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Nation and World

Stocks surge after Bernanke allays taper fear

The stock market, which has been marching higher for a week, got extra fuel Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will keep supporting the economy.

NY building blast, fire shatter windows, injures 12

An explosion inside a Chinatown building on Thursday led to a fire and a partial collapse, injuring a dozen people, including firefighters.

 
Police: 24 bodies now found in Quebec train crash

Crews worked tirelessly Thursday to find the burned remains of the 50 people presumed dead in Saturday’s catastrophic oil train derailment, as Quebec Premier Pauline Marois toured the traumatized town and took the American railway’s chief to task for not visiting sooner.

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CIA let 9/11 prisoner design vacuum cleaner, read Harry Potter

Confined to the basement of a CIA secret prison in Romania about a decade ago, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the admitted mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, asked his jailers whether he could embark on an unusual project: Would the spy agency allow Mohammed, who had earned his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, to design a vacuum cleaner?

 
Jury in Zimmerman trial may consider lesser charge

In an unmistakable setback for George Zimmerman, the jury at the neighborhood watch captain’s second-degree murder trial was given the option Thursday of convicting him on the lesser charge of manslaughter in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

 
Justin Bieber apologizes for presidential antics

Justin Bieber has apologized by phone to Bill Clinton for cursing the former president and spraying his photo with cleaning fluid in a New York City restaurant kitchen earlier this year.

 
Asiana passengers called 911 begging for help

Passengers who called 911 minutes after a Boeing 777 crashed at San Francisco International Airport said not enough help had arrived and they were doing their best to keep the critically injured alive, according to 911 calls that portray a scene of desperation.

 
Singer Randy Travis recovering from brain surgery

Country music stars and fans joined together to urge prayers for Randy Travis overnight as he recovered from brain surgery following a stroke at a Texas hospital.

Employers offer pet insurance as employee perk

A growing number of companies, including Las Vegas’ own MGM Resorts International, are beginning to discount and subsidize pet insurance as a perk to workers.

 
Mudslide in western China buries about 30

Flooding in western China, the worst in 50 years for some areas, triggered a landslide Wednesday that buried about 30 people, trapped hundreds in a highway tunnel and destroyed a high-profile memorial to a devastating 2008 earthquake.

 
Navy completes 1st unmanned carrier landing

The Navy successfully landed a drone the size of a fighter jet aboard an aircraft carrier for the first time Wednesday, showcasing the military’s capability to have a computer program perform one of the most difficult tasks that a pilot is asked to do.