Social Issues

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An Afghan youth lies on a hospital bed after being injured in a suicide attack in Gardez, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010. A Taliban suicide bomb ripped through shop stalls inside the Gardez army base, killing two NATO service members and at least two civilians, officials said. (AP Photo)

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Republican Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., arrives for a rare Saturday lame duck session of the U.S. Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010. The Senate agenda features a pair of votes: one on a proposal to extend all expiring tax cuts on individuals with incomes of less than $200,000 a year and married couples making less than $250,000; the other to renew them for all tax filers with incomes of less than $1 million. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks to a reporter on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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A Greek firefighting plane participates in efforts to extinguish a wildfire over Ein Hod in northern Israel, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Foreign firefighters and aircraft poured into Israel Friday in an unprecedented wave of international assistance as the country battled a huge forest fire that has killed dozens of people and displaced thousands. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

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This product image courtesy of Piperlime shows a limited edition T-shirt designed by Mondo Guerra to benefit amFAR. Mondo designed two limited-edition T-shirts to launch Wednesday, to coincide with World AIDS Day. For each shirt sold, $20 will be donated to amFAR, an organization that focuses on AIDS research. (AP Photo/Piperlime) NO SALES

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A worker walks past the a red ribbon on a poster in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday Aug. 20, 2010. The Red Ribbon campaign promotes awareness of the ongoing fight against the AIDS epidemic, and marks World AIDS Day on December 1st. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

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House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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** FILE ** U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt, pictured in 1997, has refused to recuse himself from considering the constitutionality of California's Prop 8 gay-marriage ban next week. (AP Photo/Stephanie Turner, File )

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Associated Press Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, on Wednesday said he is pushing for a vote as soon as possible on the Dream Act, an immigration-related measure.

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BLOOMBERG Erskine Bowles (right) and Alan Simpson, co-chairmen of the president's deficit commission, challenged the panel's members to put aside partisan differences and agree to its tax and budget recommendations.

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House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer says the chamber will vote on a bill that would extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for most Americans, but call for a tax increase for those making more than $250,000.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican has said that "Republicans will vote against proceeding to any legislative matter until we've funded the government and protected every taxpayer from a tax hike." (AP Photo)

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Three youths caught on surveillance cameras at the Washington Humane Society's shelter on Monday are suspected of having stolen a puppy. (Photo courtesy of the Washington Humane Society)

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Three youths are pictured on surveillance cameras taking a puppy from the Washington Humane Society shelter on Monday. (Photo courtesy of the Washington Humane Society)

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Afghan acting Health Minister Suraya Dalil speaks during a ceremony marking the World AIDS Day in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010. The Afghan Ministry of Health has recorded 636 HIV positive cases and estimates around 2000 - 3000 HIV and AIDS cases in the country, Dalil said. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

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Students hug each other during the "Free Hugs" campaign as they commemorate World Aids Day at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010. The campaign is an initiative to show support and combat discrimination against people infected with AIDS. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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An unidentified African resident of Pamplona northern Spain, holds a red symbol of the fight against AIDS during events for World Aids Day Wednesday Dec.1, 2010 . (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

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In this photo taken Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010, a volunteer of the Indian Red Cross Society lights a candle during an HIV and AIDS awareness rally ahead of World AIDS Day in Agartala, capital of India's northeastern state of Tripura. World AIDS Day is being marked across the world Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bapi Roy Choudhury)

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A college student displays a red ribbon, the symbol for AIDS awareness, at a rally to mark World AIDS Day in Jammu, India, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)