Unraveling the mystery of Brazil’s ‘twin town’

For generations the residents of Sao Pedro, Brazil and neighboring Candido Godoi have known their isolated hamlet in southern Brazil was special. They say about a decade ago the rest of the world figured it out too. Since then, despite the remoteness, they’ve been visited by researchers, authors, journalist and even a few tourists.

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Report: Kim Jong Il meets Hyundai official

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met with Hyundai’s chairwoman, who had come from South Korea seeking the release of an employee detained since March, South Korean media reported. Yonhap, South Korea’s official news agency, said Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun traveled to North Korea on August 10 for what was planned as a three-day mission. Yu Seong-jin — the employee detained since March — was freed and returned home Thursday, Yonhap added.

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Marijuana Legalization: Help for California Budget Woes?

Proponents of marijuana legalization have advanced plenty of arguments in support of their drug of choice: marijuana is less dangerous than legal substances like cigarettes and alcohol; pot has legitimate medical uses; the money spent prosecuting marijuana offenses would be better used for more pressing public concerns. While 13 states permit the limited sale of marijuana for medical use, and polls show a steady increase in the number of Americans who favor legalization, federal law still bans the cultivation, sale or possession of marijuana. In fact, the feds still classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug, one that has no “currently accepted medical use” in the U.S.

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Federal agents apprehend fugitive after 15 years

Federal agents have apprehended accused child molester Edward Eugene Harper, who was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, an FBI official said Thursday. Harper, 63, is accused of molesting two girls, ages 3 and 8, in his neighborhood in Hernando, Mississippi, more than a decade ago, the FBI said. The FBI said it received a telephone tip in June at the Denver office regarding Harper, and brought a SWAT team and a hostage negotiation team to apprehend him in rural Wyoming on Thursday

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California’s Crisis Hits Its Prized Universities

California’s crisis continues while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders inch slowly toward agreement on the deep cuts necessary to close California’s massive $26 billion budget shortfall. Now, even as the state continues to pay its bills with IOUs, the University of California, the nation’s leading public university, is being forced to cut its budget by $813 million — or 20%

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Does photo found in cell show children’s grave?

Police wonder whether a photograph found in a prison cell a decade ago might lead to the bodies of two children who disappeared and are believed to have been murdered. Karen and Michael Reinert, who lived with their divorced mother in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, were 11 and 10 when their mother was murdered and they vanished in June 1979.

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