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Nation and World

Louisiana flood control authority to sue major oil, gas companies, seeking wetland restoration

The board that oversees the levees in the New Orleans region filed suit in state court Wednesday against about 100 leading oil and gas companies asking that they repair damage done by the industry’s network of access roads and pipeline canals, which has contributed to the loss of thousands of acres a year of wetlands since the 1930s.

Official: Russia poised to let Snowden leave airport soon

After a month camped out in a transit area of Moscow’s international airport, fugitive Edward Snowden on Wednesday received clean clothing and a copy of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” – but no final word that he would be allowed into the country after having leaked U.S. surveillance secrets, his lawyer said.

House narrowly rejects effort to halt NSA program

The House narrowly rejected a challenge to the National Security Agency’s secret collection of hundreds of millions of Americans’ phone records Wednesday night after a fierce debate pitting privacy rights against the government’s efforts to thwart terrorism.

Spain passenger train derails, killing at least 35

MADRID — A passenger train derailed in northwestern Spain on Wednesday night, killing at least 35 people and leaving hundreds injured, officials said.

THE LATEST
 
Chromecast: Google unveils new internet TV device

Google is betting consumers will pay slightly more for a sleeker, more powerful version of its Nexus 7 tablet as the Internet company escalates its rivalry with Apple and Amazon.com in technology’s key battleground — the mobile computing market.

Leisure tuber injured when bridge jumper lands in his lap

A western Montana man floating on an inner tube suffered broken bones in his legs and torn ligaments in his knees when another man jumped from a bridge and landed in his lap.

Welcome to a ‘zero-net energy’ neighborhood: airtight, expensive

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — Homes being built in this Hudson Valley cul-de-sac offer prospective buyers wooded lots, pretty views and — oh yes — the promise of thumbing your nose at the power utility.

Front-door mailbox delivery may get budget axe

WASHINGTON — Americans for generations have come to depend on door-to-door mail delivery. It’s about as American as apple pie.

U.S. new-home sales jump to highest level in five years

WASHINGTON — Americans snapped up new homes in June at the fastest pace in five years, a sign the housing recovery is strengthening.

 
NTSB recovers recorders after NYC gear collapse

Federal investigators have recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of a plane whose front landing gear collapsed, sending it skidding along the tarmac at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport.

Grants, scholarships key to paying for college

WASHINGTON — Grants and scholarships are taking a leading role in paying college bills, surpassing the traditional role parents long have played in helping foot the bills, according to a report from loan giant Sallie Mae.

Avoid what-not-to-say moments with new parents

Most every new parent has a greatest hits of lame advice and annoying remarks and to avoid being “the one” here are a few tips to on what not to say to new parents.

Anthony Weiner admits to more lewd photos

New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner admitted on Tuesday to sending additional explicit photos and texts to a woman he met online — correspondence she says began months after he resigned from Congress for similar behavior.