Posted: Sep 10, 2012 12:22 AM PDT Updated: Sep 10, 2012 10:22 AM PDT
War on TerrorMore>>


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How the nation and world commemorated 9/11

How the nation and world commemorated 9/11

A look at some commemorations on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.More >>


By The Associated Press A look at some commemorations on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks:More >>


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Smaller memorials on 11th anniversary of 9/11

Smaller memorials on 11th anniversary of 9/11








There were still the tearful messages to loved ones and moments of silence. But 11 years after Sept. 11, Americans appeared to enter a new, scaled-back chapter of collective mourning.More >>


There were still the tearful messages to loved ones, clutches of photos and flowers, and moments of silence. But 11 years after Sept. 11, Americans appeared to enter a new, scaled-back chapter of collective mourning for the...More >>


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Partisan jibes on hold for 9/11 _ but not politics

Partisan jibes on hold for 9/11 _ but not politics








It could be the only day before the Nov. 6 election without explicit partisan rancor.More >>


President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney declared a fleeting truce for partisan digs Tuesday as the nation remembered the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but campaign politics crackled through even their somber observances.More >>


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Michael J. Fox participates in 9/11 charity event

Michael J. Fox participates in 9/11 charity event


Michael J. Fox is doing his part to make the anniversary of 9/11 about helping others.More >>


Michael J. Fox did his part to make the anniversary of 9/11 about helping others.More >>


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Biden: Country hasn't forgotten 9/11 families

Biden: Country hasn't forgotten 9/11 families


Vice President Joe Biden told loved ones of those killed 11 years ago on board Flight 93 that a ceremony in western Pennsylvania and others in New York and Washington, D.C. can be a reminder that the country...More >>


Ceremonies in New York City, Washington, D.C., and a western Pennsylvania field are a reminder that the nation hasn't forgotten the 9/11 attacks and offer a chance for the victims' families to remember and recover,...More >>


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Iraq opens controversial refugee camp to diplomats

Iraq opens controversial refugee camp to diplomats


Iraq's government has given foreign diplomats a rare look inside a refugee camp housing Iranian exiles, as Baghdad seeks international help resettling them in another country.More >>


Iraq offered foreign diplomats on Tuesday a rare glimpse at a camp that is the new temporary home of an Iranian exile opposition group that has a long-running feud with Baghdad, winning from the envoys cautious praise of the...More >>


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Base attack kills 3 Afghans, destroys NATO chopper

Base attack kills 3 Afghans, destroys NATO chopper


NATO says three members of the Afghan national security forces have been killed in an attack at Bagram Air Field, a sprawling U.S. base north of Kabul.More >>


Afghan insurgents bombarded a U.S. base and destroyed a NATO helicopter, killing three Afghan intelligence employees, officials said Tuesday. There were also NATO personnel aboard and wounded, the coalition said without...More >>


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Obama: US safer, resilient on 9/11 anniversary

Obama: US safer, resilient on 9/11 anniversary


President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and White House staffers observed a moment of silence Tuesday on the White House south lawn in memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.More >>


President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are at Arlington National Cemetery visiting the graves of service members killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.More >>


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Obama, first lady visit Arlington National Cemetery to mark 11th anniversary of 9/11 attack

Obama, first lady visit Arlington National Cemetery to mark 11th anniversary of 9/11 attack


Obama, first lady visit Arlington National Cemetery to mark 11th anniversary of 9/11 attack.More >>


Obama, first lady visit Arlington National Cemetery to mark 11th anniversary of 9/11 attack.More >>


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Obama: On 11th anniversary of 9/11 'our country is safer and our people are resilient'

Obama: On 11th anniversary of 9/11 'our country is safer and our people are resilient'


Obama: On 11th anniversary of 9/11 'our country is safer and our people are resilient' .More >>


Obama: On 11th anniversary of 9/11 'our country is safer and our people are resilient' .More >>


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National NewsMore>>


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AP Top News at 9:30 p.m. EDT

AP Top News at 9:30 p.m. EDT


A haze of thick smoke formed Tuesday over vast swaths of the West as wildfires forced more residents to flee their homes in several states. Fire officials reported seven homes were destroyed and hundreds of people...More >>


A Libyan security official says one American consulate employee has been shot dead and another wounded in the hand during an attack at the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Bengazi. Wanis al-Sharef, an interior ministry...More >>


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Storms cause flooding in Nev., Southern Calif.

