Topic: Focus
All Content
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With no jobs in the city, country life is coming back to SpainAfter decades of population loss to cities, rural areas in Spain – and across Europe – have been gaining allure as havens from the ongoing recession.
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Spanish urban entrepreneurs yield to the lure of rural livingSpain's rural development is on the rise, thanks in part to entrepreneurs and professionals like Juan Hurtado, who is transforming an old train station into a cooperative living community.
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Was Shane Todd murdered over high-tech secrets?Shane Todd, a US citizen working in Singapore, believed he had access to restricted tech. His death in 2012 was by suicide, say local authorities. But his family, suspecting murder, wants the FBI to take part in the investigation.
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Model for megacities? Mexico City cleans up its air.As people around the world celebrate Earth Day, Mexico City may serve as an unlikely environmental example for cities in developing countries suffering poor air quality.
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On Earth Day 2013, a planetary report card on global warmingPlanetary carbon dioxide concentrations are the highest they've been in the past 800,000 years, an ignominious milestone for Earth Day 2013. Still, the world is making some progress toward addressing global warming.
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A way to curb global warming: Suck carbon emissions right out of the air?Most efforts to address carbon emissions focus on preventing them from entering the atmosphere in the first place. But how to get rid of CO2 already there? Start-ups are developing prototype air-capture systems.
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Tax reform: Why a kinder, simpler tax code eludes Congress, so farAs Tax Day nears, Americans in the throes of preparing their returns may be dreaming of a simpler tax code. Here's why tax reform is such a tall order for Congress – and how two lawmakers are laying the groundwork for it now.
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In Mali, a war ends but instability lingersThe French drove out Islamist rebels in northern Mali. But can France and its African allies translate those victories into regional stability and peace?
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Mali's separatist Tuaregs cling to dreamCaught between a distant government in Bamako and an Islamist rebel movement in their home region, Mali's minority Tuaregs face an uncertain future.
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Beijing is booming, but talent is leaving due to bad airThe horrifyingly bad air in Beijing is driving something of an expat exodus - as well as one by young Chinese executive types. The past three months have seen the worst air quality on record.
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For Egypt's rich, a touch of irrational exuberanceWhile the overall economic picture for Egypt is a gloomy one, a tiny, fabulously wealthy class remains that continues to prosper despite the grimmest economic conditions in decades.
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Bread riots or bankruptcy: Egypt faces stark economic choicesEgypt needs IMF money to stay afloat, but the international lender is demanding tough subsidy cuts from an already-embattled government.
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Medicare: Could Rep. Paul Ryan's reform plan work?The only big Medicare reform idea that's been pitched in public is called 'premium support,' championed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R). Here's how it would work, and here's why Democrats deride it as a 'voucher.'
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Taming Medicare costs: What are the options?The US spends twice as much per person on health care as other advanced economies, and Medicare is one of the biggest culprits. But here's why cutting its costs won't be easy.
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Venezuela: Navigating life after ChávezAs Venezuela prepares to elect a new president, the focus has turned to whether Chávez's legacy – a petroleum-fueled political-economic system he referred to as socialism for the 21st century – can last.
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Petrocaribe: Paying beans for Venezuelan oilSome 17 countries receive shipments of crude or refined oil products with preferential repayment terms under the Petrocaribe energy pact. But some nations fear oil shipments could stop post-Chávez.
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Michael Bloomberg as counterweight to NRA: What are his chances?Billionaire and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg taps his money, and political zeal, to counter the political clout of the NRA. The gun rights group sees 'billions of reasons to take him seriously.'
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Gun-control debate: How does Bloomberg stack up against the NRA?New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is on a mission to challenge the NRA's longtime sway over gun policies. Here are the strengths each side brings to the gun-control debate.
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Obama arrives in a Middle East upended since his 2009 visitPresident Obama arrived in Israel today for a regional visit in which he will have to juggle three rapidly ticking time bombs: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syria's war, and Iran's nuclear program.
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What would 501-day mission to Mars feel like? 'Survivor' in space.Scientists and space enthusiasts are trying to discover how humans would manage missions beyond the moon. A proposed 2018 mission to Mars is adding urgency.
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Drones over America: public safety benefit or 'creepy' privacy threat?Drones are not just for tracking terrorists abroad. Some 327 are authorized to fly in US airspace – most for military training. But as their numbers grow, so is domestic scrutiny.
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Iraq war: The day the conflict changedTen years after the Iraq invasion, reporter Scott Peterson recalls the day a suicide attack threw him out of bed in a formerly quiet Baghdad neighborhood – and blew a hole in any sense that the war was keeping its distance.
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Iraq war: On the road to Baghdad for 17 daysAndy Nelson, who photographed the US invasion of Iraq, recalls the pulling down of Saddam's statue – and early signs of chaos.
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Ten years after invasion, Iraq remains dangerously dividedIn the new Iraq, old sectarian fears remain. Around Baghdad's Green Zone, the fortified seat of government, concrete walls pulled down a year ago are going back up.
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Is US-Mexico border secure enough? Immigration reform could hinge on answer.What did the post-9/11 border patrol surge of manpower and equipment achieve? Understanding its successes and failures could be crucial to the new immigration reform effort.
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