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It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
~Charles Darwin (Source)
News
Angry workers could doom France's Sarkozy
Trudging into Paris with blistered feet after a 10-day march from a steel mill in northeast France at risk of closure, steelworker Jerome Baroin was in no mood to discuss President Nicolas Sarkozy's re-election bid.
"Sarkozy has done nothing for us. His promises were just lies," said Baroin, 29, whose 350 kilometer (220-mile) march with 17 other workers from the idle plant in Florange, by the German border, highlights an embarrassment for the conservative incumbent.
The steelworkers have a specific gripe: two weeks into his campaign, Sarkozy said he had clinched a deal with owner ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS) to restart the furnaces, but the company later said it would only do so once the economy recovered.
Syria truce faces first major test on Friday: opposition
Syrian protests after weekly prayers on Friday will be the first major test for a U.N.-backed ceasefire, the head of the main opposition group said on Thursday, adding that the truce remains fragile as long as the army is deployed in urban areas.
"The Syrian people will go out tomorrow and it will be the biggest possible (demonstration) so that the Syrian people can express their will," Burhan Ghalioun told Reuters by telephone.
Ghalioun said the world should be skeptical of President Bashar al-Assad's commitment to the ceasefire, which came into effect at dawn on Thursday after weeks of bombardment by Assad's forces against opposition strongholds.
Brian Dickerson: Tax reform shouldn't end with millionaires
President Barack Obama is barnstorming the country to demand that Americans who earn more than $1 million a year pay at least 30% of their income in federal taxes. It's a sensible proposition, and it's winning huzzahs from the very large group of voters who earn somewhat less.
The Buffett Rule -- named for Omaha, Neb., investment whiz Warren Buffett, who famously lamented the injustice of a tax code that exacts a smaller percentage of his earnings than of his secretary -- is transparently designed to appeal to the vast middle class.
But it is particularly attractive to those whose incomes fall just short of seven figures -- too small to trigger the president's 30% minimum, but large enough to take advantage of the tax cuts Obama's predecessor generously conferred on households that take in $250,000 or more each year.
Texas Teacher Fired for Unwed Pregnancy Offered to Get Married
A teacher and coach at a private Christian school in Texas fired for an unwed pregnancy wants to set the record straight about who she is for those who question her fitness as a "Christian role model."
"I'm not just some teacher that went out to a bar and go pregnant and went back to school saying it's okay," Cathy Samford told ABCNews.com today. "I was in a committed relationship the whole time and probably would have been married if things had gone differently and this would be a non-situation."
Samford, 29, was in her third year as a volleyball coach at Heritage Christian Academy in Rockwall, Tex., and her first year as a middle school science teacher when she discovered she was pregnant in the fall of 2011.
Former US Senator Edwards' trial to start with jury selection
Former U.S. Senator John Edwards is set to return to a courtroom on Thursday, a familiar setting for a man who made millions as a trial lawyer but now faces possible prison time if convicted of alleged federal campaign finance violations.
Jury selection for the two-time White House hopeful's criminal trial is scheduled to begin Thursday morning in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Edwards, 58, is accused of secretly obtaining more than $900,000 in illegal campaign funds from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress during his failed bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
Shift workers 'risking' Type 2 diabetes and obesity
Shift workers getting too little sleep at the wrong time of day may be increasing their risk of diabetes and obesity, according to researchers.
The team is calling for more measures to reduce the impact of shift working following the results of its study.
Researchers controlled the lives of 21 people, including meal and bedtimes.