Author: Rebecca Santana
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Court: Part of ‘Obamacare’ invalid, more review needed
NEW ORLEANS • The “individual mandate” of former President Barack Obama’s health care law is invalid, but other parts of the law need further review, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The court’s decision will not immediately affect the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care policy, which remains in place while the…
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Dressed up, ready for fun: New Orleans celebrates Mardi Gras
NEW ORLEANS — The streets of New Orleans were filled Tuesday with excited kids hoping to catch beads from atop ladders, revelers in fancy costumes walking through the French Quarter and Mardi Gras Indians wearing finely beaded costumes. Tuesday marks the final day of the Mardi Gras season, which began Jan. 6. After rainy weather…
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DWI suspected in crash that hurt 28 at New Orleans parade
NEW ORLEANS — Authorities on Sunday identified the man who allegedly plowed into a crowd enjoying a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans while intoxicated. The New Orleans Police Department issued a statement identifying the man as 25-year-old Neilson Rizzuto. Online jail records showed Rizzuto was arrested on a number of charges and was being…
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Last US troops elated to leave Iraq as war ends
KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait — The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief. Their convoy’s exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq…
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Icon of US military now in Iraqi hands
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — Inside palace walls built by Saddam Hussein, U.S. generals plotted the war’s course, tracked the mounting death toll and swore in new American citizens under gaudy glass chandeliers. Just outside the palace, American troops whacked golf balls into man-made lakes or fished for carp while others sat down with a cigar…
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ANALYSIS: Al-Maliki’s moves to hold power threaten Iraq’s stability
BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s efforts to retain power despite his failure in last month’s elections threaten to undercut the democratic process that has been hailed as a key achievement of the U.S. invasion and occupation. He is also potentially gambling away the country’s security with steps that, if successful, are certain to leave…
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Little fanfare for 7th anniversary of war in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Almost seven years after the first bombs in the war to oust Saddam Hussein, Iraqis went about their business Friday with little observance of the anniversary, looking to the future with a mixture of trepidation and hope. Perhaps more important in the minds of many was the ongoing wait for final results from…
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U.S. general: No court-martial for pregnant soldiers
BAGHDAD — A U.S. general in Iraq who listed pregnancy as a reason for court-martialing soldiers said Tuesday that he would never actually seek to jail someone over the offense, but wanted to underline the seriousness of the issue. Last month, Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo issued a policy that would allow soldiers who become pregnant…