1. BOOKER WINS NEW JERSEY SENATE PRIMARY
Newark Mayor Cory Booker easily won the Democratic primary in New Jersey's special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Frank Lautenberg, who died in June. Early returns showed Booker, considered a rising star in his party, with 75 percent of the vote. Booker, 44, is considered a strong favorite to win the October general election against GOP primary winner Steven Lonegan, the former mayor of Bogota, N.J., as Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in the state. [Los Angeles Times]
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2. PRO-MORSI PROTESTERS DIE IN RAID TO END SIT-IN
Egyptian security forces moved in with armored vehicles and bulldozers on Wednesday to clear a Cairo camp filled with Islamist protesters demanding the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood said 100 people were killed in the raid, although authorities dispute the figure. Reuters reported that the death toll was at least 30. The clash came after a six-week stand-off between Morsi's supporters and the military-backed government that replaced him. [BBC News, Reuters]
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3. FEDS MOVE TO BLOCK MERGER OF U.S. AIRWAYS AND AMERICAN
The Justice Department on Tuesday unexpectedly filed a lawsuit aiming to block the merger of U.S. Airways and American Airlines, which would create the world's largest carrier. The proposed deal would cap a decade of consolidation in the industry, and executives didn't anticipate any opposition. The Justice Department's antitrust division, however, said the merger would hurt competition and result in higher fares for travelers, a claim the airlines denied. [New York Times]
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4. GERMANY AND FRANCE PULL THE EUROZONE OUT OF RECESSION
The 17-nation eurozone pulled out of the longest recession in its history in the second quarter of 2013, thanks to unexpectedly strong growth in Germany and France. Germany grew by 0.7 percent while France expanded by 0.5 percent, thanks partly to strong consumer spending. Despite the good news, debt-laden countries such as Spain and Italy remained in recession, suggesting the region's recovery will be bumpy. [Reuters]
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5. ISRAEL RELEASES PALESTINIANS AS PEACE TALKS BEGIN
Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners Tuesday night under a deal brokered by the U.S. to revive peace talks, which are scheduled to begin on Wednesday. The last negotiations stalled three years ago over Israel's construction of settlements on disputed land. The prisoner release was intended as a gesture of goodwill, although it came after Israel vowed to move forward with plans to build 900 housing units in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state. [New York Times, CNN]
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6. WEINER DROPS TO FOURTH AHEAD OF NEW YORK MAYORAL PRIMARY
After plunging in the polls, former congressman Anthony Weiner used his opening remarks in a New York mayoral debate to make another public apology for the sexting revelations that have disrupted his campaign and hurt his family. Weiner then got combative, trading barbs with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who recently surged into the lead among the five Democratic primary candidates. Weiner has dropped to fourth with the vote less than a month away. [ABC News]
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7. ICAHN GIVES APPLE A BOOST
Apple shares spiked late Tuesday, gaining 3.8 percent after billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn revealed that he had bought up a big stake in the iPhone maker. Apple shares have dropped by nearly 25 percent this year as analysts complained that it lacked blockbuster new products and was surrendering its role as an industry innovator. Icahn, however, said he believed Apple's stock was "extremely undervalued," and he encouraged CEO Tim Cook to expand a stock buyback to reward shareholders. [Forbes]
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8. ALLEGED HOSTAGE TAKER KILLED BY LOUISIANA POLICE
Louisiana police early Wednesday shot and killed a man who allegedly had taken three people hostage at a bank branch in rural St. Joseph, a quiet farming town of about 1,200 people.. Authorities identified the man as 20-year-old Fuaed Abdo Ahmed, whose family owns a convenience store across the street. The hostage taker had reportedly given police a list of demands, but police shot him after he released one of the captives and shot the two others, killing one of them. [USA Today]
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9. HANNAH ANDERSON REPORTEDLY SPEAKS OUT AFTER KIDNAPPING RESCUE
A person claiming to be Hannah Anderson, the 16-year-old California girl rescued Saturday after a kidnapping ordeal, said in a post on a social networking site that her alleged captor "deserved what he got" when he was killed in a shootout in the Idaho wilderness. Anderson said James DiMaggio, a close family friend also suspected of killing her mother and brother, had threatened to kill her if she tried to escape. [Associated Press]
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10. HOOTERS BANS SAN DIEGO MAYOR BOB FILNER
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who has been accused of sexual harassment by 13 women, has completed a course of intensive behavior therapy, but his troubles are far from over. When he tried to return to his office this week, he couldn't get in because the locks had been changed, and now there's another place he can't go — Hooters. The local franchise posted signs at four San Diego restaurants saying it wouldn't serve him. "We're strictly taking a stand for the fair treatment of women," a spokesperson said. [Slate, Politico]
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