Disaster_Accident

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In this citizen journalism image provided by Lens Young Homsi, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a general view of destroyed houses which was damaged by Syrian government forces shelling, at Baba Amr neighborhood, in Homs province, Syria, Thursday Oct. 18, 2012. Syrian activists say a string of government airstrikes on rebel areas in the country's north has killed at least 20 people, leveled buildings and forced residents to dig through mounds of rubble in search of survivors. (AP Photo/Lens Yong Homsi)

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St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jason Motte (30) works during the eighth inning of Game 3 of baseball's National League championship series against the San Francisco Giants, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

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RST Development is building 46 condominium homes at the Orion in Silver Spring. The homes have up to 1,132 square feet and are priced from the mid $200,000s.

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The runway at Grundy Municipal Airport in Virginia coal country is 2,200 feet long. Efforts to lengthen it to 5,700 feet to accommodate larger aircraft have been stymied by federal red tape. (Debra McCown/Special to The Washington Times)

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The runway at Grundy Municipal Airport is too short to comply with insurance standards for corporate jets, but federal regulators have refused to allow for an expansion without a mining permit because of the coal deposits below the land. (Debra McCown/Special to The Washington Times)

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People in the District’s Chinatown area rush into the street after last year’s magnitude-5.9 earthquake. A Great ShakeOut drill Thursday is planned to help people know how to react to an earthquake, which includes staying indoors. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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** FILE ** Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez (right) speaks before county supervisors at their weekly meeting in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Brian van der Brug)

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Leroy Thorpe walks around the Shaw neighborhood in NW, DC, Saturday, July 17,2004 pointing out former crack houses he, along with his Red Hat group, helped to shut down, turning the once crime ridden area into an area with homes going for a quarter of a million dollars. ( Mary F. Calvert / The Washington Times )

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In this Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, photo, new homes are constructed in Edmond, Okla. U.S. builders started construction on single-family homes and apartments in September at the fastest rate since July 2008, a further indication that the housing recovery is strengthening. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki,)

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** FILE ** In this Sept. 21, 2012 photo, people view housing models on display during the China Property and Investment Show in Beijing, China. People in China are increasingly worried about corruption, inequality and food safety, according to a survey that also found that about half of Chinese like American ideas about democracy. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

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**FILE** A Chinese submarine rescue ship sails in waters off the island of Yonaguni in Japan's Okinawa prefecture on Oct. 16, 2012. Japanese aircraft spotted seven Chinese warships in waters off the southern Japan island and about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the uninhabited isles at the center of a territorial dispute between the two countries. (Associated Press/Joint Staff Office of Japan)

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Richard Lee Norris, shown after his accident and before reconstructive surgery, was injured in a 1997 gun accident, losing much of his upper and lower jaws as well as his lips and nose. (University of Maryland Medical System)