2008 Woodie Awards
Nation
Export bans keep bird flu vaccines from those in need
By
JAKARTA, Indonesia - When Indonesia's health minister stopped sending bird flu viruses to a research laboratory in the U.S. for fear Washington could use them to make biological weapons, Defense Secretary Robert Gates laughed and called it "the nuttiest thing" he'd ever heard.
Where has all our money gone?
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NEW YORK - Trillions in stock market value - gone. Trillions in retirement savings - gone. A huge chunk of the money you paid for your house, the money you're saving for college, the money your boss needs to make payroll - gone, gone, gone. Whether you're a stock broker or Joe Six-pack, if you have a 401(k), a mutual fund or a college savings plan, tumbling stock markets and sagging home prices mean you've lost a whole lot of the money that was right there on your account statements just a few months ago.
Wildfire burns 750 acres northeast of Los Angeles
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Firefighters backed by water-dumping helicopters and planes gained ground yesterday on a wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown. Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson said the blaze charred up to 750 acres and also burned a garage, several sheds and three motor homes.
Marijuana farms pollute wilderness
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PORTERVILLE, Calif. - National forests and parks - long popular with Mexican marijuana-growing cartels - have become home to some of the most polluted pockets of wilderness in America because of the toxic chemicals needed to eke lucrative harvests from rocky mountainsides, federal officials said.
McCain vows to win the Oct. 15 presidential debate
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ARLINGTON, Va. - Republican John McCain vowed yesterday to "whip" Democratic rival Barack Obama's "you-know-what" when the two presidential candidates meet Wednesday in their final televised debate. McCain made that pledge as top advisers said he is weighing new economic proposals to help the nation weather the financial crisis.