Storms cause flooding in Nev., Southern Calif.


Intense thunderstorms swept over parts of the Southwest on Tuesday, delaying flights and stranding motorists in the Las Vegas area and flooding two mobile home parks in Southern California.More >>


Intense thunderstorms swept over parts of the Southwest on Tuesday, delaying flights and stranding motorists in the Las Vegas area and flooding two mobile home parks in Southern California.More >>


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Chicago teacher strike poses test for unions

Chicago teacher strike poses test for unions








The massive teacher strike in Chicago offers a high-profile test for the nation's teacher unions, which have seen their political influence threatened as a growing reform movement seeks to expand charter schools,...More >>


The massive teachers' strike in Chicago offers a high-profile test for the nation's teachers' unions, which have seen their political influence threatened as a growing reform movement seeks to improve ailing...More >>


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Salton Sea fingered as culprit of big Calif. stink

Salton Sea fingered as culprit of big Calif. stink


Noses across Southern California were hoping for a sweeter-smelling Tuesday as public officials sought a solid answer for what made Monday so pungent.More >>


Air quality investigators have confirmed that a foul stench that stretched across Southern California came from the Salton Sea.More >>


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Police ID gunman found dead in South Dakota salon

Police ID gunman found dead in South Dakota salon


Police say a man armed with a gun is holed up inside a South Dakota hair salon after a woman was found shot to death in a car he was believed to be driving.More >>


A South Dakota man took his two young children from a baby sitter's home at gunpoint, and then apparently killed himself inside of a hair salon Tuesday after officers found an employee shot to death in a car in the salon...More >>


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Zuckerberg: Time to 'double down' on Facebook

Zuckerberg: Time to 'double down' on Facebook


One question will surely be hanging over the head of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday when he gives his first interview since the company's rocky initial public offering in May.More >>


Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hasn't enjoyed seeing his company's stock get pummeled on Wall Street this summer, but he is relishing the opportunity to prove his critics wrong.More >>


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Libya: 1 American dead, 1 wounded at mission

Libya: 1 American dead, 1 wounded at mission


A Libyan security official says one American consulate employee has been shot dead and another wounded in the hand during an attack at the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Bengazi.More >>


A Libyan security official says one American consulate employee has been shot dead and another wounded in the hand during an attack at the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Bengazi.More >>


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10 Things to Know for Wednesday

10 Things to Know for Wednesday


By The Associated Press Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday:More >>


By The Associated Press Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday:More >>


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Anti-Islam film sparks Libya, Egypt protests

Anti-Islam film sparks Libya, Egypt protests


Egyptian protesters, largely ultra conservative Islamists, have climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, made their way into the courtyard and brought down the flag. They then replaced it with a black flag...More >>


A movie attacking Islam's prophet Muhammad sparked assaults on U.S. diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt on Tuesday. A Libyan security official reported an American was shot to death as protesters burned the U.S....More >>


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Administration urges terror surveillance renewal

Administration urges terror surveillance renewal


The Obama administration maintains it is unable to say how many times one of the government's most politically sensitive anti-terrorism surveillance programs - which is up for renewal this week on Capitol Hill -...More >>


The Obama administration maintains it is unable to say how many times one of the government's most politically sensitive anti-terrorism surveillance programs - which is up for renewal this week on Capitol Hill - has...More >>


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AP National News VideoMore>>


