Politics

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Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell, Calvert Republican, addresses his fellow delegates during Tuesday’s special session at on expanding gambling in the state. “The votes didn’t exist for the underlying issue so this was offered,” he said of an amendment on gambling in veterans halls. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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One of three Ugandan military helicopters that crashed on Mount Kenya sits in ruins on Africa’s second-highest peak on Tuesday. The helicopter was among four that had been headed to Somalia to join the fight against an Islamist group. The three helicopters that crashed were Mi-24 gunships. The fourth helicopter that landed safely was an Mi-17. Authorities could not yet say why three of four helicopters making the trip crashed. (Associated Press)

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Riad Hijab, Syriaís defected former prime minister, speaks at a press conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. Hijab is the highest-ranking political figure to defect from Assadís regime and in his first public comments since leaving his post and fleeing to Jordan he said Tuesday that the regime was near collapse and urged other political and military leaders to tip the scales and join the rebel side. (AP photo/Mohammad Hannon)

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A coal miner cheers as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, speaks during an event at the American Energy Corporation in Beallsville, Ohio, on Tuesday. The United Mine Workers of America has yet to make a decision about endorsing President Obama. (Associated Press)

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George Allen, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Virginia, has declined repeatedly to indicate whether he firmly supports the Medicare reform proposal being championed by his party’s vice-presidential nominee-in-waiting. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Redskins quarterback robert Griffin III plays with Trinity Austin, 3, as he joined by his fiancee Rebecca Liddicoat (right) following the Redskins training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., Monday, August 13, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)