States crack down on campaigning nonprofits

WASHINGTON — Tax-exempt advocacy groups that played an aggressive role in this year's election are coming under increasing scrutiny...

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Alt Text: How to Tell Real SEALs From Basement-Dwelling Posers

The White House recently congratulated the makers of Troop ID, a service designed to help online merchants securely identify members of the armed forces. This was a significant recommendation, the first software application to be publicly praised by the president since he canceled a 2009 press conference in order to play Doodle Jump.While I’m happy that troops will be able to claim their 10...

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Dog bite sidelines ‘Dirty Dozen’ trumpeter Towns

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Dirty Dozen Brass Band trumpeter Efrem Towns is recovering at home in New Orleans from a vicious attack by a Rottweiler at an Atlanta motel.He missed performances in Colorado and New Orleans after the attack on Nov. 18, and doesn’t know if he’ll make the band’s next scheduled gig on Dec. 28, The Times-Picayune (http://bit.ly/XOJoNr) reported.He and baritone sax player Roger Lewis...

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Agency Investigates Deaths and Injuries Associated With Bed Rails

Thomas Patterson for The New York TimesGloria Black’s mother died in her bed at a care facility. In November 2006, when Clara Marshall began suffering from the effects of dementia, her family moved her into the Waterford at Fairway Village, an assisted living home in Vancouver, Wash. The facility offered round-the-clock care for Ms. Marshall, who had wandered away from home several times. Her husband...

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Solar power plants burden the counties that host them

When it comes to attracting business to California's eastern deserts, Inyo County is none too choosy.Since the 19th century...

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Tracking Mars: Curiosity Makes Its Mark on the Red Planet

Since Curiosity landed on mars on Aug. 6, the rover has traveled hundreds of feet over the Martian surface. In the process, it has tracked up the sandy, dusty terrain, leaving tire marks, scoop divots, Morse code and one tiny piece of itself behind.Unlike the Apollo astronauts' footprints on the moon, Curiosity's trails will probably be wiped away by the planet's frequent wind and sand storms. But...

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‘Gangnam Style’ most watched YouTube video ever

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean rapper PSY‘s “Gangnam Style” has become YouTube’s most viewed video of all time.YouTube says in a posting on its Trends blog that “Gangnam Style” had been viewed 805 million times as of Saturday afternoon, surpassing Justin Bieber‘s “Baby,” which has had 803 million views.The blog says the “velocity of popularity for PSY’s outlandish video is unprecedented.”PSY’s...

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Dave Roberts brings diversity to the San Diego County supervisors

DEL MAR — In January, when he joins the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Dave Roberts will be the only Democrat among...

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How One <em>Myst</em> Fan Made Himself a Real-Life Linking Book

The classic PC game Myst was known for drawing people in to its massive, surreal world. But maker Mike Ando took a little piece of that world and drew it into ours. He made a lovingly authentic replica of the Linking Book that helps the main character — you — navigate the world.Myst was a ground-breaking point-and-click adventure game created by Cyan Worlds, made of hundreds of beautifully...

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‘Dallas’ star Larry Hagman dies in Texas

J.R. Ewing was a business cheat, faithless husband and bottomless well of corruption. Yet with his sparkling grin, Larry Hagman masterfully created the charmingly loathsome oil baron — and coaxed forth a Texas-size gusher of ratings — on television’s long-running and hugely successful nighttime soap, “Dallas.”Although he first gained fame as nice guy Capt. Tony Nelson on the fluffy 1965-70 NBC comedy...

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