news

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  Schumer says failure not an option on health care

  Failure is not an option on health care, a leading Democratic senator said Monday, even as Republicans turned up the heat on moderates who hold the fate of the legislation in their hands.

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  AP Poll: Debt stress turns shoppers into Scrooges

  A lot more Americans are feeling stressed out by debt this holiday season, raising the glum likelihood they'll behave like Scrooge rather than Santa.

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  SC gov faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws

  South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose tryst with an Argentine lover blossomed into a wide-ranging scandal, is accused of breaking ethics laws by using taxpayer money for pricey airline seats, taking state planes for personal and political trips and occasionally tapping his campaign chest to reimbrse himself for travel.

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  For Reid, Dodd, clout on big issues cuts both ways

  Two Senate leaders trying to steer a pair of President Barack Obama's high-stakes initiatives through Congress are being dogged by re-election worries, and it's not clear whether their legislative prominence will help or hurt them.

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  October sales gains lift hopes for housing market

  First-time buyers seized on a tax credit, combined with low mortgage rates and falling prices, to boost home sales in October to their highest level in 2 1/2 years.

• Mom: Son in coma heard everything for 23 years

  A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed, his mother said Monday.

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  Big Bang atom smasher sends beams in 2 directions

  The world's largest atom smasher made another leap forward Monday by circulating beams of protons in opposite directions at the same time in the $10 billion machine after more than a year of repairs, organizers said.

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  ABC gets complaints about Lambert's performance

  ABC says more than 1,500 people have called to complain about Adam Lambert's sexually charged performance at the American Music Awards.

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  Kangaroo tries to drown dog, attacks owner

  A kangaroo startled by a man walking his dog attacked the pair, pinning the pet underwater and slashing the owner in the abdomen with its hind legs. The Australian, Chris Rickard, was in stable condition Monday after the attack, which ended when the 49-year-old elbowed the kangaroo in the throat.

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  Mauer near-unanimous pick as American League MVP

  Joe Mauer became only the second catcher in 33 years to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, finishing first in a near-unanimous vote Monday. The Minnesota Twins star received 27 of 28 first-place votes and 387 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

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  Home sales at 2-1/2 year high

  Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped last month to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years, but a fall in an economic activity gauge was a reminder recovery from recession would be patchy.

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  Israel-Hamas prisoner swap deal near

  Israel has softened its terms for a prisoner swap with Hamas and the two are nearing a deal to exchange hundreds of jailed Palestinians for an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, officials said on Monday.

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  U.S. to bring emissions cut target to Copenhagen talks

  The United States will propose an emissions reduction target at U.N. climate change talks in Copenhagen in December with an eye toward winning support from U.S. lawmakers who must agree to put it into law.

• Gunmen kill 21 in Philippine political war

  Gunmen abducted and killed at least 21 people in the southern Philippines Monday, apparently to prevent a woman filing her husband's nomination to run for provincial governor in elections next year, the military said.

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  Pakistani forces attack Taliban, kill 22

  Pakistani security forces, backed by tanks and artillery, attacked Taliban positions in the northwest of the country, killing 22 militants, a senior police official on Monday.

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  Radiation leak investigated at Three Mile Island

  Federal officials are investigating a radiation leak at Three Mile Island, scene of the worst U.S. nuclear power accident, but said on Sunday there was no threat to public health or safety.

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  Iraq parliament passes new vote law

  Iraq's parliament on Monday approved an amended law needed to hold an election next year, but the new text risks being vetoed a second time -- which could delay both the vote and next year's partial U.S. troop withdrawal.

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  Dimon seen as successor to Geithner: report

  (Reuters) - Several U.S. policy makers consider JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon as a potential successor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the New York Post said, citing sources.

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  China attacks "biased" U.S. cyber-spying report

  China on Monday accused a U.S. congressional advisory panel of bias for a report in which it said the Chinese government appeared increasingly to be piercing U.S. computer networks to gather useful data for its military.

