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/ 14 April 2008

From big oil to big wind

T Boone Pickens is famous for thinking big. He founded his Texan oil company, Mesa Petroleum, in 1956 with just 500 in the bank. After a string of audacious takeovers he turned it into an independent empire that challenged the big oil companies, and today he is worth -billion. Now this straight-talking Southerner is launching the biggest and most audacious project of his career.

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/ 4 February 2008

US braces for decisive Super Tuesday vote

Exhausted White House hopefuls launched one last frenzied day of campaigning before the 24-state Super Tuesday — the biggest one-day White House nominating contest in history. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are fighting neck-and-neck in the Democratic showdown, while John McCain looked set to take a firm grip on the Republican contest.

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/ 2 February 2008

US campaign frenzy ahead of Super Tuesday

White House hopefuls have launched a frantic blitz with the stakes enormous heading into ”Super Tuesday” and the home stretch of the costliest and longest United States election campaign in history. Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were criss-crossing the country over the weekend.

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/ 1 February 2008

Clinton, Obama make peace with eye on history

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton shared a debate stage alone for the first time on Thursday, striking a cordial tone and highlighting their opportunity to make history as the next United States president. ”Just by looking at us, you can tell we aren’t more of the same,” said Clinton, a New York senator who would be the first woman US president.

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/ 17 November 2007

Hollywood writers, studios to resume talks

Striking United States screenwriters and major film and TV studios agreed on Friday to resume formal contract talks on November 26. The announcement of new talks came hours after the strike claimed its first big-screen casualty, with production of the follow-up to the box-office hit The Da Vinci Code.

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/ 28 October 2007

Retreating California fires leave smoke hazard

Firefighters tightened their grip on California’s wildfires with the help of cooler weather, but a threat remained on Sunday of health hazards from choking plumes of smoke over the region. Cooler temperatures, calmer winds and spots of drizzle allowed firefighters to staunch or contain most of the 23 fires that have erupted since last Sunday.

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/ 25 October 2007

Break in weather slows California wildfires

California wildfires that have destroyed 1 300 homes and forced the evacuation of 500 000 people raged into a fifth day on Thursday, but firefighters seized on a break in the weather to largely halt the march of destruction. About 15 fires still blazed across the southern part of the state, lighting up the night sky.

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/ 24 October 2007

500 000 forced to flee California wildfires

Fierce wildfires raged across Southern California on Tuesday, threatening more than 60 000 homes as night fell and forcing half a million people to flee in the state’s largest evacuation. California’s worst fires in four years tormented the San Diego area in the south and threatened mountain communities further north.