Obama must leave door open to N. Korea

There’s an old saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Although President Barack Obama and other world leaders could be forgiven for feeling that North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il is deliberately driving them insane, that adage is worth keeping in mind amid the calls for U.N

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Lang Lang: The Chinese pianist living life allegro

A Grammy-nominated classical pianist who wears personalized trainers, Lang Lang is one-of-a-kind in the world of classical music. The 26-year-old has become a sensation in the music world, whose prodigious talent catapulted him from a childhood in northeastern China to playing to a packed Carnegie Hall by the age of 21.

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Quake survivors: What about our future?

Many survivors from the earthquake which has devastated central Italy have found themselves homeless, terrified — and wondering what the future now holds. Aftershocks have continued to strike following Monday’s 6.3-magnitude quake, in the mountainous Abruzzo region surrounding the city of L’Aquila. The most severe, a 5.6 magnitude tremor that struck the area Tuesday night, according to the U.S.

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Out-of-wedlock births hit record high

Had she been born a generation earlier, Kim Hoffman might have had a shotgun wedding. As it turned out, she and Steve Miller took the time to plan their dream nuptials — outdoors, on an organic farm, and with their 10-month-old daughter in tow. A pre-marriage birth certainly wasn’t what her father wanted for his only daughter, said Hoffman, of Oakland, California.

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Holders United denied win by proud Porto

Holders Manchester United must beat Portuguese champions Porto in their own backyard if they are to reach the Champions League semifinals after a compelling 2-2 first leg draw at Old Trafford on Tuesday. Carlos Tevez had looked to have secured United a crucial victory four minutes from time after being sent on as a substitute. But the Premier League leaders had reckoned without Porto’s magnificent fighting spirit that saw Mariano snatch a dramatic equaliser after 89 minutes

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