Politics

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The French military moves in at the airport in Bamako, Mali. Islamists prevented residents from leaving the towns they are holding, and some fear they will be used as human targets. (Associated Press)

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Cyclist Floyd Landis filed a whistleblower lawsuit saying former teammate Lance Armstrong defrauded the federal government by using performance-enhancing drugs and overseeing other riders doing the same, thereby violating the terms of a U.S. Postal Service sponsorship contract. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Lance Armstrong attends the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Sept. 22, 2010. (Associated Press)

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From left: Hinna Zeejah, 8, Taejah Goode, 10, Julia Stokes, 11, and Grant Fritz, 8, who wrote letters to President Obama about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., watch as the president jokes about being left handed as he signs executive orders outlining proposals to reduce gun violence on Jan. 16, 2013, at the White House. (Associated Press))

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French troops stand guard along the road leading from Markala to Niono in central Mali on Wednesday as they pressed northward toward territory occupied by radical Islamists. In announcing the start of the land assault, military officials said soldiers would be in direct combat "within hours." (Associated Press)

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pauses during a news conference in Rome on Jan. 16, 2013. Panetta confirmed that American citizens are among the hostages taken earlier that day by an al Qaeda-linked group that seized a gas field in Algeria, calling the action a "terrorist attack." (Associated Press)

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Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi (right) meets with U.S. Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, at the presidential palace in Cairo on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Egyptian Presidency)

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White House press secretary Jay Carney pauses to listen to a question a during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Lynn and Chris McDonnell, parents of Grace McDonnell, who was killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, listen as President Obama talks about their daughter during a Jan. 16, 2013, news conference at the White House on proposals to reduce gun violence. (Associated Press)