (AP)

FILE - This file photo released Aug. 18, 2009, by the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office shows  Dr. Randeep Mann.  Mann's attorneys contend the charges against him are weak, especially since there's no forensic evidence or witnesses to prove Mann set off the explosive. (AP Photo/Pulaski County Sheriff's Office, file)AP - Prosecutors insist that a doctor accused of masterminding a bombing that disfigured the Arkansas State Medical Board chairman was a weapons fanatic bent on avenging the restriction of his medical license.


Abortion groups caught off guard (Politico)

Politico - A ban on coverage for most elective abortions in new high-risk pools takes them by surprise.

House rejects bill to aid sick 9/11 responders (AP)

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters make their way over the ruins of the World Trade Center through clouds of smoke at ground zero in New York. A bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust fell short in the House on Thursday, July 29, 2010, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts. (AP Photo/Stan Honda, Pool, File)AP - A bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust fell short in the House on Thursday, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts.


Anthony Weiner Goes Ballistic At GOP For Killing 9/11 Responders Health Care Bill (VIDEO) (Huffington Post)

Huffington Post - House Republicans late Thursday were able to corral enough votes to defeat a bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to those sickened by toxins resulting from the 9/11 attacks.

Is the Intelligence Community Unmanageable? (RealClearPolitics.com)

RealClearPolitics.com - Beginning with the Washington Post's "Top Secret America" series last week, the media are creating a narrative aimed at cutting down to size what the Post called the American intelligence community: a system so big and unwieldy that its effectiveness is impossible to determine. Our intelligence community, according to the Post series, has become ungovernable in the way the media used to characterize New York City.

10 Congressmen Who Should Be Fired (The Daily Beast)

In this July 22, 2010, photo, Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., answers questions from the media  on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Democratic leaders who promised to 'drain the swamp' of corrupt Washington are doing a delicate rhetorical dance around one of their own, 20-term Rangel, as he faces a public trial on ethical misdeeds during a high-stakes midterm election. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)The Daily Beast - They tried to build a Bridge to Nowhere, fretted about "killing Grandma," and stiffed the IRS. John Avlon presents a rogue's gallery of House members who should be bounced come November, from Joe Wilson to Alan Grayson.


China's Environmental Disasters On the Rise -- Quietly

While China's boom has always been dogged by environmental andsafety hazards, the frequency of disasters this summer has raised new questions about whether the country can maintain its pace of expansionwithout doing more harm than good

Op-Ed: Securing Medicare's future (Exclusive to Yahoo! News)

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, left, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder listen to a question as they prepare to leave a news conference in Miami, Friday, July 16, 2010. Federal authorities said they are conducting the largest Medicare fraud bust ever in five different states and arrested dozens of suspects accused in scams totaling $251 million. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)Exclusive to Yahoo! News - Forty-five years ago today, the creation of Medicare transformed our health-care system and our nation. It helped to make us a stronger and more prosperous country by freeing older Americans from the fear that sickness or injury would cost them their lifetime savings and security.


Environmental Protection Heart of Tall Ships Festival

The 2010 Tall Ships Festival in Duluth is a treasure trove of maritime heritage. However, environmental awareness is the major goal of the Festival.

2 environmental groups appeal Purdue's state permit for new coal-burning power unit

INDIANAPOLIS - Two environmental groups that oppose Purdue University's plans for a new coal-fired power unit challenged the school's air permit Thursday in an appeal that says regulators failed to fully assess how much pollution the project is expected to emit.

Do Guantanamo media restrictions also prevent open trials? (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Reporters covering trials of accused terrorists at Guantanamo on Monday will have their first-ever face-to-face chance to air their complaints about the U.S government's restrictive rules, which journalists say make it nearly impossible for the public to follow the proceedings.

Conservatives doubt Sherrod?s case against Breitbart (The Upshot)

The Upshot - Shirley Sherrod caused liberals to rejoice Thursday by telling a San Diego audience that she'll "definitely" sue conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart. But are things so bad for Breitbart, a media provocateur who appears to thrive off controversy? Despite posting the misleading clip of Sherrod that led to her resignation,  Breitbart hasn't apologized and continues using [...]

Environmental disaster

Barrels from a chemical plant float in the Songhua river in northeast Chinas Jilin province. More than a thousand barrels that contained more than 160 tonnes of explosive chemicals were washed by floodwaters into the major waterway, state media said, in the countrys latest environmental accident.

For biased critics of Israel, even its defensive actions violate human rights (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - In 1947, when excusing Soviet totalitarianism had become quite the rage in fashionable progressive circles, George Orwell eviscerated a British politician who consistently defended totalitarians but nevertheless denied that he was a defender of totalitarianism. “But of course he does,” Orwell wrote. “What else could he say?

UPDATED: Environmental group appeals Purdue's coal expansion plans

State environmental groups are trying to block Purdue University from expanding its coal-generated power plant.

Obama Mocks Polls But Spends More On Them ($4.4M) Than Bush Did (Huffington Post)

Huffington Post - With Reporting By Julian Hattem

Churchill's dentures fetch nearly $24,000 (Reuters)

Reuters - A partial set of British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill's gold-mounted dentures has fetched 15,200 pounds ($23,770) at auction, over three times the estimate.

Environmental Groups Hope To Block Purdue Boiler

Two environmental groups are challenging Purdue University's plans for a new coal-fired boiler that's part of a planned upgrade of the campus power plant.

Brewer claims world's strongest beer (Reuters)

A waiter takes a tablet of beer mugs on the opening day of Schweizerhaus beer garden in Vienna March 15, 2010. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter BaderReuters - A Dutch brewer with a penchant for competition has laid claim to creating the world's strongest brew: a beer that is some 60 percent alcohol by volume.


Vicar conducted 360 sham marriages (Reuters)

Wedding bell balloons fly from a storefront in Rhinebeck, New York, July 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mike SegarReuters - A vicar was found guilty on Thursday of conducting hundreds of sham marriages between African nationals and cash-strapped eastern Europeans to allow illegal immigrants to gain residency in Britain.


Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ESI) Perform Test Work On Iron Oxide Samples Provided By Gulf Mines ...

Melbourne, Australia, July 29, 2010 - (ABN Newswire) - Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ESI) wishes to advise it is performing test work on iron oxide samples provided by Gulf Mines Limited (ASX:GLM) from its Nowa Nowa deposit, using our Matmor process.Bench scale tests in recent weeks have resulted in the production of metallic iron with high amounts of silicon inherited from the ...

Environmental fun day

WITNEY residents can learn how to go green at an environmental fun day in Witney today.


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