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  Health reform: Is tax on 'Cadillac' plans fair?

  Schoolteacher Kinzi Blair makes only $46,000 a year, but she has what many would consider a "Cadillac" health plan, now targeted for a big tax increase by health reformers.

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  SC gov faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws

  South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose tryst with an Argentine lover blossomed into a wide-ranging scandal, is accused of breaking ethics laws by using taxpayer money for pricey airline seats, taking state planes for personal and political trips and occasionally tapping his campaign chest to reimbrse himself for travel.

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  Feds find association between drywall, corrosion

  The federal government said Monday that it has found a "strong association" between problematic imported Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year.

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  Astronauts take spacewalk No. 3 after suit snag

  A pair of astronauts zipped through the third and final spacewalk of their mission Monday, installing an enormous oxygen tank at the International Space Station and accomplishing everything else on their list.

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  New Macy's Parade route means no cutting corners

  It won't be just the balloons, marching bands and floats on display in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The laws of physics will also be on parade.

• Police: Pa. man killed puppy before Steelers game

  Police say a western Pennsylvania man told them he kicked his girlfriend's puppy to death because he was upset that the pit bull wouldn't behave before the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers game.

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  Medical marijuana finds social outlet in Ore. cafe

  At the newly opened Cannabis Cafe, people sit around taking tokes from a "vaporizer" — a contraption with a big plastic bag that captures the potent vapors of heated marijuana. Glass jars hold donations of dried, milky-green weed, and the cafe serves up meals and snacks for the hungry.

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  Program to help truckers attracts drug smugglers

  A U.S. program that offers trusted trucking companies speedy passage across American borders has begun attracting just the sort of customers who place a premium on avoiding inspections: Mexican drug smugglers.

• Hundreds mourn Mich. boy allegedly slain by father

  Funeral services are under way for a 15-year-old Michigan boy who police say pleaded for mercy before being fatally shot by his father.

• 2 men charged after 3 men found slain in rural Ky.

  Kentucky State Police say two arrests have been made following the discovery of three bodies in rural Kentucky.

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• Mom: Son in coma heard everything for 23 years

  A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed, his mother said Monday.

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  Embassy: Japanese man released by Yemeni captors

  A Japanese engineer seized by Yemeni tribesmen seeking to swap him for a prisoner with al-Qaida links was released Monday after a week in captivity, his embassy said.

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  Israel, Hamas near swap of prisoners for soldier

  Hamas leaders raced to Egypt on Monday amid signs of progress on a deal to swap hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for a captive Israeli soldier held by the Islamic militant group for more than three years.

• Attack on election convoy kills 21 Filipinos

  Dozens of gunmen hijacked a convoy carrying journalists, and family and supporters of a candidate for provincial governor, killing at least 21 of the travelers Monday in the southern Philippines' worst political violence in years.

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  China activist who spoke out on quake gets 3 years

  A veteran dissident was sentenced Monday to three years in prison after casting a spotlight on poorly built schools that collapsed during China's massive earthquake last year, killing thousands of children — an apparent government attempt to squelch such information.

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  Israel-Hamas prisoner swap deal near

  Israel has softened its terms for a prisoner swap with Hamas and the two are nearing a deal to exchange hundreds of jailed Palestinians for an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, officials said on Monday.

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  Iraq parliament passes new vote law

  Iraq's parliament on Monday approved an amended law needed to hold an election next year, but the new text risks being vetoed a second time -- which could delay both the vote and next year's partial U.S. troop withdrawal.

• Gunmen kill 21 in Philippine political war

  Gunmen abducted and killed at least 21 people in the southern Philippines Monday, apparently to prevent a woman filing her husband's nomination to run for provincial governor in elections next year, the military said.

• Two Afghan ministers suspected of embezzlement

  Two Afghan cabinet ministers are being investigated under suspicion of embezzlement, a deputy attorney general said on Monday, at a time when President Hamid Karzai faces tough Western pressure to clean up his government.

