Politics

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President Benigno Aquino III, center, takes his oath before Supreme Court Associated Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as the Philippines' 15th President during inaugural ceremony Wednesday June 30, 2010, in Manila, Philippines. Mr. Aquino, the only son of Philippine democracy icons, the late President Corazon Aquino and assassinated opposition leader Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., won by a landslide in the May 10 automated presidential elections. At right holding the Holy Bible is Jesuit priest Father Catalino Arevalo. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

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GLASS HALF FULL: Optimism is high that Army Gen. David H. Petraeus will be confirmed in the next few days as commander of allied forces in Afghanistan. (Associated Press)

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Activists hold placards with Chinese words that say "release Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng" during a protest outside the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong in May as they demand the Chinese government to release the political prisoners who are in urgent health conditions. This week's resumption of U.S.-China human rights talks after two years will spotlight what critics say is a deterioration in Beijing's record on legal protections, free speech and civil society, and are expected to take up individual cases such as Liu Xiaobo's, along with a list of topics including religious freedom, attacks on the legal profession and China's strict Internet controls. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** The acting Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., leaves the committee office on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2010. (Associated Press)

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In a 1977 photo provided by County Records, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia Democrat, posed in front of the capitol building with his fiddle. The photo will adorn the cover of a re-issue of an album produced by Mr. Byrd called "Mountain Fiddler." Mr. Byrd won his first race, for the state's House of Delegates, in 1946, distinguishing himself from 12 rivals by singing and fiddling mountain tunes. He died Monday, June 28, 2010 at the age of 92. (AP Photo/County Records, Carl Fleischhauer)

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Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, accompanied by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, Connecticut Independent., speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 29, 2010, after meeting with President Obama to discuss passing comprehensive energy and climate legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Exterior of the River House Apartments in Arlington Va., on Monday, June 28, 2010. Two defendants, known as Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills, were arrested at their residence in this building. Ten people have been arrested for allegedly serving as secret agents of the Russian government with the goal of penetrating U.S. government policymaking circles. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Door entrance to apartment 15N at 1505 N Quinn St in Arlington Va., Monday, June 28, 2010. Defendant Mikhail Semenko was arrested at this residence. Ten people have been arrested for allegedly serving as secret agents of the Russian government with the goal of penetrating U.S. government policymaking circles. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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The intersection of 10th and H Street NW in Washington, Monday, June 28, 2010. According to court papers, an undercover FBI agent posing as a Russian agent met with Mikhail Semenko at this Washington location. Ten people have been arrested for allegedly serving as secret agents of the Russian government with the goal of penetrating U.S. government policymaking circles. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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This undated image taken from a Facebook page shows a woman journalists have identified as Anna Chapman, who appeared at a hearing Monday, June 28, 2010 in New York federal court. Chapman, along with 10 others, was arrested on charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. attorney general. (AP Photo)

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FBI agents gather in front of the two-story residence in Yonkers, N.Y., where two suspected Russian secret agents Vicky Pelaez and a man known as "Juan Lazaro" were arrested on Monday June 28, 2010. The FBI has arrested 10 people for allegedly serving for years as secret agents of Russia's intelligence service, the SVR, with the goal of penetrating U.S. government policymaking circles. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Shawn Cohen)

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Margo Sokolow is interviewed by the media in front of her home on Marquette Road in Montclair, N.J., on Monday, July 28, 2010. Her neighbors, "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy," were arrested by the FBI at their house on Sunday. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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Neighbors are interviewed on Marquette Road in Montclair, N.J., on Monday, July 28, 2010. Their neighbors, "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy" were arrested by the FBI at their house on Sunday. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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** FILE ** Gen. David Petraeus testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, June 29, 2010, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to be confirmed as President Obama's choice to take control of forces in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Gen. David Petraeus testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 29, 2010, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to be confirmed as President Obama's choice to take control of forces in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Senate Judiciary Committee members, from left, the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican, committee Chairman Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, Sen. Herb Kohl, Wisconsin Democrat, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, listen to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 29, 2010, during the committee's confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama, questions U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan during the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Miss Kagan told senators that the framers of the Constitution anticipated it would be interpreted in light of changes in society, technology and the country at large. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

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Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, foreground. listens to questions from Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on video screen, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 29, 2010, during the committee's confirmation hearing for Kagan. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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Senate Judiciary Committee member Al Franken,Minnesota Democrat, sketches Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican, the committee's ranking Republican, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 29, 2010, during the committee's confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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**FILE** President Obama meets with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on June 29, 2010. (Associated Press)