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The U.S. is closing in on pirates that hijacked a U.S.-flagged ship off the coast of Somalia. According to a spokesman for the owner of the Maersk Alabama, which had been hijacked by pirates before American crew members were able to regain control of the vessel Wednesday, a U.S. Navy warship arrived at the scene Wednesday night. The ship's captain still is being held hostage on a smaller boat. Family members said Capt. Richard Phillips surrendered himself to the pirates to secure the safety of the crew. "What I understand is that he offered himself as the hostage," said Gina...

Divide and Conquer Room for improvement, a more perfect union, manifest destiny, hope for the future, a rising tide, a beacon on the hill… One, not so bright day, our Sun is going to turn into a red giant and engulf the first four terrestrial planets, recycling the entire planet Earth; which will come as both good and bad news to hard core environmentalist, unfortunately a great many creatures will be added to the list of extinct species; including ardent planet protectors; not to worry, those very same greenies will be the first to quickly point out that recycling...

PARISH, N.Y. -- With more than 8 feet of snow already coating the ground, it wasn't good news for this winter-weary region when the blue sky turned gray Saturday, signaling another intense snow squall was about to dump some more. "This is bad," said 67-year-old Dave DeGrau, who has operated an auto repair shop on Main Street for 45 years. "We had a very easy winter until now. Last fall during hunting season it rained every time I went out. I kept saying 'I'm glad this isn't snow.' Now, it's snow." ... The National Weather Service said Parish _ about...

National Weather Service has upgraded its severe weather predictions for this weekend, with expectations that parts of Tarrant County could see accumulations of a quarter- to a half-inch of ice. Forecasters with the weather service's office in Fort Worth began the day with a severe weather watch, but new data received early Friday afternoon indicate that dangerous ice is probable for some areas of Tarrant County. "We're not saying it's going to be all over the place,"' said Jennifer Dunn, a meteorologist for the weather service. "But, at this time, it appears some places will definitely have it." At 2...

<p>Scientists are trying to find out what caused two enormous squids, one of them 40 feet long, to wash up dead on Spain's northern coast this week.</p> <p>"It's not a natural death and it's not the Prestige," Luis Laria, president of marine protection agency CEPESMA said, referring to a massive oil spill from the Prestige tanker late last year. He declined to speculate on the cause.</p>

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