Ben Ali trial positive but shows flaws: HRW

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ben-ali-trial-positive-shows-flaws-hrw-173235157.html

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Romney Still Gets Money from Bain Through Offshore Accounts

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-still-gets-money-bain-offshore-accounts-134221641.html

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Microsoft Certifications

A comprehensive resource of Microsoft certification information. Includes detailed information about the current Microsoft certifications. Learn what each Microsoft certification stands for. Includes links to Microsoft certifications courses and practice exams.

1. Microsoft MCITP

The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) credential shows that you have current skills and proven job-role capabilities to work effectively with a comprehensive set of Microsoft technologies.

There are currently 7 sub-specialties within the MCITP certification. Of these, the MCITP Enterprise and MCITP Database are among the highest paying technical certifications.

2. Microsoft MCPD

The Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) credential highlights distinguishes the holder as an expert in Windows development, Web application development, or enterprise applications development, which are the three MCPD Paths.

3. Microsoft MCTS

The MCTS - Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist - is a popular certification with many sub-specialties. As of this writing, there are 19 Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications, including the newer Office Project 2007 certification family. Expect more specialties to become available as Microsoft introduces new technologies.

5. Microsoft MCA

The MCA - Microsoft Certified Architect - is a very senior level Microsoft certification. Obtaining the elite MCA certification sets you apart from your peers as an expert that can deliver high quality Microsoft based solutions to clients with complex business and technical requirements. While the certification doesn't rank on the list of highest paying in the tech industry, I suspect that is only because there are not as many MCAs available to respond to surveys. Microsoft reports that MCAs see their hourly bill rate increase dramatically, sometimes by as much as 33%.

6. Microsoft MCAD

The Microsoft MCAD certification (Microsoft Certified Application Developer) is intented to provide recognition for developers who build applications using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and Web services. It is among the highest paying technical certifications and is in high demand by employers.

7. Microsoft MCSA

The MCSA - Microsoft Certified System Administrator - is designed to make sure you have the skills to effectively manage and troubleshoot systems running on the Microsoft Windows operating system.

8. Microsoft MCSE

The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification is designed to showcase your expertise in designing and implementing the infrastructure for business solutions based on the Microsoft Windows 2000 platform and Windows Server Systems.

9. Microsoft MCDBA

The MCDBA (Microsoft certified Database Administrator) is designed to make sure you have the skills to lead organizations in the successful design, implementation, and administration of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 databases. It is among the highest paying technical certifications in the job market.

10. Microsoft MCDST

The Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) is an entry-level Microsoft certification. If you are looking for a way to get into the IT industry or to supplement your skills and education, the MCDST is a great certification to start with.

11. Microsoft MOS

The MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) certification program certifies a level of expertise with Microsoft Office desktop programs, including Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Microsoft Office Access and Microsoft Office Project.

Source: http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/educationfortechcareers/tp/MSCerts.htm

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Whale sanctuary bid falls short

Link Information - Click to View

Whale sanctuary bid falls short
A proposal to declare almost all of the southern Atlantic Ocean a whale sanctuary is defeated at the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting.

Source: BBC News
Posted on: Tuesday, Jul 03, 2012, 8:24am
Views: 7

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/121438/Whale_sanctuary_bid_falls_short

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Barclays CEO Bob Diamond quits

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/barclays-says-bob-diamond-quits-063504008--sector.html

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Conservation renews portraits of founding fathers

This undated file photo shows Gilbert Stuart's 1796 oil on canvas portrait of George Washington on display at Washington's National Portrait Gallery. Sixteen paintings by American artist Gilbert Stuart of some of the nation's founding fathers and other figures are showing their true colors for the first time in decades through a major conservation project at the National Gallery of Art. (AP Photo, File)

This undated file photo shows Gilbert Stuart's 1796 oil on canvas portrait of George Washington on display at Washington's National Portrait Gallery. Sixteen paintings by American artist Gilbert Stuart of some of the nation's founding fathers and other figures are showing their true colors for the first time in decades through a major conservation project at the National Gallery of Art. (AP Photo, File)

(AP) ? Sixteen paintings by American artist Gilbert Stuart of some of the nation's founding fathers and other figures are showing their true colors for the first time in decades through a major conservation project at the National Gallery of Art.

