Environment

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A man carries belongings in one day after an earthquake. “The reason is clearly related to the farming. It’s like a sponge you drain the water from,” one geologist said. (Associated Press)

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A man searches the rubble in Lorca, Spain, on May 12, 2011. An earthquake and aftershocks in southeastern Spain caused deaths and casualties and did extensive damage to buildings. Geologists think that depletion of the water table for crops triggered the disaster. (Associated Press)

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Singer Carly Rae Jepsen will receive Billboard’s Rising Star award on Nov. 30. She’ll join Katy Perry, who has been named Woman of the Year. (Invision via Associated Press)

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Augustus Maiyo of Colorado Springs, Co. crosses the finish line as he wins the Marine Corps Marathon with a time of 2:20:20 in Washington, on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012.More than 30,000 people participated in the Marine Corps Marathon 2012. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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Denzel Washington plays an airline pilot who, despite being hungover, drunk and coked-up, manages to make a daring emergency landing in “Flight.” (Paramount Pictures via Associated Press)

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Denzel Washington (center) plays Whip Whitaker, a hero pilot with feet of clay. Bruce Greenwood (left) is a fellow pilot and Don Cheadle, an attorney, in “Flight.” (Paramount Pictures via Associated Press)

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Jordan Staal, now with the Carolina Hurricanes, participated in Friday's "Champs for Charity" exhibition game with a number of other locked-out players. (Associated Press)

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Mayor Vincent Gray and local safety officials held a press conference Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 at the headquarters of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency to announce preparations for Sandy, the so-called "Frankenstorm" that is due to affect the Washington, D.C. metro area, with hurricane-force winds as early as 8 a.m. Monday morning. The mayor announced that D.C. Public Schools would be closed on Monday. Fairfax and Prince George's counties have also closed schools in anticipation of the storm. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)