Joe Jackson denies abusing Michael

Michael Jackson’s father told CNN’s Larry King Monday night that he never beat his son or made any mistakes in raising him. Joe Jackson also said the rumor that he wanted to take the singer’s children on tour as the Jackson 3 was “a bunch of jive.” Jackson repeated his suspicion that foul play was involved in his son’s death last month, but he conceded he did not know what happened. He said he had been blocked from seeing or talking to his son in the days before his death.

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Israeli Settlers Versus the Palestinians

In a hilltop suburb South of Jerusalem called Efrat, Sharon Katz serves a neat plate of sliced cake inside her five-bedroom house, surrounded by pomegranate, olive and citrus trees that she planted herself. She glances out the window at the hills where, she believes, David and Abraham once walked. “We are living in the biblical heartland,” she sighs.

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Police may have found Jakarta bomber’s laptop

Indonesian police have recovered a laptop that they believe belonged to one of the bombers of Friday’s twin hotel attacks in Jakarta, the country’s official news agency said Sunday. The laptop contained information and codes that the attackers may have used to communicate with each other, the state-run Antara News Agency said.

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How ‘That’s the way it is’ became Cronkite’s tag line

Throughout his career as a television anchorman, Walter Cronkite had a few memorable run-ins with other powerful figures at CBS News, one of his producers told CNN. Sanford “Sandy” Socolow, who worked at CBS News for 32 years, more than four of them as Cronkite’s producer, said Cronkite ran into trouble soon after he took over for Douglas Edwards in the “CBS Evening News” anchor chair.

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The Pope’s Sex Abuse Challenge

Pope Benedict XVI’s trip this week to the United States will include high-profile visits to the White House, United Nations and Ground Zero. But no matter what political issues or media angles may be buzzing before take-off, the Vatican tends to stress the pastoral aspect of any papal journey. The six-day itinerary is above all stacked with church services, baseball stadium masses and Catholic institutional encounters to allow the pontiff to tend to his flock, and to the priests and bishops who do the ministering when he’s back in Rome

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Harrington’s Open hat-trick bid in tatters

Padraig Harrington’s bid to win a third successive British Open title was left in tatters after the Irishman carded a six-over-par 76 in his third round at Turnberry on Saturday. The 37-year-old slumped to nine-over 219, leaving him tied for 65th place and 14 shots behind halfway leaders Tom Watson and Steve Marino, who had yet to even begin their third rounds by the time he had finished his

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