Iranians dodging government’s Internet crackdown

It’s a high-tech, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. As the Iranian government seeks to crack down on the online networks being used by protesters who question the nation’s election results, a community of Net-savvy users — both inside and outside the country — are working to try to stay one step ahead

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Romanians flee ‘racist’ N. Ireland attacks

More than 100 Romanians fled their homes Tuesday night in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following what politicians called "racist attacks and intimidation." “On Tuesday evening, when the Romanians saw their windows starting to be smashed, they felt the threats were very real and contacted the police,” said Trish Morgan, the media relations manager at the Belfast City Church, which took them in. A church member was advised by the police that “the situation was getting too tense,” and that the group — 113 people in all — needed to find a safe place that could accommodate them quickly.

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Missing teen’s family pushes on after closing volunteer center

The parents of a California teen who disappeared on her way to school in February have closed the center that was the staging ground for search efforts, citing a lack of volunteers and a shift in direction. But the parents of 14-year-old Amber DuBois say the search will continue with a small group of dedicated volunteers. “We’re absolutely going to keep going

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40 years after Manson murders, a bid for parole

The woman who stabbed pregnant actress Sharon Tate to death will be considered for parole from prison a month after the 40th anniversary of the killings that cast a shadow of fear over southern California. Susan Atkins, 61, has been denied parole in 17 previous hearings, but the former “Manson Family” member now is terminally ill with brain cancer and is paralyzed. Charles Manson used his hypnotic powers to direct Atkins and other “family” members to kill seven people, including the pregnant Tate, in a two-night rampage that terrorized the city of Los Angeles, California, in August 1969.

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Study: Early Therapy Can Save Teens from Depression

Depression is one of the dark demons of adolescence. Up to 1 in 12 American teenagers is affected, according to the National Institute of Mental Health , and three times as many will experience depression at some point by age 18. Studies show that at least 20% of teenagers with clinical depression will go on to develop chronic cases that will haunt them throughout adulthood.

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White House responds as GOP continues Sotomayor attacks

Republicans kept the pressure on the president’s Supreme Court pick Friday, pushing the idea that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is an activist judge who will bring a leftist agenda to the bench. Meanwhile, the White House tried to soften remarks Sotomayor made in 2001 that have rankled conservatives, who say her assertion that her experiences as a Latina woman might make her judgments more sound than those of a white man brands her as a racist. “I’m sure she would have restated it, but if you look at the entire sweep of the essay she wrote, what’s clear is that she was simply saying that her life experiences will give her information about the struggles and hardships that people are going through that will make her a good judge,” President Obama said in an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams.

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