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Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: Massachusetts Senator John Kerry came out firing in his response to the president’s plan for victory in Iraq, saying that the presence of U.S. troops, “presents food for the insurgency. And you need to reduce that presence.” But just five months ago, …

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: 2008 Campaign Underway It may be more than three and a half years until the next presidential election, but the Democratic National Committee (search) is already sending staff and money to some states, to get ready. It’s the first time Democrats have …

GALENA, Kan. – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Coffeyville police have joined the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department in investigating the death of a 19-year-old Coffeyville woman. The body of Brittany Fox was found Tuesday morning in a ditch in southeastern Cherokee County. The Joplin Globe reports that the Cherokee …

OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha school district officials are confirming the death of a high school student who collapsed after football practice. The 16-year-old junior, Wilson Vili, had been at Benson High School practice on Tuesday. District spokeswoman Luanne Nelson says the boy left practice to get some supper, then collapsed …

NASSAU, Bahamas – Jury selection has begun in the trial of two people accused of trying to extort $25 million from John Travolta following his son’s death in the Bahamas. Travolta is on a list of 14 witnesses who could testify against the defendants, but prosecutors declined to say Monday …

NEW YORK – Ken Lewis, the embattled CEO of Bank of America Corp., is leaving the company, succumbing to nearly a year of strife that followed his company’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. The bank said in a statement late Wednesday that Lewis, 62, would retire as CEO and …

NORTHPORT, Wash. – State Fish and Wildlife officials say a 5-year-old Canadian boy was hurt when a cougar pounced on him while he and his family were hiking a remote trail in northeastern Washington. Department spokeswoman Madonna Luers says the big cat jumped the boy while he was hiking Wednesday …

Sultan Kosen, the world’s tallest man, measuring a mighty 8 feet, 1 inch tall, met one of the world’s smallest men, He Pingping for the first time in Turkey. Pingping, who stands 2 feet, 5 inches tall is from China. He was in Kosen’s homeland to celebrate the opening of …

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – For years, Claude Surena has treated the sick at his two-story hillside home near the center of the Haitian capital. A magnitude-7.0 earthquake has brought the 59-year-old pediatrician’s involvement to a whole new level. Surena has converted his property into a field hospital for more than 100 …

Authorities in southwestern China have ordered three batches of milk products off shelves because they contain a chemical that killed at least six children in 2008, causing global concern over the made-in-China brand. The health department in Guizhou province stopped the sales of dairy products made by three Chinese companies, …