Obama signs $7.5 billion Pakistan aid bill

President Obama signed legislation Thursday providing an additional $7.5 billion in assistance to the Pakistani government. The aid guarantee comes as the Pakistani government combats a wave of attacks believed to have been orchestrated by Taliban militants and as the Obama administration works on a comprehensive review of U.S.

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First doses of H1N1 flu vaccine arrive

A national campaign to inoculate tens of millions of Americans against H1N1 influenza began Monday, with health care workers in Indiana and Tennessee targeted as the first recipients, federal health authorities said. Obama will be joined by, among others, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the heads of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees in the House and Senate, the officials said

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Honduras issues deadline to Brazil over ousted president

Honduras is accusing Brazil’s government of instigating an insurrection within its borders, and gave the Brazilian Embassy 10 days to decide the status of ousted Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya, who has taken refuge there. “Since the clandestine arrival to Honduras by ex-president Zelaya, the Brazil embassy has been used to instigate violence and insurrection against the Honduran people and the constitutional government,” the secretary of foreign affairs for Honduras’ de facto government said in a statement late Saturday night.

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Mackenzie Phillips: ‘I understand this is a difficult thing’

The reaction to Mackenzie Phillips’ detailed account of her sexual relationship with her father, John Phillips, has been explosive, and some of the strongest statements have come from her family. But as the former actress and musician talked with Oprah Winfrey for the second time this week — this time about the firestorm that erupted from her hour-long interview Wednesday — she said she doesn’t regret writing her memoir, “High on Arrival.” “I understand this is a difficult thing for my family,” Phillips told Winfrey via satellite Friday, “but nobody’s talking about this, and if I’ve started a national dialogue, then I’m forever grateful.” Phillips said she has gotten letters and Facebook messages from incest survivors, thanking her for coming forward.

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John Phillips had checkered, sometimes sordid, life

In 1967, the Mamas & the Papas had a hit with a song that detailed, with bittersweet harmonies, the checkered history of the band. The song, written by the group’s John Phillips and his wife, Michelle, was called “Creeque Alley.” If the song were to be updated today, it might have to be retitled “Creep Alley.” With the claims by John’s daughter, Mackenzie, that she had an incestuous relationship with her father, the story of Phillips and his group — in music, models of California dreams and California dreamin’ — takes on a darker hue

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