Topic: Connecticut
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Focus
The Monitor's top 11 US stories of 2012
From storms to politics, the year was a wild ride. What are the most meaningful US stories of 2012? Here's the Monitor's list, in roughly chronological order.
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10 richest members of Congress
The 10 wealthiest members of Congress in 2012 include Senate and House members hailing from all over the US. Can you guess which political party had the most lawmakers on the list – and who grabbed the top spot?
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Five ways big banks' Libor scandal affects you
London, this year's host of the Olympics, is also home to a bank scandal that threatens to rock the financial world as much as the Games influence the world of sports. Here's why: Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is a global benchmark for interest rates that reaches deep into the international financial system. Allegations that banks rigged those rates means that everyone from mortgage-holders and indebted students to cities and mutual funds may have had their interest rates unnaturally altered. Already tainted by other scandals, banks are under investigation because of charges that they profited illegally from their rate-rigging scheme. The mess further taints big banks and puts more strain on the credibility of the global financial system. Here are five ways the Libor scandal could affect you:
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Briefing
Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 ways they differ on immigration
President Obama has staked out positions favored by Latino voters on immigration issues. Mitt Romney has tried to cast himself somewhere between the staunchest anti-illegal immigration activist of his party and Obama. Here are the two candidates' positions on five issues:
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Congress goes on summer break: Top 5 things it left undone
Members of Congress have skedaddled for the month of August, leaving behind a long list of unfinished business.
What did Congress leave in the lurch? Here are five of the top pressing issues.
All Content
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Congress will vote on Sandy aid this week, says Boehner
House Speaker John Boehner rescheduled a vote on Sandy relief funding for Friday at the urging of lawmakers from the storm's hardest hit regions. The funding is slated to go toward immediate relief for victims as well as rebuilding efforts.
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New school, new routines: what awaits Sandy Hook students Thursday
The students of Sandy Hook Elementary will return to school – in a different building – Thursday morning. Many things have changed since the Dec. 14 massacre that killed 26 students and staff, but the school is trying to create as much continuity as possible for kids.
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Love impels progress
A Christian Science perspective.
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Snow piles up in New England
On Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning parts of southern New England and the Northeast received up to a foot of snow. Some lost power, while others were stranded trying to travel.
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Maine same-sex couples marry in first hours of law
After waiting years, gay couples in Maine's largest city didn't have to wait a moment longer than necessary to wed, with licenses issued at the stroke of midnight as the law went into effect.
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Experts: Trained police needed for school security
The National Rifle Association wants armed volunteers in all US schools. But school safety experts and school board members say there's a huge difference between a trained law enforcement officer who becomes part of the school family — and a guard with a gun.
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Focus
Immigration reform: Is 'amnesty' a possibility now?Congress seems primed to address immigration reform in 2013, and even a path to citizenship – which critics deride as 'amnesty' for illegals – may be on the table. The shift in the national conversation came suddenly. Here's why.
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Los Angeles collects most guns ever, in post-Newtown buyback event
Police collected more than 2,000 firearms Wednesday in Los Angeles, during a gun buyback event held less than two weeks after the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn. Do such city initiatives help reduce gun violence?
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Nature Wars
How can we best handle the wildlife now turning up in our own backyards?
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Could the US learn from Australia's gun-control laws?
As the US debates its gun laws in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting, some Australians are urging the US to consider modeling its laws after Australia's.
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Shaking off the shock, Newtown begins to look to the future
After mental-health professionals and therapists leave, and the headlines fade, what will happen to Newtown, Conn., the site of the horrific Sandy Hook school shooting? The community may never be the same, but it still has a future.
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NRA’s LaPierre doesn’t back down from ‘crazy’ guns-in-schools proposal
On Sunday, NRA chief Wayne LaPierre repeated his claim that 'the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.' Opponents of armed guards in schools pushed back, but passing stricter gun control laws is an uphill fight.
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Sandy Hook shooting: Town in mourning inundated with gifts, money
Money, toys, food and other gifts have poured in from around the world as Newtown, Conn. mourns the loss of 20 children and six school employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
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Global News Blog
Good Reads: gun laws, lottery winners, online education, and tech gets sensoryA round-up of this week's long-form good reads include Britain's gun laws, the burden of lottery winners, online courses vs. the college experience, and sensory developments in high-tech.
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Unemployment down: which states are doing better than others
Unemployment rates fell in 45 states in November, but the strength of the job market varies widely by region, according to US data. Local resources and housing markets are among the reasons.
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How is winter storm affecting holiday travel? (+video)
The storm has already dumped up to eight inches of snow in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Every region receiving snow this week is expected to have a white Christmas.
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Unused school offers Sandy Hook a new home, and path forward
Sandy Hook teachers are recreating classrooms, and parents and children are touring the unused school just six miles away that has rushed to get ready. Even the color scheme will be familiar.
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Decoder Wire
Sen. Ben Affleck? Fearing loss of Mass. Senate seat, Democrats scramble.A poll shows outgoing GOP Sen. Scott Brown leading potential Democratic opponents for Sen. John Kerry's seat, if the latter becomes secretary of State. Ben Affleck hasn't flatly denied a possible run.
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Chapter & Verse
'Les Miserables': Is the story of Jean Valjean a model for newly released inmates today?I should have tried to get Jean Valjean into a couple of local prisons.
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In Texas, a town where the teachers carry guns (+video)
Harrold, Texas offers a window on how one school manages guns in the classroom. After the Sandy Hook shooting, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota and Oregon have said they may propose laws allowing teachers and school administrators to carry firearms at school.
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Olivia Culpo, a 'cellist nerd,' takes Miss Universe crown (+video)
Olivia Culpo, a Boston University sophomore, won the Miss Universe competition Wednesday. Olivia Culpo, a cellist, won the Miss Rhode Island contest in a rented $20 dress with a hole in it and then began working out, dieting, and studying current events on flashcards to compete for the Miss USA crown.
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Gun sales spike in some states, while others stock up on armored backpacks
The Sandy Hook Conn. school shooting has lead to mixed reactions amongst shoppers. Some states have seen record gun sales, while self-defense retailers have also noticed an increase.
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Sandy hook shooting: Was Adam Lanza lashing out against treatment? (+video)
Two media reports suggest that Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza's mother was seeking mental-health treatment for him – perhaps including involuntary commitment. Experts say seeking treatment against someone's will is fraught with difficulties.
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Stocks sink as budget deadline nears
Stocks closed down on Wall Street as a year-end deadline nears with no deal in hand to cut the US government's budget deficit. Telecommunications stocks and health care stocks fared the worst.
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Change Agent
Nonprofits' message: Keep firewood close to homeEnvironmental groups are sending out a warning that transporting firewood across state lines can spread insects and diseases, wiping out swaths of forest and causing economic and environmental damage.
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