The project is restoring the original appearance of Stuart's portraits of people including presidents George Washington and John Adams. Gallery conservators have been painstakingly removing yellowed varnish from Stuart's paintings to reveal true flesh tones and clothing colors that had been hidden by a discolored old protective coating.

Conservators told The Associated Press the work may reveal some new discoveries about Stuart's work. His "Vaughan-Sinclair" portrait of the nation's first president from 1795 may actually be a more finished painting from an earlier time than originally thought. It will likely draw interest from Stuart researchers, they said.

In a portrait of Abigail Adams that took Stuart 15 years to complete, conservators believe they discovered traces of an original headdress that was changed later, perhaps to better match the changing fashions by the time the painting was completed in 1815.

"What's emerged now that time's varnish is gone is everything we knew to be true and more," said Nancy Anderson, a curator of American and British painting. "You get to see the virtuoso technique because nothing's obscuring it anymore."

The conservation project spans some of Stuart's earliest paintings to portraits he completed late in life as one of the most famous portraitist artists. The gallery holds 42 paintings by Stuart altogether. He is most famous for his paintings of Washington, particularly the full-length "Lansdowne" portrait of the president.

Stuart was born in Rhode Island in 1755 and trained with a Scottish portrait painter. At 19 during the start of the American Revolution, Stuart went to London and worked as an assistant to artist Benjamin West and later moved to Dublin to continue painting and perfecting his technique. He returned to the United States in 1793 with his sights set on painting Washington and making a name for himself.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay wrote a letter introducing Stuart to Washington to help the artist gain access to the president. Stuart had a list of subscribers clamoring for a depiction of the nation's most famous politician and military figure. Eventually, Washington agreed to sit for Stuart in Philadelphia.

Stuart painted three portraits while Washington was sitting. One bust-length portrait he supposedly didn't like and rubbed out ? but copied it several times before destroying it. One of Stuart's original copies is believed to be the "Vaughan-Sinclair" portrait that has been conserved, said portrait conservator Joanna Dunn.

She uses a mild solvent to remove the varnish with tiny cotton swabs to treat the paintings. Old restoration paint that no longer matches the original color also is removed. Damaged areas can be repaired with in-painting using a tiny brush filling in the losses of pigment to show the works as the artist intended. One of Stuart's paintings of his uncle, Capt. Joseph Anthony, has a severe tear Dunn is working to cover.

The most dramatic change as conservators demonstrate the process comes as the aged varnish is removed. The yellow layer has hidden Stuart's brushwork for decades since they came to the National Gallery of Art from private collections. The varnish also changes the color relationships in the paintings, making them look flatter.

"A painting is really like a trick of the eye," Dunn said. "It's a two-dimensional thing that's making it look three dimensional. So when you change those color relationships, you lose the depth of the painting."

Bright white collars have been restored, along with a glimmer of blue in John Adams' eyes and the details of Washington's face ? the pink in his cheeks and his five o'clock shadow.

"Prior to cleaning, he was quite jaundice," Anderson said. "Now beautifully fresh, and you can see the life in his cheeks, the blood beneath his skin instead of just the yellow varnish. He has just emerged transformed by the treatment."

The conservation treatment also indirectly extends the life of the paintings, Dunn said. If the varnish isn't removed soon enough, it may never come off. Conservators would reach a point where removing the varnish also would remove the paint. And when the paintings become too discolored, they are rarely shown to the public because they are less attractive.

Treatment of Stuart's portrait of Abigail Adams revealed the style of her head gear changed from the time he started the painting in 1800 to its completion in 1815. He started with a much larger bonnet but covered it up and replaced it with a more stylish headdress later.

Traces of the original bonnet were revealed beneath the varnish but were covered again with restoration paint as Stuart intended.

Abigail Adams grew impatient with Stuart, admonishing him in letters to complete their commissioned paintings. He had apparently moved on to other works and was in high demand.

"I just don't know what to make of this Mr. Stuart," she said at one point, Anderson recounted.

She persisted, though, to have the paintings completed because the Adams family apparently thought Stuart's skill in capturing the essence of personality was unmatched.

Six of the newly restored works will be unveiled to the public in October in a new exhibit, "Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection," pairing art from the period with furniture. Other Stuart portraits, including his depiction of the first five presidents, already are on display in the permanent collection.