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7711502', 'Obama%2C%20Panetta%20mark%20anniversary%20of%209%2F11', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '109000', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Obama, Panetta mark anniversary of 9/11[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7711502', 'Obama%2C%20Panetta%20mark%20anniversary%20of%209%2F11', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '109000', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Obama, Panetta mark anniversary of 9/11[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7711502', 'Obama%2C%20Panetta%20mark%20anniversary%20of%209%2F11', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '109000', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7711502', 'Obama%2C%20Panetta%20mark%20anniversary%20of%209%2F11', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '109000', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Quotes from President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on the anniversary of 9/11[url=javascript:playVideo('7711502', 'Obama%2C%20Panetta%20mark%20anniversary%20of%209%2F11', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '109000', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


Quotes from President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on the anniversary of 9/11[url=javascript:playVideo('7711502', 'Obama%2C%20Panetta%20mark%20anniversary%20of%209%2F11', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '109000', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7708168', 'A%20look%20at%20the%20National%20Sept.%2011%20Memorial', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '128300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]A look at the National Sept. 11 Memorial[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7708168', 'A%20look%20at%20the%20National%20Sept.%2011%20Memorial', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '128300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]A look at the National Sept. 11 Memorial[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7708168', 'A%20look%20at%20the%20National%20Sept.%2011%20Memorial', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '128300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7708168', 'A%20look%20at%20the%20National%20Sept.%2011%20Memorial', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '128300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


A look inside the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center[url=javascript:playVideo('7708168', 'A%20look%20at%20the%20National%20Sept.%2011%20Memorial', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '128300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


A look inside the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center[url=javascript:playVideo('7708168', 'A%20look%20at%20the%20National%20Sept.%2011%20Memorial', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '128300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7707022', 'Status%20of%20World%20Trade%20Center%20site%2C%2011%20years%20later', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '135600', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Status of World Trade Center site, 11 years later[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7707022', 'Status%20of%20World%20Trade%20Center%20site%2C%2011%20years%20later', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '135600', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Status of World Trade Center site, 11 years later[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7707022', 'Status%20of%20World%20Trade%20Center%20site%2C%2011%20years%20later', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '135600', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7707022', 'Status%20of%20World%20Trade%20Center%20site%2C%2011%20years%20later', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '135600', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Office towers, transportation hub under way at World Trade Center site[url=javascript:playVideo('7707022', 'Status%20of%20World%20Trade%20Center%20site%2C%2011%20years%20later', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '135600', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7707548', 'Surprising%20methods%20heal%20wounded%20troops', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '207467', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Surprising methods heal wounded troops[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7707548', 'Surprising%20methods%20heal%20wounded%20troops', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '207467', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Surprising methods heal wounded troops[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7707548', 'Surprising%20methods%20heal%20wounded%20troops', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '207467', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7707548', 'Surprising%20methods%20heal%20wounded%20troops', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '207467', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Doctors move beyond bionic legs and grow ears, bone, muscle and skin for troops[url=javascript:playVideo('7707548', 'Surprising%20methods%20heal%20wounded%20troops', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '207467', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


Doctors move beyond bionic legs and grow ears, bone, muscle and skin for troops[url=javascript:playVideo('7707548', 'Surprising%20methods%20heal%20wounded%20troops', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '207467', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7706539', 'Chicago%20teachers%20strike%20for%20first%20time%20in%2025%20years', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '108733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7706539', 'Chicago%20teachers%20strike%20for%20first%20time%20in%2025%20years', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '108733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7706539', 'Chicago%20teachers%20strike%20for%20first%20time%20in%2025%20years', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '108733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7706539', 'Chicago%20teachers%20strike%20for%20first%20time%20in%2025%20years', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '108733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Chicago teachers hit picket lines; mayor vows to keep kids safe, get them back in classroom[url=javascript:playVideo('7706539', 'Chicago%20teachers%20strike%20for%20first%20time%20in%2025%20years', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '108733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


