Could a Computer Glitch Have Brought Down Air France 447?

As the French team leading the investigation into the Air France Flight 447 crash works through the multitude of likely and less likely disaster scenarios — from the repercussions of stormy conditions to an act of terrorism — perhaps among the most difficult to assess will be possible flight computer malfunctions.

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At Naval Academy graduation, lives of McCain, Obama to overlap

When President Obama delivers the commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy on Friday, he will have a former presidential candidate and proud parent of one of the graduates in attendance. John Sidney McCain IV, more commonly known as Jack, will become the fourth McCain to graduate from the Annapolis, Maryland, service academy and the fourth with the same name

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In pictures: Star power on full wattage at Cannes

Like the swarms of snapping paparazzi that constantly surround them, stars of all shades are irresistibly drawn (or contractually obliged) to show face at Cannes — quite simply, when the world’s most prestigious film festival turns the wattage up to full, there’s nowhere more glamorous. The subject of Speaker Michael Martin’s speech wasn’t clear.

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UK lawmakers call for speaker to quit over expense scandal

Michael Martin, the speaker of the House of Commons, rebuffed calls from lawmakers for his resignation Monday amid widespread public anger about improper expense claims by UK members of parliament. Martin said lawmakers had let the public down “very badly indeed,” adding: “To the extent that I have contributed, I am profoundly sorry,” said Martin

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The Outlook For Stocks Is Decidedly…Mixed

‘Mixed’ is a word that pops up often in financial research reports these days. The measures that give us hints about which way the economy and markets are headed‹everything from the number of people out of work to how difficult it is for companies to fund themselves are pointing in every which direction. As a new Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report puts it: ‘The [stock market] indicators are fairly evenly divided between positive and negative readings.’ That’s not too helpful.

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Zhao’s memoirs revive Tiananmen

When I first saw Zhao Ziyang up close in 1987, he had just become the new party chief at the closing ceremony of a landmark Communist Party congress. Zhao seemed on top of his game: relaxed, confident and poised to break the old Communist mold. Inside the Great Hall of the People, he walked around an elongated U-shaped table, set up for a “cocktail reception” for Chinese and overseas media.

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