Amusement parks thrill iReporters

“If Japan recklessly ‘intercepts’ [North Korea’s] satellite for peaceful purposes, the [Korean People’s Army] will mercilessly deal deadly blows not only at the already deployed intercepting means but at major targets,” KCNA reported. Japan recently mobilized its missile defense system in response to the planned North Korean launch, Japanese officials said.

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‘Deviant hazing’ alleged at U.S. embassy in Kabul

Some private security guards hired to protect the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan say their contractor has allowed widespread mistreatment, sexual activity and intimidation within their ranks, according to the watchdog group Project On Government Oversight (POGO).

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Box Office Weekend: Destination Horror

“Doctor, I have this strange dream — that every three years there’s a movie about some guy who has a strange dream about people who die in some awful calamity — and that he acts on the dream by saving his friends, who then begin dying in grotesque ways — and that, each time, it’s really the same movie, just with a different calamity each time — and, this is the weirdest part, large numbers of moviegoers keep paying to see it! What do you think I should do?” “Buy stock in the company that produces the movies.” We wouldn’t absolutely insist on that last part — since Warner Bros., the studio in charge of the Final Destination horror films, is a corporate sibling of your favorite web site — but there’s no question that the series has been a triennial cash cow. The 2000 original earned $113 million worldwide; the 2003 sequel took in $90 million; and the third , in 2006, another $113 million. And since each is made for a thrifty $25 million, there are big profits in the FD franchise.

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Reports: North Korea releases South Korean fishing boat

A South Korean fishing boat and its four crew members were heading home Saturday after being held for a month in North Korea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. The Yeonan-ho and its crew were handed over to a South Korean patrol boat waiting at the sea border Saturday evening, Yonhap reported, citing South Korean maritime police. North Korean officials captured the vessel and its crew July 30 after the boat strayed deep into North Korean territorial waters, North’s Korean Central News Agency reported at the time

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Al Qaeda video calls for support of militants

Al Qaeda’s second-in-command called on Pakistanis to back Islamic militants in the country’s tribal areas against what he called an ongoing assault by American "crusaders" and the Pakistani army. Punishment from God was promised for Muslims who did not follow the words of Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video that appeared on radical Islamist Web sites Thursday

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Analyst: Post-Kennedy health care bill may be more sweeping

For almost 50 years, Sen. Ted Kennedy pushed unsuccessfully for legislation that would reform the health care system and ensure coverage for every American. Ironically, his death might bring about a change of tactics that would help reach the goal he was unable to achieve in life, one veteran political analyst says

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