National News

Millions of basketball fans will fill out NCAA tournament brackets this week and try to correctly predict the outcomes of every game. The chances of succeeding are about 1 in 150 quintillion. A group of computer scientists are trying to beat those odds by writing programs that learn to pick winners.

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In the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting, there's a raging public debate over placing armed guards in schools. Some say it's impractical, but about a third of American schools already have some kind of armed security. One school police officer in Stockton, Calif., finds the job is part protector, part mentor.

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In the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting, there's a raging public debate over placing armed guards in schools. Some say it's impractical, but about a third of American schools already have some kind of armed security. One school police officer in Stockton, Calif., finds the job is part protector, part mentor.

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Health insurers are obligated to cover pumps to help moms breast-feed. But there is a variety of equipment. Some nursing mothers prefer faster, electric models that cost more. Insurers may say a less expensive manual pump would do just fine.

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According to Pentagon research, a quarter of all women who join the military are sexually assaulted during their careers. Many cases go unreported, and some victims say the perpetrator is a superior to whom they would have to report the assault.

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According to Pentagon research, a quarter of all women who join the military are sexually assaulted during their careers. Many cases go unreported, and some victims say the perpetrator is a superior to whom they would have to report the assault.

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Housing season seems to have arrived early in some places where homebuying is already frenzied, and in many markets, the pendulum has swung from an excess of homes on the market a few years ago to a shortage.

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Older Americans and younger boomers may find themselves bombarded with ads for annuities. Annuities are a $200-billion-a-year business for life insurance companies and financial institutions. Kiplinger's Kimberly Lankford explains some of the choices and red flags facing potential investors.

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Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford advanced Tuesday to a runoff in the Republican contest for an open congressional seat. It's a step toward reviving a political career that was derailed by an extramarital affair while he was governor.

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Sports commentator Frank Deford wants to know: When did we stop arguing about sports in the time-honored bar-stool fashion?

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The owners have not voted, however, on prohibiting crown hits by ball carriers outside the tackle box.

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On the political far left and right, some believe that large banks still pose a threat to taxpayers. These banks are so big, they argue, that the government will step in with support if needed. Still, the more mainstream view in Washington is that the Dodd-Frank reforms are sufficient to handle the problem.

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Bosco Ntaganda showed up unexpectedly at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali. While officials puzzle out the details of transporting him to his new detention cell in The Hague, others are wondering if his former cohorts — still pillaging Eastern Congo — might use the arrest to broker their own impunity.

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As the Republican National Committee offers criticism and advice for the party after its performance in 2012, a political science professor has come up with a list of sometimes similar GOP outreach efforts of old.

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Last summer's drought that continued through the winter wasn't just bad news for ranchers and farmers. There were big worries about what it would mean to the Mississippi River, too.

Low water and heavy boats meant bad news for barge operators who relied on high water levels to ferry goods from North to South.

"After the past couple of years we've had, I think we're enjoying the average water levels now," said Austin Golding, who has been running river barges his whole life out of Vicksburg, Miss. "I think you're going to see this have a very positive effect on the cost of goods that move across the country."

Golding said he and other barge pilots have weathered through drought and floods for the past few years. No matter what the weather, "we have to maintain business as usual."

The New York Post, with its brazen and sometimes hilarious, sometimes cruel and punishing headlines, is now promoting itself with a bus tour of Manhattan. It drives by spots where reporters covered the scandals, murders and sensations that make New York City such a competitive tabloid town.

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Rebates on healthy foods purchases can influence what put in their grocery carts, a study found. People spent 9 percent more on fruits, vegetables, non-fat dairy and other healthful foods when they got a 25 percent rebate on them.

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Amid the budget debate, there's one comparison you hear a lot. As House Speaker John Boehner has put it: "Every family in America has to balance their budget. Washington should, too." But just how accurate is that analogy?

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Like Americans, the Swiss have an entrenched gun culture — it's not uncommon to see regular citizens out in the public with a gun slung across their back — and most are vehemently opposed to gun control. Yet Switzerland has a far lower rate of gun violence than in the U.S.

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The statue was closed to the public after Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to the buildings and systems that support it.

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