A grant from Bank of America funded the restoration project, speeding the work by years by providing funds to hire two outside conservators to work at the gallery. The bank began funding conservation projects in recent years since the economic downturn after seeing a need that was largely unfunded. It is committing $2 million a year to provide grants to museums for such conservation projects, and the National Gallery of Art is among its largest grants, said Allen Blevins, a senior vice president in charge of heritage and arts programs.

The bank wanted to fund projects that would make such works more accessible to the public, Blevins said, and "this is going to allow them to loan more Gilbert Stuart portraits to museums around the country."

___

Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-07-02-Gilbert%20Stuart-Painting%20Preservation/id-f3fb9135c4f549dd94bc2ad9b7085ebc

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The Fireworks Laws of Every State [Fireworks]

If you're looking to blow some stuff up tomorrow, it's probably a good idea to know what sort of fireworks you're "legally" allowed to use according to state law. This map will give you all the information you need to know on whether fireworks are legal, illegal or incredibly lame in your state. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/xIN--0qkV5k/the-fireworks-laws-of-every-state

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Rubber hand shows brain can be fooled on skin colour

Taking pointers from rubber hands, psychologists have shown that racial differences really are only skin deep.

When someone sees a rubber hand being stroked while their actual hand is hidden from view and stroked simultaneously, they can begin to "embody" it ? to feel that the rubber hand is their own ? and lose feeling in their real hand.

But can you embody a rubber hand of a different skin colour from your own? Manos Tsakiris and colleagues at Royal Holloway, University of London, induced the illusion in 22 white participants, using both white and black rubber hands. Later, the subjects claimed, on average, to have identified more strongly with the white hand.

Objective measures suggested otherwise, though. For instance, one measure of the strength of the illusion is a shift in the perceived location of the real hand ? known as proprioceptive drift. The volunteers showed the same amount of drift regardless of the colour of the rubber hand.

Surface features

The team also tested changes in skin conductance ? a measure of stress ? when the subjects saw a needle being stuck into the embodied rubber hand. In theory, the more the subject identifies with the rubber hand, the greater this stress response. Yet they were just as stressed watching the needle puncture the black hand as the white one.

"The processes that are involved in the illusion aren't particularly sensitive to the skin colour of the hand," says team member Harry Farmer.

"The way that the brain defines who we are doesn't care that much about the surface features, it cares about actual sensory experiences," says Patrick Haggard of University College London, who was not involved in the work.

Journal reference: Consciousness and Cognition, DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.04.011

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Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/20ec6f1d/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn220A0A30Erubber0Ehand0Eshows0Ebrain0Ecan0Ebe0Efooled0Eon0Eskin0Ecolour0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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High-tech hunt for Earhart's plane?to begin

Components of Amelia Earhart's plane might have floated for weeks in the waters of an uninhabited island in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati, according to new analysis of a photograph taken three months after the disappearance of the glamorous aviator on July 2, 1937, during a record attempt to fly around the world at the equator.

Shot by British Colonial Service officer Eric R. Bevington in October 1937, during an expedition to assess the suitability for future settlement and colonization of Nikumaroro, a deserted island between Hawaii and Australia, the grainy photo has prompted a new expedition to find pieces of Earhart's long-lost Lockheed Electra aircraft.

  1. More science news from msnbc.com

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      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Has the Higgs boson finally been detected? It's almost gotten to the point that if a discovery of some sort doesn't come out of next week's update on the multibillion-dollar subatomic search, it'll be a big surprise.

    2. Enjoy the long weekend, if only for a second
    3. Is Baltic Sea 'sunken UFO' a scam?
    4. Rock Center video: Egypt's Tomb Raiders

"We will depart Honolulu on July 3rd aboard the University of Hawaii oceanographic research ship R/V Ka Imikai-O-Kanaloa. In about eight days we should get to Nikumaroro, where we will carry out a deep-water search for the wreckage," Ric Gillespie, executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), told Discovery News.

The 26-day expedition and its findings will be captured by a film crew from Discovery Channel and aired as a documentary in August.

Archival research and a number of artifacts unearthed on Nikumaroro during nine previous archaeological expeditions have provided strong, circumstantial evidence for a castaway presence on the coral atoll.

