Disaster_Accident

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A man walks March 1, 2012, next to a damaged building due to clashes between the Free Syrian Army and government forces on the outskirts of Idlib in north Syria. (Associated Press)

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Ryan Homes is building condominiums at Legacy at Cherry Tree, base-priced from $199,990. The two-bedroom, two-bath homes have approximately 1,400 square feet.

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Miller & Smith is building 51 single-family homes at the Fells Point Collection at Maple Lawn in Fulton. The homes, which have four or five bedrooms, are priced from $559,990. Homeowner association fees are $183 per month.

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**FILE** Dogs taken off the streets of Khayelitsha township aren't all strays. Some owners aren't aware that they should confine their animals for safety, clinic workers say.

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Flames rise from a house in the Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs province after Syrian government shelling. A photojournalist and a war correspondent were killed last week as Syrian forces intensely shelled Homs. (Associated Press)

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Actress Reese Witherspoon is a global ambassador for Avon's efforts to help victims of domestic violence, a commitment that brought her to the Washington area on behalf of women's shelters. (Associated Press)

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Damage from an apparent tornado is pictured early on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harveyville, Kan. (AP Photo/Matthew Fowler, Gazette)

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Emergency workers try to extinguish a fire on a jet dryer during the Daytona 500 on Monday. Juan Pablo Montoya's car struck the dryer during a caution period after something on his car broke, igniting the fuel on the truck. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Investigators examine the driver's area of the bus at the scene of a fatal double-decker Megabus accident just outside Syracuse, N.Y., on Sept. 11, 2010. The bus hit the Onondaga Lake Parkway railroad bridge abutment and rolled onto its side, killing four passengers. (Associated Press/The Post-Standard)

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Water tanks are pictured at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, in northeastern Japan, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Kimimasa Mayama, Pool)

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**FILE** Clothing lying in heaps at the site of a neighborhood in Rikuzentakata, Japan, destroyed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami is seen Feb. 21, 2012. (Associated Press)

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Emergency crews work the scene of a Via Rail train derailment in Burlington, Ontario, on Feb. 26, 2012. Three railroad employees were killed and dozens of passengers injured after the Toronto-bound train derailed. (Associated Press/The Canadian Press)

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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks at the Special Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety panel during the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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Firefighters from the Landover Hills Fire Department check out a fire-damaged house in Riverdale on Sunday The blaze seriously injured two firefighters with the Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department. The cause of the Friday fire is under investigation. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Firefighters with the Landover Hills Fire Department check out a fire-damaged house from a February 2012 arson in Riverdale, where two firefighters with the Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department suffered serious burns. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Six months after the Aug. 23 earthquake and the Washington Monument is still closed, awaiting repair. What's up with that? "There's plenty of people out of work, but maybe they need specialized people to do [the repairs]." Josh Sher, 42, Miami, mortgage

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Six months after the Aug. 23 earthquake and the Washington Monument is still closed, awaiting repair. What's up with that? "It's good for D.C. because I still have a reason to come back. This is my third trip and I still haven't gone up the Washington Monument." Kevin Barnes, 39, Birmingham, Al., logger

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Six months after the Aug. 23 earthquake and the Washington Monument is still closed, awaiting repair. What's up with that? "I had heard it was fractured. However long it takes to get fixed, we need it." Stacey Barnes, 34, Birmingham, Al., dietician

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Six months after the Aug. 23 earthquake and the Washington Monument is still closed, awaiting repair. What's up with that? "I don't think it will affect tourism. D.C. has a lot of other stuff like museums, and the White House. [A year's worth of repairs] I think is pretty long." Christy Chen, 28, Miami, hotel industry