Chicago teachers hit picket lines; mayor vows to keep kids safe, get them back in classroom[url=javascript:playVideo('7706539', 'Chicago%20teachers%20strike%20for%20first%20time%20in%2025%20years', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '108733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7706538', 'Chicago%20mayor%3A%20Teacher%20strike%20'unnecessary'', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '73733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Chicago mayor: Teacher strike 'unnecessary'[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7706538', 'Chicago%20mayor%3A%20Teacher%20strike%20'unnecessary'', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '73733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Chicago mayor: Teacher strike 'unnecessary'[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7706538', 'Chicago%20mayor%3A%20Teacher%20strike%20'unnecessary'', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '73733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7706538', 'Chicago%20mayor%3A%20Teacher%20strike%20'unnecessary'', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '73733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Chicago teachers hit picket lines; mayor vows to keep kids safe, get them back in classroom[url=javascript:playVideo('7706538', 'Chicago%20mayor%3A%20Teacher%20strike%20'unnecessary'', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '73733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


Chicago teachers hit picket lines; mayor vows to keep kids safe, get them back in classroom[url=javascript:playVideo('7706538', 'Chicago%20mayor%3A%20Teacher%20strike%20'unnecessary'', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '73733', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7705961', 'Border%20Patrol%20halts%20Mexico%20flights', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '253233', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Border Patrol halts Mexico flights[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7705961', 'Border%20Patrol%20halts%20Mexico%20flights', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '253233', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Border Patrol halts Mexico flights[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7705961', 'Border%20Patrol%20halts%20Mexico%20flights', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '253233', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7705961', 'Border%20Patrol%20halts%20Mexico%20flights', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '253233', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Border Patrol halts one-way flights to Mexico from Arizona amid cost concerns[url=javascript:playVideo('7705961', 'Border%20Patrol%20halts%20Mexico%20flights', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '253233', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


Border Patrol halts one-way flights to Mexico from Arizona amid cost concerns[url=javascript:playVideo('7705961', 'Border%20Patrol%20halts%20Mexico%20flights', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '253233', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7700540', 'Obama%3A%20Unemployment%20report%20%22not%20good%20enough%22', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '84300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Obama: Unemployment report "not good enough"[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7700540', 'Obama%3A%20Unemployment%20report%20%22not%20good%20enough%22', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '84300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Obama: Unemployment report "not good enough"[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7700540', 'Obama%3A%20Unemployment%20report%20%22not%20good%20enough%22', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '84300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7700540', 'Obama%3A%20Unemployment%20report%20%22not%20good%20enough%22', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '84300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


President Barack Obama says news that private employers created just 96,000 jobs last month is "not good enough" and the economy needs to churn out jobs faster.[url=javascript:playVideo('7700540', 'Obama%3A%20Unemployment%20report%20%22not%20good%20enough%22', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '84300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


President Barack Obama says news that private employers created just 96,000 jobs last month is "not good enough" and the economy needs to churn out jobs faster.[url=javascript:playVideo('7700540', 'Obama%3A%20Unemployment%20report%20%22not%20good%20enough%22', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '84300', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7700823', 'Shifting%20sands%20from%20Isaac%20reveal%201923%20shipwreck', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '77500', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Shifting sands from Isaac reveal 1923 shipwreck[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7700823', 'Shifting%20sands%20from%20Isaac%20reveal%201923%20shipwreck', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '77500', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Shifting sands from Isaac reveal 1923 shipwreck[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7700823', 'Shifting%20sands%20from%20Isaac%20reveal%201923%20shipwreck', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '77500', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7700823', 'Shifting%20sands%20from%20Isaac%20reveal%201923%20shipwreck', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '77500', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Ship that wrecked on Alabama beach in 1923 uncovered by shifting sands from Hurricane Isaac[url=javascript:playVideo('7700823', 'Shifting%20sands%20from%20Isaac%20reveal%201923%20shipwreck', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '77500', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


