Disaster_Accident

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FILE -This June 3, 2010 file image from video provided by BP PLC shows oil dispersant being applied at the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The white wand in the center is releasing the dispersant. The first peer-reviewed study looking at the effectiveness of chemical dispersants used deep undersea on the BP oil spill found mixed results. It appeared to keep some oil from bubbling up to the surface where it could do worse damage, but it didn't appear to biodegrade the oil quite as fast as promised. (AP Photo/BP PLC, File)

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South squad linebacker Nate Irving of North Carolina State, talks with scouts following Senior Bowl NCAA college football practice in Mobile, Ala., Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011. Irving overcame a severe car crash and the ACC linebacker is back working toward an NFL career at the Senior Bowl after missing the 2009 season. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

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People protest outside a police station following the killing of two men in Lahore, Pakistan on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. A U.S. consular employee shot and killed two gunmen as they approached his vehicle in a congested street in Pakistan on Thursday, police said. A pedestrian was also killed by a speeding American car trying to help, an officer said. A placard reads "Americans are dogs." (AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)

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Pulte Homes is building 241 town homes and 57 single-family homes on 6,500- to 7,500-square-foot sites at East Gate in Chantilly. The town homes have 2,049 to 2,711 finished square feet, with base prices from $338,990 to $412,900.

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The Crest at Columbia Heights condominium has nine homes on four floors. The homes are priced from the $200,000s to the $500,000s, with average monthly condominium fees of $287.

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Winchester Homes is building 98 single-family homes on half-acre sites at Stoney Springs in Poolesville. The homes have 2,833 to 5,139 finished square feet, with base prices from $509,900 to $804,900.

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Vehicles clog the downtown streets of the District of Columbia on Wednesday. Icy roads created hazardous travel conditions for President Obama as he returned to the White House after a trip to Wisconsin. His driver spent an hour weaving through rush-hour traffic. (Associated Press)

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A vehicle lies on the side of the road along Kelly Drive during a winter storm in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Philadelphia area could get 4 to 8 inches, and high winds are expected before the storm moves out early Thursday. (Associated Press)

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Flowers mark the site Tuesday of carnage from a blast at Domodedovo Airport near Moscow as passengers wait be checked in. Security was tightened after a suicide bomber detonated explosives that ripped through Moscow's busiest airport Monday, killing at least 35 people. (Associated Press)

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Farmers clean rice fields covered in muddy water believed to be contaminated by the cholera bacteria in Saint-Marc, Haiti, Saturday Jan. 22, 2011. The cholera epidemic that killed nearly 4,000 people, is claiming fewer victims, with a sharp drop in new cases everywhere from the Artibonite Valley to the crowded urban slums. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Thomas Carper, chairman of Amtrak's board of directors, is under fire from a California congressman, who is calling for his ouster, along with that of the passenger-rail service's general counsel. (Associated Press)

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A woman suffering cholera symptoms is carried to a local hospital in Limbe village near Cap Haitien, Haiti, in November. In 2010, crisis piled upon crisis in Haiti. More than 230,000 are believed to have died in the quake, and more than a million remain homeless. A cholera epidemic broke out in the fall, and a dysfunctional election was held, its results still unclear. (Associated Press)

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A rice farmer eats his lunch while sitting in a field covered in muddy water thought to be contaminated by the cholera bacteria in Saint-Marc, Haiti, on Saturday. The cholera epidemic that killed nearly 4,000 people is claiming fewer victims with a sharp drop in new cases everywhere from the Artibonite Valley to the crowded urban slums. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Passengers check in for their flights at Domodedovo Airport outside Moscow in April 2010. An explosion on Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, ripped through the arrivals hall at the airport, the city's busiest, killing at least 31 and wounding 130 others, Health Ministry officials said. The state RIA Novosti said the explosion may have been caused by a suicide bomber. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

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Laura Brenner shares a laugh with her adopted daughter, Ketia, 9, at their home in Seattle. Ketia was one of 54 children rescued from the horrific aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake last year in Haiti. (Associated Press)

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Colorado Avalanche left wing Tomas Fleischmann, of the Czech Republic, tries to flip the puck past New York Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)

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In this Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, photo provided by the State Emergency Service and made available Wednesday Jan. 19, 2011, a levee is in place around a power substation in an attempt to hold back water from the swollen Loddon River at Kerang, Australia. Up to 1,500 homes in Kerang, in the north of Victoria state, could be affected if the Lodden River rises any further. (AP Photo/SES, Rodney Dekker)