Human Interest

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If only we could train dogs to detect lies ... (Illustration by Michael Ramirez for Creators Syndicate)

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Sen. Marco Rubio has been busy accumulating endorsements throughout the month of February. He's seen here at a 2016 campaign event in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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Protect Inventors, Preserve Innovation special report cover (February 24, 2016)

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Deonte Carraway (Prince George's County Police Department via Associated Press) ** FILE **

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Secretary of State John Kerry. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ** FILE **

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American epic war drama film set during the Invasion of Normandy in World War II. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, the film is notable for its graphic and realistic portrayal of war, and for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which includes a depiction of the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944. It follows United States Army Rangers Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and a squad (Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies) as they search for a paratrooper, Private first class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), who is the last-surviving brother of four servicemen. Saving Private Ryan received universal critical acclaim, winning several awards for film, cast, and crew, as well as earning significant returns at the box office. The film grossed US$481.8 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of the year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated the film for 11 Academy Awards; Spielberg's direction won him a second Academy Award for Best Director, with four more awards going to the film. Saving Private Ryan was released on home video in May 1999, earning another $44 million from sales. In 2014, Saving Private Ryan was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Platoon

Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first film of a trilogy of Vietnam War films by Stone (followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth). Stone wrote the story based upon his experiences as a U.S. infantryman in Vietnam to counter the vision of the war portrayed in John Wayne'sThe Green Berets. It was the first Hollywood film to be written and directed by a veteran of the Vietnam War.[3] The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1986. It also won Best Director for Oliver Stone, as well as Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. In 1998, the American Film Institute placed Platoon at #83 in their "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies" poll.

LettersFromIwoJima

Letters from Iwo Jima is a 2006 Japanese-American war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the American viewpoint; the two films were shot back to back. Letters from Iwo Jima is almost entirely in Japanese, although it was produced by American companies Warner Bros. Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions, and Amblin Entertainment. After Flags of Our Fathers underperformed at the box office, DreamWorks swapped the United States distribution rights to Warner Bros., who had the international rights. The film was released in Japan on December 9, 2006 and received a limited release in the United States on December 20, 2006 in order to be eligible for consideration for the 79th Academy Awards. It was subsequently released in more areas of the U.S. on January 12, 2007, and was released in most states on January 19. An English-dubbed version of the film premiered on April 7, 2008. Upon release, the film received considerable acclaim and did slightly better at the box office than its companion.

Jarhead

Jarhead is a 2005 biographical drama military film based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's 2003 memoir of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford with Jamie Foxx,Peter Sarsgaard and Chris Cooper. The title comes from the slang term used to refer to United States Marines.

AmericanSniperMovie

American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical war film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall. It is loosely based on the memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (2012) by Chris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. The film follows the life of Kyle, who became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense. While Kyle was celebrated for his military successes, his tours of duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life. The film stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya, with Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Kevin Lacz, Navid Negahban and Keir O'Donnell in supporting roles. The world premiere was on November 11, 2014, at the American Film Institute Festival, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2014 and a wide release on January 16, 2015. The film became a major success, with a worldwide gross of over $547 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 2014 in the United States ($350 million), the highest-grossing war film of all time unadjusted for inflation, and Eastwood's highest-grossing film to date. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with the majority of praise directed towards Cooper's lead performance and Eastwood's direction, though it attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the War in Iraq and of Chris Kyle. At the 87th Academy Awards, American Sniper received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Cooper, ultimately winning one award for Best Sound Editing

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In this Jan. 6, 2016 file photo, Mayim Bialik poses in the press room after winning favorite network TV comedy for "The Big Bang Theory" at the People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

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Thanks to a court decision, "Big Mountain Jesus' remains on a Montana ski slop. (Becket Fund)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during his speech with a special message after his telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. (Mikhail Klimentyev/ Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)