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  Pakistani forces attack Taliban, kill 22

  Pakistani security forces, backed by tanks and artillery, attacked Taliban positions in the northwest of the country, killing 22 militants, a senior police official on Monday.

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  Dems: Failure is not an option on health care

  Failure is not an option on health care, a leading Democratic senator said Monday, even as Republicans turned up the heat on moderates who hold the fate of the legislation in their hands.

• Obama: US economy has 'core strengths'

  President Barack Obama says the U.S. economy has "core strengths" that will put the nation in a good stead for the long term despite a difficult year for millions of people.

• AP sources: New charges in Somali terror case

  Federal authorities are due to unseal charges against eight new suspects in a long-running probe of young men who left the United States to fight in Somalia.

• Trying last-ditch lung bypass for worst swine flu

  A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest.

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  Indian PM says US, India to sign climate memo

  Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that Indian and U.S. officials will sign a memorandum intended to improve cooperation on energy security, clean energy and climate change.

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  Obama to meet advisers on Afghanistan

  President Barack Obama planned a ninth session with top advisers on Afghanistan on Monday as he neared a decision on whether to send troops and fought Republican charges that he is taking too long to make up his mind.

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  In U.S., India PM touts nuclear deal, infrastructure

  Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday completing a 2005 U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal would boost investment opportunities in his country, a hopeful sign for U.S. companies eyeing India's potential $150 billion market in power plants.

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  U.S. lawmakers, Chinese exiles press Obama on rights

  U.S. lawmakers and exiled Chinese dissidents urged President Barack Obama on Monday to intervene with China's government on behalf of Jiang Tianyong, a rights activist who tried to see Obama while he was in China last week.

• White House reviewing "sensible" options to spur jobs

  The White House said on Monday it was reviewing options to spur economic activity and job creation, but stressed any action would be taken in the context of the fiscal challenges facing the country.

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  Healthcare reform faces challenges in Senate

  President Barack Obama's U.S. healthcare overhaul plan has cleared an important Senate hurdle but lawmakers warned on Sunday of challenges ahead in winning support for passage, even among Obama's own Democrats.

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• Mom: Son in coma heard everything for 23 years

  A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed, his mother said Monday.

• Trying last-ditch lung bypass for worst swine flu

  A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest.

• 
  Dems: Failure is not an option on health care

  Failure is not an option on health care, a leading Democratic senator said Monday, even as Republicans turned up the heat on moderates who hold the fate of the legislation in their hands.

• 
  Health reform: Is tax on 'Cadillac' plans fair?

  Schoolteacher Kinzi Blair makes only $46,000 a year, but she has what many would consider a "Cadillac" health plan, now targeted for a big tax increase by health reformers.

• Study: kids watching hours of TV at home daycare

  Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

• Former NIH chief: Ignore new mammogram guideline

  The former director of the National Institutes of Health is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer.

• Mammogram guidelines spark debate over health bill

  Lawmakers broke along party lines on a new aspect of the health care debate Sunday as a former National Institutes of Health chief urged women to ignore guidelines that delay the start of breast cancer screenings.

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  GOP: Health test recommendations could affect care

  Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer Pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care — and to try to chip away support by women for President Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul.

• Canada woman to fight insurance co. over Facebook

  A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression said Monday she would fight an insurance company's decision to cut her benefits after her agent found photos on Facebook of her vacationing, at a bar and at a party.

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  Fired therapist: Stressed Marines get shoddy care

  Marines treated at Camp Lejeune for post-traumatic stress had to undergo therapy for months in temporary trailers where they could hear bomb blasts, machine-gun fire and war cries through the thin walls, according to servicemen and their former psychiatrist.

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  Big Bang atom smasher sends beams in 2 directions

  The world's largest atom smasher made another leap forward Monday by circulating beams of protons in opposite directions at the same time in the $10 billion machine after more than a year of repairs, organizers said.

