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It is not clear what some students at South Hadley High School expected to achieve by subjecting a freshman to the relentless taunting described by a prosecutor and classmates.
Muted speculation about N. Korea’s role in bombing of S. Korean warship
The mystery of what caused a South Korean warship to sink in disputed waters may not be solved for days, with rescuers still hunting for 46 missing sailors and a recovery crane slowly being carried to the site.
In companies tax moves, push on provision of health reform
An association representing 300 large corporations urged President Barack Obama and Congress on Monday to repeal a provision of the health care overhaul that prompted AT&T, Caterpillar and other companies to announce substantial charges for the current quarter.
Questions rise as schools rely on ‘zero tolerance’ suspensions
CHOCOWINITY, N.C. — As school let out one day in January 2008, students from rival towns faced off. Two girls flailed away for several seconds and clusters of boys pummeled each other until teachers pulled them apart.
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Delegates at a U.N. conference on endangered species in Doha, Qatar, soundly defeated American-supported proposals on Thursday to ban international trade in bluefin tuna and to protect polar bears.
Former rivals Obama & Clinton forge foreign-policy partnership
WASHINGTON — On a snowy Thursday shortly before her weekly meeting with President Barack Obama last month, Hillary Rodham Clinton got a distressing phone call: her husband, Bill Clinton, was in a hospital with chest pains and needed an urgent heart procedure.
Doctor says he warned Pope’s ex-archdiocese about priest
ESSEN, Germany — The German archdiocese led by the future Pope Benedict XVI ignored repeated warnings in the early 1980s by a psychiatrist treating a priest accused of sexually abusing boys that he should not be allowed to work with children, the psychiatrist said Thursday.
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WASHINGTON — Is Alan Greenspan, famous for his libertarian leanings and hands-off approach to Wall Street, having some second thoughts?
Germany, in a reversal, says Greece should turn to IMF
After weeks of backing a European rescue for financially troubled Greece, Germany shifted course on Thursday, signaling that help should come from the International Monetary Fund rather than Greece’s neighbors.
In search for killers in Mexico, focus on a cross-border drug gang
MEXICO CITY — They carry both U.S. passports and high-caliber weapons, making them the perfect cross-border assassins. They confuse the authorities by using a coded language that blends English, Spanish and the Aztecs’ ancient tongue of Nahuatl. The threat of prison is no big fear for members of the Barrio Azteca street gang, because they consider the cellblock to be home.
Warmth as spring begins
The temperature again today will soar to pleasantly warm levels, thanks to the absence of any major cloud cover. A combination of sunshine and a southwesterly flow will create an even warmer day on Saturday, with the high reaching 70°F (21°C). This type of setup is often seen during the spring months in Boston, where a high pressure center off the coast of the Carolinas sets up a flow from the southwest that draws much warmer air into our region. An approaching cold front will bring cloud cover on Sunday and not allow the temperature to become as warm.
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When the Mayans envisioned the world coming to an end in 2012 at least in the Hollywood telling — they didn’t count junk bonds among the disasters that would lead to worldwide disaster.
C-Span puts full archives, 23 years of history, on the web
WASHINGTON — Researchers, political satirists and partisan mudslingers, take note: C-Span has uploaded virtually every minute of its video archives to the Internet.
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WASHINGTON — An ill-timed municipal housing announcement in Jerusalem has mutated into one of the most serious conflicts between the United States and Israel in two decades, leaving a politically embarrassed Israeli government scrambling to respond to a tough list of demands by the Obama administration.
U.S. reins in special forces in Afghanistan after civilian deaths
KABUL — Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has brought most U.S. Special Operations forces under his direct control for the first time, out of concern over continued civilian casualties and disorganization among units in the field.
Priest close to Pope is suspended in child molestation case
MUNICH — The priest at the center of a German sex-abuse scandal that embroiled Pope Benedict XVI continued working with children for more than 30 years, even though the pope was personally involved in his case and a German court convicted the priest of molesting boys.
Flint, Mich. is hard hit by cuts in Medicaid reimbursements
FLINT, Mich. — Carol Y. Vliet’s cancer returned with a fury last summer, the tumors metastasizing to her brain, liver, kidneys and throat.
Sunshine returns!
A strong nor’easter brought heavy rains and strong winds to the Boston area for the past three days.
Health reform bill at impasse, Democrats push ahead alone
WASHINGTON — Democrats said on Thursday that they would go it alone in an effort to pass an overhaul of financial regulation, increasing the likelihood of a bitter partisan showdown.
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It has been a rough few months for Toyota because of its three big safety recalls. But the automaker’s luxury division, Lexus, appears to have avoided much of the fallout.