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GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Plans to close Guantanamo are not sitting well with the Sept. 11 victims' relatives who sat stunned while two alleged terrorists declared they were proud of their role in the plot.

Today is Oct. 28, 2007 and at about 2 am EST this morning, I turned seventy-one years old. In some ways it doesn't seem possible. It seems that the years have just flickered past in an exciting wonderful, multicolored, roller coaster ride, a fast moving epic played out on the highways and concert stages of the world. But to view my life in that light would be selective thinking, looking at the bricks and ignoring the mortar that holds it together. It takes highs and lows, good times and bad, ups, downs and sideways to make up a life and...

During their 71 years of marriage, Don and Myrtle Rutledge rarely spent any time apart... So it was fitting, then, that when Don died just after 11:30 a week ago Monday night, Myrtle passed away just four hours and five minutes later...

Army Staff Sgt. Evenson Turner used to tote an M-16 rifle in the Middle East. Now, he's toting a diaper bag in Tucson. The citizen soldier — father of an infant son he hadn't seen since birth — stepped back into his family's arms Thursday after a 15-month deployment. "It feels good to be a dad again," said Turner, one of 71 local National Guard members whose pre-holiday return drew cheering parents, sobbing spouses and cooing babies to the Valencia Armory, 5500 E. Valencia Road. Members of the 2nd Battalion, 180th Field Artillery had been away since October 2004, some...

"Last week's terror bombings in London should be seen as a reminder not just that [President] Bush's [Iraq] war was a hideous diversion of focus and resources from the essential battle against terror, but that it has actually increased the danger of terrorist attacks against the U.S. and its allies." A loony rant from British MP George Galloway? No. That's New York Times columnist Bob Herbert yesterday. Indeed, Mr. Galloway said nearly the same thing hours after Thursday's attack, and was quickly censured. Now we know that it wasn't because of what Mr. Galloway said; it was when he said...

Darwin has been jolted by an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale but authorities are confident the quake caused no damage or injuries. Geoscience Australia said the quake's epicentre was in the Banda Sea, 660km north of Darwin and 190km under the surface. It struck about 8.12pm (CST) on Wednesday. "I'm sure it's rattled a few windows and shaken picture frames but it's unlikely to cause any damage in Darwin," Geoscience Australia seismologist Mark Leonard said. "Normally with a quake like this you'd expect damage out to about 100 or 200km, that kind of distance." Dr Leonard said that,...

SAN FRANCISCO - The Roman Catholic Church and the wealthy evangelical Christian Howard Ahmanson Jr. have emerged as the biggest financial backers of the campaign against a California ballot measure that would fund stem cell research and cloning projects. Each contributed $50,000 last week to separate campaign groups, bringing the total to $125,000 combined.Proposition 71 on the Nov. 2 ballot directs the state to borrow $3 billion to pay for the controversial research that scientists say is being hindered by the Bush administration.Supporters have amassed about $12 million, including a contribution of 22,400 shares of biotechnology giant Amgen Inc. worth...

<p>Senator John F. Kerry said through a spokesman this week that he has no recollection of attending a November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at which some activists discussed a plot to kill some US senators who backed the war.</p>

Viet Vet charges urges Kerry to come clean Vietnam Veteran Larry J. O'Daniel has today challenged former fellow officer and veteran, John Forbes Kerry to come clean with charges Kerry has made in the past. O'Daniel, a decorated combat veteran from Vietnam and Phoenix says that the issue is one that the Senator himself has brought on. Senator John Forbes Kerry is attempting to be our generation's Vietnam War hero, much the same way his avowed idol, John F. Kennedy was of that generation. Kerry falls short in many ways. I do not deny his heroism under fire. His Silver...

Yes, today is the 13th anniversary of the SF bay area's "big one." I've been noticing lately how many Freepers there are right here, so I thought I should acknowledge this anniversary. I don't know about you guys, but I was hit hard. I live about a mile from the epicenter, and believe me, it felt nuclear here. At 5:04 this afternoon I will pause to reflect upon that day.

      Earthquake Bulletin Date-Time 2002 10 10 10:50:20 UTC Location 1.71S 134.16E Depth 10.0 kilometers Magnitude 7.1 Region IRIAN JAYA REGION, INDONESIA Reference 180 miles (285 km) S of Manokwari, Irian Jaya, Indonesia Source USGS NEIC The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center: A major earthquake occurred about 180 miles (285 km) south of Manokwari or 770 miles (1245 km) north-northeast of Darwin, Australia at 4:50 AM MDT today, Oct 10, 2002 (7:50 PM local time in Indonesia). A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.1 WAS COMPUTED FOR THIS EARTHQUAKE. The magnitude...