National News

When he opened a restaurant nearly 30 years ago, Joe Spano Sr. used the cooking skills he had learned from his mother.

The lessons he passed on to his own son have kept the restaurant in business.

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When the Democratic delegates descend on Denver for the party's national convention, they should try to see the "real" Colorado — like getting out of town to see bison or to climb a mountain.

Or hit the Buckhorn Exchange for some Rocky Mountain oysters.

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Two intensely fashionable women are campaigning with their presidential candidate husbands. If Republican Cindy McCain and Democratic Michelle Obama want to fit in the White House come January, they might want to avoid looking too stylish, says Jacqueline Kennedy's social secretary.

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Oil fields aren't new in Los Angeles. But with the price of crude beyond $100 a barrel, it is cost-effective to start drilling there again, in both old and new wells.

And that has made some residents very unhappy. Last year, Los Angeles County had 3,400 wells in operation.

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Steve Coogan stars as an Arizona drama teacher inspired to save his failing theater program — with a musicalized sequel to the best-known drama in the English language.

The results? Tragically funny.

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There are signs of Russian troop movements in the republic of Georgia. About 20 miles from Tbilisi, Russian soldiers suddenly packed up their gear and moved out with their tanks, and Georgian forces are moving in.

Russia has promised that the troop pullback would be completed today.

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After trading at $60 or $70 a share a year ago, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in the single-digit range — and slipping further.

But there's some hopeful news for struggling homeowners whose mortgages are held by IndyMac Bank, which was taken over by the government.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that one-quarter of workers in the United States get no paid vacation at all.

And non-union workers get more time off than union workers during their first years on the job, though the union workers start getting extra vacation after 10 or 20 years on the job.

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Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain campaigned Wednesday in Las Cruces, N.M. At a town hall meeting there, he criticized Barack Obama for opposing last year's troop surge in Iraq.

He also answered questions from the audience about his vice president pick.

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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama campaigned Wednesday in Virginia. The Illinois senator used tough words to relay his message that Republican rival John McCain is out of touch with middle-class Americans.

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