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Nation and World

Cybersecurity tops Obama’s agenda for China talks

President Barack Obama will be looking for signs from China’s leader at their upcoming meeting that Beijing is ready to address its reported high-tech spying, which the White House sees as a top threat to the U.S. economy and national security.

Court says Egypt legislature illegally elected

Egypt’s highest court ruled on Sunday that the nation’s interim parliament was illegally elected, though it stopped short of dissolving the chamber immediately, in a decision likely to fuel the tensions between the ruling Islamists and the judiciary.

Southern California wildfire explodes in size overnight

LOS ANGELES — A fire that destroyed at least five structures and threatened hundreds of others exploded in size overnight, burning dangerously close to two communities north of Los Angeles.

Three veteran storm chasers killed by Oklahoma tornado

Three veteran storm chasers died doing what they loved: roaming the Great Plains in search of dangerous storms like the one in Oklahoma that ended their final pursuit.

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House panel: Report finds $50 million for IRS conferences

WASHINGTON — A government watchdog has found that the Internal Revenue Service spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012, a House committee said Sunday.

Feds target bid-riggers in foreclosure auctions

SAN FRANCISCO — At the height of the financial crisis, bargain hunters would gather each week on county courthouse steps to bid on foreclosed properties throughout Northern and Central California. The inventory lists were long, especially in hard-hit areas such as Sacramento and Stockton. But the auctions were generally short affairs — often because real estate speculators were illegally fixing the bidding process.

Artist’s healing angels help people cope with tragedies

WARWICK, N.Y. — After Joseph and Betty Ginley’s firefighter son was killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, they found some solace in the tall steel angels crafted as memorials by sculptor Lei Hennessy-Owen.

Arizona mother says she’ll return to Mexico

AVONDALE, Ariz. — The American woman who was jailed for a week after Mexican authorities said they found marijuana under her bus seat said she’ll return to Mexico someday.

Clock ticks as nuclear waste storage tanks leak at Hanford

RICHLAND, Wash. — A stainless steel tank the size of a basketball court lies buried in the sandy soil of southeastern Washington state, an aging remnant of U.S. efforts to win World War II. The tank holds enough radioactive waste to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And it is leaking.

Republican vs. Republican on covering uninsured

WASHINGTON — It’s Republican versus Republican in the latest round of political battles over health care.

Frightened Okla. residents opt to flee tornadoes

It’s a warning as familiar as a daily prayer for Tornado Alley residents: When a twister approaches, take shelter in a basement or low-level interior room or closet, away from windows and exterior walls.

 
Five die in tornado outbreak in Oklahoma City area, 50 hurt

Tornadoes rolled in from the prairie and slammed Oklahoma City and its suburbs Friday, trapping people in their vehicles as a storm swept down an interstate highway while commuters tried to beat it home. Five people were killed, including a mother and baby killed near Union City.

Zumba instructor gets 10 months for prostitution

A high-profile prostitution scandal featuring sex videos, adultery, exhibitionism and more than 100 clients drew to a close Friday when a Zumba fitness instructor was sentenced to 10 months in jail after telling the judge she was happy to have escaped her former life of crime.

 
Planes collide in Arizona sky; four reported dead

PHOENIX — Authorities say two small planes collided and then crashed in the desert north of Phoenix on Friday, killing all four people aboard the two aircraft.