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TOKYO — The drizzly weather didn’t dampen the excitement at the annual spring imperial party last month as the royal family strolled along Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace grounds. Mao Asada, the Olympic figure skating silver medalist, was so overwhelmed when Emperor Akihito spoke to her that she managed only to repeatedly reply “yes,” and “thank you very much.” It was a typical reaction that shows the magnetic hold the emperor and empress have over the Japanese people. Missing as usual from the festivities was Crown Princess Masako who suffers from a stress-related disorder that causes anxiety and distress and only occasionally...

BOSTON – The White House says President Barack Obama has no plans to visit Massachusetts to campaign for the Democrat seeking the Senate seat held by the late Edward Kennedy. Spokesman Robert Gibbs was asked Monday about the possibility of a presidential trip on behalf of state Attorney General Martha Coakley. She would maintain the 60th vote Democrats need to prevent a filibuster of Obama's top domestic priority — a health care overhaul. She is running against Republican Scott Brown and independent Joseph L. Kennedy. The independent is no relation to the late senator.

OSLO (Reuters) – Norway's ambassador to the United Nations has accused Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of weak, ineffective and at times counterproductive leadership during recent crises, the daily Aftenposten reported on Wednesday. Aftenposten published what it said was a letter from Ambassador Mona Juul to Norway's Foreign Ministry, where she said Ban was late in handling challenges and that his abrasive style irked even seasoned diplomats. "At a time when the need for the United Nations and for multilateral solutions to global crises is greater than ever, Ban and the United Nations are conspicuous in their absence," Aftenposten quoted the letter...

WASHINGTON - House and Senate negotiators agreed Tuesday on a $460 billion Pentagon bill that bankrolls pricey weapons systems and bomb-resistant vehicles for troops, but does not pay for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Republicans said the omission would impose an unnecessary strain on troops, but the Democratic majority said it wouldn't leave the military in the lurch. "We'll take it step by step," said Rep. John Murtha, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. "The public wants this war over." House Democrats said they were considering separate legislation that would allot some $50 billion in war spending. Murtha,...

As cousins Travis and Chuckie Jones stroll off the South Broward High campus on school days, they're "gooned out." Wearing oversized T-shirts and low-riding jeans, they mimic the hard core look that gangsta rappers first popularized in the 1990s. The Jones boys' jean shorts, held up by belts, are hanging around their thighs and sag so low that you can't help but see the gym shorts they wear underneath. "I like saggin'," said Travis, a 15-year-old sophomore. For him, wearing baggy, ill-fitting jeans, is cool — and makes a strong statement. It's all about attitude. "It tells everybody to kiss...

MBTA officials say rampant absenteeism is hurting bus and subway service, discouraging riders, and eating away at the agency's finances by forcing it to pay overtime. ...about 35 percent of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's roughly 6,000 employees were absent for 11 or more days in 2004, and 16 percent were absent 26 or more days. Khalida Smalls, coordinator for the watchdog group called the T Riders Union, said yesterday that excessive absenteeism directly affects passengers. ''People stand at their bus stop at 4:45 waiting for a bus that doesn't show up," ...

Nobody was surprised that state Sen. Carole Migden voted in favor of her own cosmetics bill. The problem was that she did it in the wrong legislative house. Toward the end of Wednesday's floor session, Migden, a San Francisco Democrat, pushed the voting button of a GOP assemblyman who was temporarily away from his desk. Her action violated Assembly rules and drew an angry response from Republicans. "That behavior cannot be tolerated," said Assembly Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield. "It's unheard of on this floor, it's against the rules, and it cannot be tolerated." Migden, chairwoman of the powerful...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - As Secretary of State Kevin Shelley faces multiple investigations into his performance in office, as well as calls for his resignation, a key constituency - California's 58 county elections officials - has been conspicuously absent in rallying support to him. County officials call Shelley's tenure as California's top elections official a disappointment, so many are standing on the sidelines as he struggles to keep his job. "The point of view I have is we're all disappointed in the way things have happened in the secretary of state's office under his watch," said Debbie Hench, registrar of voters...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Once again, this year's elections are expected to be extremely close. It is critical that every NRA member and pro-Second Amendment supporter exercises his right to vote in order to protect our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Even if you can't vote in person on November 2, your voice can still be heard! Most states allow voters to cast their ballots early (either in person or by mail). And every state allows absentee voting if you plan to be away on Election Day--November 2. To make sure the vote of every Second Amendment supporter is counted this year, NRA...

KIGALI (Reuters) - With Western leaders conspicuous by their absence, Rwanda marked the 10th anniversary of its genocide on Wednesday as bewildered and angry as ever at the world's failure to stop one of the 20th century's great crimes. "Women and girls were gang raped, tortured and maimed for life, if not murdered. The victims were forced to kill their kin or dig their own graves before they were buried alive," President Paul Kagame told 28,000 mourners gathered at a stadium in the capital Kigali. "We will see each other again in heaven," a choir sang at the memorial site...

<p>SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the final weeks before the Oct. 7 recall election, pledged to introduce a "People's Reform Plan" that would bar the governor and members of the Legislature from raising campaign donations while working on the state budget.</p>

Absent fathers linked to teenage pregnancies 11:36 15 May 03 Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition Numerous studies show that girls reach puberty younger, become sexually active earlier and are more likely to get pregnant in their teens if their father was absent from the home from when they were young. But the usual explanation - that such families are under more stress - is now being challenged by a long-term study of girls in New Zealand and the US, the Western countries with the highest teen pregnancy rates. Having no father usually means less household income and a greater...