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  CO2 curve ticks upward as key climate talks loom

  The readings at this 2-mile-high station show an upward curve as the world counts down to climate talks: Global warming gases have built up to record levels in the atmosphere, from emissions that match scientists' worst-case scenarios.

• Grand Canyon to change 'unfair' permit system

  Getting one of the roughly 11,500 permits granted each year to backpack overnight in the Grand Canyon has become so competitive and "unfair" that managers at the national park have decided to change the system.

• Warming's impacts sped up, worsened since Kyoto

  Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated — beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.

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  Astronauts take spacewalk No. 3 after suit snag

  A pair of astronauts zipped through the third and final spacewalk of their mission Monday, installing an enormous oxygen tank at the International Space Station and accomplishing everything else on their list.

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  "Big Bang" machine set to yield surprises

  Scientists could begin garnering information on the origins of the universe in the coming months as the world's biggest particle collider starts moving to full power next year, a project leader said Monday.

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  Dark ocean depths home to exotic, unknown life

  The permanent darkness of the ocean depths is home to a far greater range of animals, from luminous jellyfish to tubeworms that live off oil seeping from the seabed, than previously thought, scientists said on Sunday.

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  Houston, we have a baby

  Shuttle Atlantis astronaut Randy Bresnik awoke early on Sunday to a much-anticipated call that his new daughter had been born.

• Soviet Union's non-Communist astronaut dies age 83

  The Soviet Union's only non-Communist astronaut, Konstantin Feoktistov, has died at the age of 83, Russia's space agency said on Sunday.

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  Delayed spacewalk ends successfully

  NASA astronauts completed a spacewalk on Saturday at the International Space Station that had been delayed after a false alarm woke the crews of the station and the visiting space shuttle Atlantis.

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  Kangaroo tries to drown dog, attacks owner

  A kangaroo startled by a man walking his dog attacked the pair, pinning the pet underwater and slashing the owner in the abdomen with its hind legs.

• Christmas kissing: On the cheek to avoid swine flu

  Britain's authority on etiquette says it's more hygienic to exchange kisses on the cheek than to shake hands — so the swine flu pandemic should not make people afraid of kissing under the mistletoe this holiday season.

• Police: Ohio suspect may have eaten evidence

  Police say a bank robbery suspect in Ohio may have eaten evidence when he gobbled a piece of paper while handcuffed and lying across the hood of a police cruiser.

• Authorities: Man tied lizards to chest at airport

  Federal officials say they arrested a man who strapped 15 live lizards to his chest to get through customs at Los Angeles International Airport.

• CA man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face

  A 39-year-old Southern California man has been arrested for misdemeanor child annoyance after allegedly paying a teenager $31 to spit in his face. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department says Charles Hersel was arrested Wednesday in a sting operation at a mall in Thousand Oaks. He's free from jail ending a court hearing.

• Mich. police nab wrong-way driver twice in 3 days

  Authorities in western Michigan arrested a person twice in three days for driving the wrong way down the highway Kalamazoo County deputies said they were alerted about 1:30 a.m. Friday after several people called 911 when they passed the unidentified driver traveling south on northbound U.S. 131.

• Cops: Woman smuggled drugs to Pa. inmate with kiss

  A western Pennsylvania woman has been ordered to stand trial on charges she passed a drug-filled balloon to a state prison inmate while kissing him. State police said guards at the State Correctional Institution-Mercer became suspicious when an inmate appeared to swallow something after a prolongedkiss with a visitor on Oct.

• Man who claimed disability spotted on TV show

  California tax officials say an interior designer's false disability claim was uncovered when he was spotted on a home improvement television show.

• Eye doc may lose license after calling patient fat

  A North Carolina doctor could lose his medical license after a patient complained he made cutting criticisms, including telling her she was fat. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported the North Carolina Medical Board will decide if Dr. Earl Sunderhaus of Asheville overstepped the bounds of professonal decency.