Ship that wrecked on Alabama beach in 1923 uncovered by shifting sands from Hurricane Isaac[url=javascript:playVideo('7700823', 'Shifting%20sands%20from%20Isaac%20reveal%201923%20shipwreck', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '77500', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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[url=javascript:playVideo('7698031', 'Asking%202nd%20term%2C%20Obama%20says%20nation%20will%20recover', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '144933', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Asking 2nd term, Obama says nation will recover[/url]

[url=javascript:playVideo('7698031', 'Asking%202nd%20term%2C%20Obama%20says%20nation%20will%20recover', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '144933', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]Asking 2nd term, Obama says nation will recover[/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7698031', 'Asking%202nd%20term%2C%20Obama%20says%20nation%20will%20recover', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '144933', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


[url=javascript:playVideo('7698031', 'Asking%202nd%20term%2C%20Obama%20says%20nation%20will%20recover', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '144933', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');][/url]


Obama in convention finale: 'Our challenges can be met' to repair economy, revive the nation[url=javascript:playVideo('7698031', 'Asking%202nd%20term%2C%20Obama%20says%20nation%20will%20recover', 'v', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '144933', 'News%20-%20AP-National', '', 'www.ktvn.com','flv');]More >>[/url]


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By AMIR SHAH and DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - President Hamid Karzai welcomed Monday's handover of the main American-run prison to Afghan forces as a victory for Afghan sovereignty, though he and U.S. officials remain locked in a dispute over the fate of hundreds of Taliban and terror suspects behind bars.



The United States is withholding the transfer of scores of inmates, reportedly out of concern that Afghan authorities may simply let some detainees go and no longer hold dangerous prisoners without charge.



American irritation was apparent at the ceremony at the prison, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Kabul. No higher ranking American officers attended, although the Afghan government sent its defense minister, army chief of staff and other officials.



Karzai also did not attend, though he released a statement calling the handover a "very big step regarding the sovereignty of Afghanistan."



"Now, the Bagram prison is converted to one of Afghanistan's regular prisons where the innocents will be freed and the rest of the prisoners will be sentenced according to the laws of Afghanistan," the statement said.



The more than 2,000 Afghan military policemen now at the prison said the inmates were pleased to be guarded by Afghans.



"We are Afghan and they are Afghan. They are Muslim. We are Muslim," said Ashna Gul, a military policeman from Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. "We can see each other through the steel windows. Sometimes we are laughing and joking with the prisoners and they are happy with our guys."



Firoz Khan, another military policeman from Nangarhar, said some of the inmates ask him to get them more soap and shampoo.



"We sympathize with them because they are prisoners and they are away from their families," Khan said.



Hours after the handover ceremony, a suicide attack killed 15 people and wounded 25 others in the northern city of Kunduz. The bombing was a stark reminder that insurgents continue their fight against Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops and that many detainees at the prison are suspected of organizing such attacks.



The U.S. began detention operations at Bagram Air Field in early 2002. For several years, prisoners were kept at a former Soviet aircraft machine plant converted into a lockup. In 2009, the U.S. opened a new detention facility next door. The number of detainees incarcerated at the prison, now called the Parwan Detention Facility, has swelled from about 1,100 in September 2010 to 3,110 in the spring of this year.



The prison has been the focus of controversy in the past but never had the notoriety of the prisons at the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Had al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden been captured instead of killed, CIA Director Leon Panetta said he would have been taken to Bagram first, then probably to Guantanamo Bay.



Earlier this year, the prison gained unwanted attention when hundreds of Qurans and other religious materials were taken from its library and sent to a burn pit at the military base. The event triggered scores of deadly anti-American protests across Afghanistan. More than 30 Afghans and six U.S. soldiers were killed during the violent demonstrations. Karzai said Qurans would never have been burned if Afghans had been in control of the prison then.