Gillespie believes that Earhart's twin-engined plane did not crash in the Pacific Ocean, running out of fuel somewhere near her target destination Howland Island. Instead, he thinks Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan made an emergency landing on Nikumaroro's flat coral reef. There, they would have survived as castaways "for a matter of weeks, possibly more," said Gillespie.

The hunt for the plane wreckage will rely on robots and multi-beam sonar capable of mapping the seafloor at depths of almost 7 miles. The action will be on the reef slope off the west end of Nikumaroro, where waters can reach 5,000 feet. This is the area shown in Bevington's picture.

"The photo shows the western end of the island and the wreck of the British steamer SS Norwich City, which went aground on the island's reef in 1929," Gillespie said.

"But on the left side of the frame there is something else: an apparent man-made protruding object which is hard to explain in that spot," Gillespie said.

"The photo is wallet-size and, in the original print, the object of interest is smaller than a grain of rice and easily missed," he added.

Indeed, the mysterious object went unnoticed until 2010, when TIGHAR forensic imaging specialist Jeff Glickman spotted it while reviewing the original copy-negative.

"When we plotted the location, we realized it was in the same place where, in 1999, a former resident of Nikumaroro (a colony was established on the island in December of 1938 and lasted until 1963), told us of seeing debris in 1940. Her father, the island carpenter, told her it was the wreckage of an airplane," Gillespie said.

A high-resolution scan of the original print, now kept at the Rhodes House Library at Oxford, U.K., allowed Glickman to carry out a more detailed analysis of the photo.

"There is an object on the reef, but from the picture we can?t definitely prove what it is. However, one interpretation is consistent with four components that existed on Earhart?s Lockheed Electra Model 10E Special," Glickman said presenting his findings last month at an Amelia Earhart conference.

According to Glickman, the object in the image could be a composition made from the upside-down landing gear of Earhart's plane: a floating wheel, the fender, the strut and a worm gear.

"Imagery analysts at the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, who examined the photo, agreed with Glickman?s analysis. All the four elements appeared to match the shape and dimensions of the components in the landing gear of a Lockheed Electra," Gillespie said.

Previous expeditions have confirmed that there is nothing remaining in the location on the reef edge where the object appears in the 1937 Bevington photos.

"However, there are grooves in the reef surface where debris could easily have once been caught," Gillespie said.

He admits that there are several possible scenarios that could defeat TIGHAR's efforts to find the wreckage. For example, the plane could have floated away for miles before sinking, or it could have broken up, sunk close to the island and been buried by underwater landslides.

The underwater search will begin with a mapping of the general area with multi-beam sonar. Targets will be identified using high-resolution, side-scan sonar mounted on an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). Finally, a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) with powerful lights and high-definition video cameras will be used to investigate the targets.

"If we are fortunate enough to find whatever remains of the airplane, we will get imagery and photographs and then prepare a recovery expedition," Gillespie said.

"Our hope is that finding identifiable pieces of the plane will help make it possible to do further archaeology on shore to learn more about Amelia's last days," he said.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48045456/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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'Unreal': Residents tour Colo. blaze devastation

This Sunday, July 1, 2012 video image taken from AP video shows a group of firefighters raising an American flag above a section of the burned out neighborhood, Mountain Shadows, Colo. Almost 350 homes burned to the ground last week in the Waldo Canyon fire, one of many still raging across the West. (AP Photo/AP Video, C.J. Moore)

This Sunday, July 1, 2012 video image taken from AP video shows a group of firefighters raising an American flag above a section of the burned out neighborhood, Mountain Shadows, Colo. Almost 350 homes burned to the ground last week in the Waldo Canyon fire, one of many still raging across the West. (AP Photo/AP Video, C.J. Moore)

The remains of a burned structure are left in the Mountain Shadow neighborhood devastated by raging wildfires, Friday, June 29, 2012, in, Colorado Springs, Colo. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A firefighter from the Bighorn 209, a hand crew from the Crow Agency in Montana, check for hot spots on the Waldo Canyon Fire west of Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, June 29, 2012. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Barack Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

The Mountain Shadows neighborhood is left damaged by the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, June 29, 2012. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Barack Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Joe Amon) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT

The Mountain Shadows neighborhood is left damaged by the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, June 29, 2012. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Barack Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Joe Amon) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT

(AP) ? Melted bowling balls in the front yard were among the strange sights that met C.J. Moore upon her return Sunday to her two-story home, now reduced to ashes by the worst wildfire in Colorado history.