• Pregnant woman seeks help, allegedly robs homes

  Wichita police arrested a pregnant woman after she allegedly robbed homes after asking residents for help. Police said the woman, who is eight months pregnant, had been telling people in west Wichita that her car broke down and she needed to call someone for a ride.

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  Friends go online at Foursquare to meet offline

  Laura Fitton's ascent has been staggering: In less than a year, she's become mayor of nine different places in several different states, all without giving any speeches or kissing any babies.

• Google scoops up display ad specialist Teracent

  Google Inc. has snapped up another startup in its quest to sell more visual advertising on the Web.

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  South Koreans to get Apple's iPhone this week

  Apple Inc's iPhone is coming to South Korea this week, a local carrier announced Sunday, bringing the iconic communications device to one of the world's most sophisticated mobile phone markets.

• Canada woman to fight insurance co. over Facebook

  A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression said Monday she would fight an insurance company's decision to cut her benefits after her agent found photos on Facebook of her vacationing, at a bar and at a party.

• Newspaper circulation may be worse than it looks

  While U.S. newspapers are losing subscribers at a staggering rate, a few dailies stand out because their circulation is rising. But they aren't necessarily selling more copies.

• Fox CEO wants US to join France on Internet piracy

  The chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment said Monday the U.S. should join France in cutting off the Internet connection of users who repeatedly download copyright-protected films.

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  Sony hopes online service will build brand loyalty

  Sony's new online service connecting the whole range of its gadgets to downloadable content like movies and games should help build brand loyalty, a top executive said Friday.

• Scientist: Leak of climate e-mails appalling

  A leading climate change scientist whose private e-mails are included in thousands of documents that were stolen by hackers and posted online said Sunday the leaks may have been aimed at undermining next month's global climate summit in Denmark.

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  200 Web sites spread al-Qaida's message in English

  Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychitrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings.

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  Mauer near-unanimous pick as American League MVP

  Joe Mauer became only the second catcher in 33 years to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, finishing first in a near-unanimous vote Monday. The Minnesota Twins star received 27 of 28 first-place votes and 387 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

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  Kansas still No. 1 in AP poll; Syracuse No. 10

  Syracuse was so impressive in the 2K Sports Classic that it made one of the best entrances ever into The Associated Press' college basketball poll.

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  San Diego State cracks Top 25; UConn still No. 1

  San Diego State cracked the AP women's basketball Top 25 for the first time in 14 years, while Connecticut remained a unanimous No. 1 for the 18th consecutive poll.

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  Whisenhunt optimistic Warner may play this week

  Coach Ken Whisenhunt says he had a long talk with Kurt Warner on the flight home, and the quarterback was alert and upbeat following a blow to the head in Sunday's' victory over St. Louis.

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  Florida's Meyer: Notre Dame not a coaching option

  Standing behind the same podium where quarterback Tim Tebow delivered his now-famous promise 14 months and 21 wins ago, coach Urban Meyer vowed Monday to be at Florida "as long as they'll have me."

• Foul! Study says hoop refs try to even the score

  They don't all need glasses. But if you always suspected basketball referees are biased — well, you're right, according to a couple of professors who've studied the matter.

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  Warriors coach Don Nelson sick with pneumonia

  Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson has pneumonia and isn't traveling with the team for two games in Texas.

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  Rafael Nadal again loses to Robin Soderling

  Rafael Nadal lost to Robin Soderling for the second straight time, falling 6-4, 6-4 Monday in their opening round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals.

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  Man pleads not guilty in ESPN reporter videos case

  An Illinois insurance executive accused of secretly making nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews pleaded not guilty Monday to interstate stalking.

• Cincy QB Pike expected to start against Illinois

  Barring a problem in practice, quarterback Tony Pike will start for fifth-ranked Cincinnati against Illinois on Friday.

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