Karzai and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding about the future of the detention facility on March 9, following tense negotiations that frequently stalled.



Since then, the U.S. has transferred 3,082 detainees to Afghan control, according to Afghan Army Gen. Ghulam Farouk, who now heads the prison. He said Monday that the U.S. was in the process of transferring the remaining 30 inmates picked up before the memorandum was signed plus another 600 captured after the signing.



But a few weeks ago, the U.S. stopped all transfers.



"Some 99 percent of the detainees captured before 9 March have already been transferred to Afghan authority, but we have paused the transfer of the remaining detainees until our concerns are met," said Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition.



Graybeal would not describe the concerns, but a report released last week by the New York-based Open Society Foundations said the rift was over whether the Afghans will have a so-called "internment" system that allows some detainees to be held without charge or trial. The U.S. has been holding detainees in internment at Bagram for years.



Although the Afghan government agreed to embrace an internment system by signing the accord in March, some top Afghan officials and legal experts contend it violates the Afghan constitution, the report said. Moreover, Karzai himself is opposed to administrative detention, according to the report.



The U.S. is now worried that the Afghan government will discontinue internment and either release dangerous detainees or forward their cases to the loosely run Afghan judicial system, which is tainted by corruption and secrecy, the group said.



"There are concerns on the U.S. side about division in the Afghan government over internment and that it is not constitutional," said Rachel Reid, a senior policy adviser on Afghanistan for the Open Society Foundations. "The basic concern is that if they don't have internment, they will be released."



On the flip side of the legal issue, some Afghan legal experts are worried about Afghan officials abusing any authority to hold detainees without trial.



"Consider the fact that even our regular laws are ignored by powerful people," said Abdul Qawi Afzali of the Legal Aid Organization Afghanistan. "What will happen when you give them the actual, legal power to detain people like this law does?"



Panetta, the Pentagon chief, spoke with Karzai by phone Monday and "expressed a shared commitment to implement the terms of the memorandum of understanding on detention operations," said his press secretary, George Little. He said the phone call was cordial.



Monday was the deadline for the transfer of the prison.



In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen downplayed the dispute and said the handover reflected the ongoing process of Afghans taking the lead for running security and other institutions in their homeland. Afghan policemen and soldiers are to be in charge of security across the country by the end of 2014, when most international troops will have left or moved into support roles.



"We take it for granted that the Afghan authorities will take all necessary measures to prevent any security risks," the NATO chief said. "That's also in their interest."



Afghan officials also played down the issue.



Acting Defense Minister Enayatullah Nazari said after the ceremony that the delay in handing over the rest of the prisoners was due to "technical issues."



Farouk, the new prison director, said: "We are telling the Afghan president and the Afghan people that today is a proud day. We will protect the rights of prisoners according to international law and Afghan law."



There is another major issue that remains unresolved at the prison.



The memorandum of understanding did not address the estimated 50 non-Afghan prisoners that the U.S. is holding at the prison. They include individuals from Pakistan, Tunisia, Yemen and detainees transferred to Bagram from other wars, such as Iraq. The U.S. will retain custody of these non-Afghan prisoners until their fate is addressed in another agreement between the Afghan and U.S. governments.



At the ceremony, 16 prisoners, all wearing matching gray sweaters, were released.



Haji Lalai from Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, said he was detained at the prison two years - 20 months by the U.S. military and four months under Afghan guard.



"It was OK, but sometimes the Americans had a bad attitude against us," he said, adding that he didn't like the prison food and often shivered in his cell. "I am happy to be released. I was not an insurgent. I was innocent. I was arrested in my house."



Mirwais, a man from Zabul province in the south who uses only one name, told a similar story.



"The U.S. raided my home. I'm a shopkeeper. I was at home with my family and they raided my home at night and took me to Bagram," Mirwais said, adding that he was imprisoned for 10 months. "The Americans' attitude toward us was not good."