CDC: Same anthrax strain in drums, sick NH woman – Forbes

CDC: Same anthrax strain in drums, sick NH woman – Forbes
CONCORD, N.H. — Medical investigators have confirmed that the strain of anthrax that sickened a New Hampshire woman is the same strain found on an electrical outlet and two drums used at a gathering she attended earlier this month. Dr. Elizabeth Talbot, an adviser to the state Department of Health

Judge dismisses all charges in Blackwater shooting – MLive.com
(AP) WASHINGTON – A federal judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said Thursday the Justice Department overstepped its bounds and wrongly used evidence it was not allowed to see

Police say missing British woman has been found – Denver Post
SANTA MONICA, Calif. Santa Monica police say a 19-year-old British woman missing since Dec. 18 has been found safe. Police Sgt. Jay Trisler says officers received a tip Thursday and found Leona Dawn Perryman of Dorset, England, in the Venice area near Santa Monica. Police arrested her 45-year-old

Montana 3rd state to allow doctor-assisted suicide – MSN Money
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – The Montana Supreme Court said Thursday that nothing in state law prevents patients from seeking physician-assisted suicide, making Montana the third state that will allow the procedure. Patients and doctors had been waiting for the state’s high court to step in after a lower

AP-GfK Poll: Americans seek silver lining in 2010 – Findlaw.com
WASHINGTON (AP) – The bank account is thin, but the future looks pretty good. That, oddly enough, is the view of many Americans who predict 2010 will be a better year than this one, even if they fear that the U.S. economy and their own financial circumstances won’t improve. A whopping 82 percent are

Washington Times Slashes Staff, Sports Section – CBS 3 Philadelphia
The Washington Times slashed its staff by more than 40 percent and will eliminate its sports section and most local coverage in 2010, shifting its focus to politics, business and investigative reporting. The 27-year-old newspaper announced the latest round of layoffs in its Thursday edition and said

Correction: Van Morrison story – Minneapolis Star Tribune
LOS ANGELES – In a Dec. 28 story, The Associated Press, relying on information from Van Morrison’s Hollywood-based publicist and his official Web site, reported erroneously that the Irish singer had a new baby boy with a woman identified as “his wife, GiGi.” Morrison said Thursday in a statement

Degas drawing stolen from Marseille museum – San Francisco Chronicle
A drawing by Impressionist Edgar Degas worth euro800,000 ($1.15 million) has been stolen from an exhibit in southeast France, officials said Thursday. The work, “Les Choristes,” (or “The Chorus Singers”), was stolen overnight from the Cantini Museum in the city of Marseille without setting off an

Captain, 2nd mate of Alaska tug relieved of duties – Boston Globe
ANCHORAGE, Alaska A tugboat captain and second mate have been relieved of duty after their vessel ran aground on the same reef as the Exxon Valdez 20 years ago. The tug Pathfinder was scouting for ice along Alaska’s oil shipping lanes Dec. 23 when it ran aground on Bligh Reef. It spilled an