"You wouldn't think bowling balls would melt," she told The Associated Press by phone from the scene in her Mountain Shadows neighborhood, where she was among residents who were allowed temporary visits to areas most affected by the fire.

More than a week after it sparked on June 23, the Waldo Canyon fire was still being attacked by some 1,500 personnel. But crews working grueling shifts through the hot weekend made progress against the 26-square-mile fire, and authorities said they were confident they finally had built good fire lines in many areas to stop the spread of the flames.

So far, the blaze, now 45 percent contained, has destroyed nearly 350 homes.

It was just one of several still burning in the West, where parched conditions and searing heat contributed to the woes facing crews on hundreds of square miles across Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

In Colorado Springs, a line of cars a mile long queued up at a middle school checkpoint, where police checked the identification of returning residents and handed them water bottles.

While searching for her great-grandmother's cast-iron skillets, Moore marveled at the juxtaposition of what burned and what hadn't. The bowling balls had been garden decorations.

"To find my mail in my mailbox, unscathed. It's just unreal. Unreal," she said. "Bird baths are fine. Some of the foliage is fine."

Three neighbors' homes were unscathed. Only concrete remained of other homes, including hers. Cars were burned to nothing but charred metal.

"Good Lord! I've never seen anything like this. And thank God there was nobody there. Thank God there were no people here. There would have been no been no hope.," Moore said.

Not far away, Bill Simmons and his wife, Debbie Byes, returned to their tri-level, passive-solar stucco home and found no damage ? just some ashes in the driveway.

"The water and electric's back on. You know, we're good to go. We're feeling pretty happy about it at the moment," Simmons said by phone. "We're feeling pretty sad for our neighbors and pretty lucky for ourselves. It's been a real sobering experience."

Authorities said they would lift more evacuation orders Sunday night, bringing the total number of people who remain blocked from their homes down to 3,000 from more than 30,000 at the peak of the fire.

Rich Harvey, incident commander for Waldo Canyon, said crews continue to make good progress.

"We're cautiously optimistic," he said Sunday morning. "We still remain focused on things that could go wrong."

Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, which so far has cost $8.8 million to battle. Dangerous conditions had kept them from beginning their inquiry, but investigators were able to start their work on Saturday.

More than 150 National Guard soldiers and airmen helped Colorado Springs police staff roadblocks and patrol streets.

A "bear invasion" confronted a few mountain enclaves west of Colorado Springs. The scent of trash had enticed black bears pushed out of their usual forest habitat by fire.

People who left in a hurry didn't take typical precautions to secure household trash against wildlife, said El Paso County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer.

"So that's become an attraction for the bears," Kramer said.

State game officials were trying to shoo the bears out, he said, and Dumpsters were stationed to help volunteers and returning homeowners throw stuff out. Kramer didn't know how many bears were causing problems.

Among the fires elsewhere in the West:

? Utah: Fire commanders say Utah's largest wildfire has consumed more than 150 square miles and shows no sign of burning itself out. Hundreds of firefighters are trying to hold the Clay Springs fire from advancing on the ranching towns of Scipio and Mills on the edge of Utah's west desert. The fire has destroyed one summer home and threatens 75 others. The fire was 48 percent contained on Sunday.

? Montana: Crews in eastern Montana strengthened fire lines overnight on a 246-square-mile complex of blazes burning about 10 miles west of Lame Deer. More than 500 firefighters are now at the lightning-caused fires that started Monday and have destroyed more than 30 structures.

? Wyoming: A wind-driven wildfire in a sparsely populated area of southeastern Wyoming exploded from eight square miles to nearly 58 square miles in a single day, and an unknown number of structures have burned. About 200 structures were considered threatened.

? Idaho: Firefighters in eastern Idaho had the 1,038-acre Charlotte fire 80 percent contained Sunday but remained cautious with a forecast of high winds and hot temperatures that could put hundreds of homes at risk.

? Colorado: The last evacuees from the High Park Fire in northern Colorado have been allowed to return home as crews fully contained the blaze. The 136-square-mile fire killed one resident and destroyed 259 houses, a state record until the fire near Colorado Springs.

___

Associated Press writers Paul Foy in Salt Lake City and Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-01-Western%20Wildfires/id-1f573cee393944f6b7f9c331e5a50f35

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