Scaffolding that collapsed during a storm and killed seven people during the Indiana State Fair last year was not up to standard, and the fair's commission did not have adequate emergency planning in place, according to two investigative reports presented Thursday.

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Reports: Ind. fair stage not up to code

Foreclosure filings fell during the first quarter of 2012 to their lowest levels since the housing market began its collapse nearly five years ago, according to new data from the firm RealtyTrac . The number of foreclosures during the first three months of this year was the lowest quarterly total since the final quarter of 2007. The numbers show that, in March, foreclosures were filed on just fewer than 199,000 properties, a 17 percent decrease from a year earlier and the first time the monthly total has dipped below 200,000 since July 2007. Read full article > >

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Foreclosures reach lowest quarterly level since late 2007, RealtyTrac data show

A six-year-old child dies and many are injured, including two seriously, when the first floor of a Protestant house of worship north of Paris collapsed, police say

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Paris church collapse kills child

An 80-year-old US woman with little flying experience has staged an emergency landing in Wisconsin after her pilot husband collapsed and died.

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VIDEO: Woman lands plane as husband dies

Former MF Global assistant treasurer Edith O’Brien invoked her constitutional right not to testify Wednesday at a House hearing probing the collapse of the big brokerage firm and the disappearance of as much as $1.6 billion of customers’ money. Read full article > >

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Former MF Global executive O’Brien declines to testify

After losing everything in the collapse of the Irish economy, Frank Buckley built his home from bricks made out of shredded, decommissioned euro notes.

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Dublin Journal: A Billion-Euro House Built of Shredded Bills – Dublin Journal

Bolton’s pre-match tribute to Fabrice Muamba ahead of their Premier League game against Blackburn, the first since the player’s collapse.

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VIDEO: Bolton’s pre-match Muamba tribute

This is the time of year when gardeners get an itch to do something to mark the lengthening days and the promise of a new growing season. One response is to fuss with seeds: selecting, buying, sowing. You can wait until early spring and buy commercially grown transplants and have a perfectly fine garden of vegetables, herbs and annuals. But there are valid and noble reasons to get into seed starting, which I do with a homemade four-shelf apparatus that so far hasn’t collapsed. The seed trays go under standard four-foot double shop lights, suspended on chains so I can raise them as the seedlings grow. Read full article > >

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It’s seed-starting time

MOSCOW – Russia’s most independent and liberal radio station has been firmly reminded of who’s boss here, winding up on the losing end of a boardroom fight. Ekho Moskvy, or Echo of Moscow, has been a fixture in Russia since just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, a favorite of the intelligentsia, a relentless critic of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and, many believe, a safety valve in a country where free expression on the airwaves is typically suppressed . But with a presidential election campaign underway, and tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets regularly, even Ekho Moskvy’s relatively small voice might have become too loud for the Kremlin’s liking. Read full article > >

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Owner wields ax at lively Russian radio outlet

Back in August, Texas Gov. Rick Perry — a man who appeared to have a serious chance at becoming the next president — was saying his state would treat Ben Bernanke “pretty ugly” if he didn’t stop printing money. But Bernanke’s reception in front of the Senate Budget Committee was quite a bit, well, prettier. “I believe when history has been written, you will be a critical figure,” enthused Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). “Your role has been prominent in preventing the complete collapse of the financial system. For that I am grateful.” And Nelson wasn’t alone. The hearing quickly turned into a total Bernanke lovefest. Read full article > >

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A bipartisan Bernanke lovefest

A factory building has collapsed in the Pakistani city of Lahore, with many people including child workers feared trapped, officials say.

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VIDEO: Lahore factory collapses in gas blast

Former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Fred Goodwin, heavily criticised over the bank’s near collapse, loses his knighthood.

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Goodwin stripped of knighthood

Hopes are fading of finding more survivors after Wednesday’s building collapse in Rio de Janeiro killed at least 17 people, Brazilian officials say.

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Rio disaster survivor hopes fade

The British government’s so-called money transfers prop up its poorer regions, keeping them from the kind of collapse suffered in euro zone nations like Greece.

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The Welsh Economy Slips, but London Cushions the Fall

Saudi Arabia’s Gulf allies joined Riyadh on Tuesday in pulling out of an Arab League monitoring team to Syria, risking the collapse of a mission whose presence has not halted more than 10 months of violence.

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Gulf Arabs Quit Syria Monitoring Mission