ALEX JOHNSON

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Some schools rethink bans on cell phones

More than 100 students were suspended last month at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Conn. They weren’t bullies. They weren’t cheating. They weren’t caught smoking in the bathrooms.

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Patients’ wariness slows digital health

LAS VEGAS - There’s an easily identifiable culprit to blame for Americans’ not having fully digitized health care service and medical records:

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Tech firms target Mom as the real decision maker

LAS VEGAS - Never mind the cutesy, faintly mocking name — “Mommy Tech” is a big deal at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

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Apps call, but will your phone answer?

LAS VEGAS - The buzz at the International Consumer Electronics Show surrounding powerful new mobile phones and the rich programs that can run on them obscures a profound frustration for many users:

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Carmakers navigate a winding road

LAS VEGAS - The exhibit halls of the International Consumer Electronics Show are filled with every kind of technology you can imagine — computers; audio and video systems; the biggest, thinnest television sets; gadgets; peripherals; you name it.

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Microsoft generates little buzz in CES opener

LAS VEGAS - First the power went out Wednesday night, and when it came back up, Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer did little to add to the electricity.

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Rural America severely hurt by lack of broadband

General Manager Pat Lewis has a fine Web site at Patriot GM Superstores in Princeton, Ind. Would-be customers can search the dealership’s inventory and look at any vehicle it has available, customizing their purchases and setting up a variety of other services.

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Lack of computer skills foils many job-seekers

Computers may be an everyday part of modern life, but millions of Americans still find them a challenge. For them, finding a new job can be especially difficult.

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Governments dip deeper into alcohol tax well

Local governments are choosing to accept the social challenges of alcohol consumption to generate tax revenue. Dry areas are going wet, and others are approving Sunday sales and sales in grocery and convenience stores.

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U.S. delayed telling schools about food recalls

The federal government failed to inform schools of recalls of suspected tainted food, potentially putting millions of children at risk of food poisoning, a government investigation has concluded.

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For presidents, talking to kids can be tricky

Controversy over President Barack Obama’s address to children recalls a similar uproar over President George H.W. Bush’s appeal in 1991 for kids to send him ideas and reminds Americans that  Bush and President Ronald Reagan made multiple such speeches.

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Study: Retail health clinics as good as doc office

The care offered at health clinics in retail stores often costs less and is just as good as that offered at doctors' offices and urgent care centers, says the first large-scale study of U.S. retail clinics.

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For class of 2009, degree doesn’t mean a job

The college class of 2009 faces a daunting task finding jobs in the worst economy since the Great Depression, employment counselors and job placement specialists say.

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Cash for Clunkers throws some into reverse

With Cash for Clunkers rolling on after the program was extended, new car dealers are smiling, but left out are companies and organizations whose business models are built on used vehicles.

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Funny money no laughing matter

Law enforcement officials and business owners across the country say they have seen a significant spike in the circulation of counterfeit currency since the economy started to sour.

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‘Cash for clunkers’ uncertainty squeezes dealers

The House vote to extend the wildly popular “cash for clunkers” car program left auto dealers in a kind of limbo Friday, not sure whether they should keep handing out deals to buyers who are flooding showrooms nationwide as they await Senate action next week on the program.

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Proposed smoking ban angers some in military

A Pentagon-commissioned report urges the Defense Department to ban smoking in the military, even by combat troops in battle zones, a proposal that quickly ignited a controversy among service members.

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Some 911 centers can’t keep tabs on cell phones

Donnie and Sharon Leutjen and their 15-year-old granddaughter, Taron Leutjen, were found June 9. They had been shot to death, and their bodies had lain in their home in Cole Camp, Mo., for about two days.

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Turnover turmoil buffets air-control system

About a week and a half ago, the Federal Aviation Administration closed the air space over Raleigh-Durham International Airport and several other corridors above North Carolina. For about 28 minutes on the afternoon of June 19, all flights were halted over much of the eastern half of the state.

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Lightning strike kills 1, hurts 18 in Florida

NORTH LAKELAND, Fla. - One person was killed and 18 others were injured by a lightning strike at a church function in North Lakeland, Fla., on Saturday.

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Hybrid vehicles’ silence seen as posing peril

As the car crept up to them, the students didn’t react. It wasn’t until it was about to run them over that they even knew it was there. And that was only because it hit their white canes.

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