Deals of the Hour

Trying to find out what's the deal with the world, tracking what's on sale and who's talking about it on Twitter. Update hourly.

Deals of the Hour / June 26, 2011, 6:40 am

Iowa corn crop looks good but faces buffeting from abroad

The U.S. Senate vote to end the 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit was more symbolic than real. A greater problem is the discount for ethanol from wholesale gasoline, which has been cut in half from the 30-cent-per-gallon level of a month ago as the price of ... (Source: Des Moines Register 2011-06-26T12:38:50Z)

Suicide car bomber kills 35 at Afghan clinic

KABUL, Afghanistan—A suicide car bomber attacked a health clinic in eastern Afghanistan as women and children lined up for maternity care and vaccinations, killing at least 35 people in one of the deadliest attacks against civilians this year. The sport ... (Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel 2011-06-26T11:34:24Z)

Death toll rises to six in Amtrak collision

Weener did not offer an explanation for the driver's apparent failure to notice the signs or lights, saying the train's engineer saw the collision clearly and verified that the signals were working correctly. "We will not be determining a probable cause of ... (Source: WTVR-TV 2011-06-26T12:10:12Z)

Judge Unexpectedly Halts Casey Anthony Trial Until Monday

One witness was to offer a second opinion on the chloroform readings that the state's witness, Dr. Arpad Vass, provided from Casey Anthony's trunk. The trial will resume at 8:30 a.m. ET Monday. On Friday, defense attorneys showed jurors several photos that ... (Source: FOX News 2011-06-25T19:20:53Z)

FBI on defensive over capture

It also noted that the Boston FBI office immediately requested its Los Angeles counterparts to conduct surveillance on the Santa Monica, Calif., apartment, where they were led to believe he and his longtime galpal, Catherine Greig, were living. (Source: Boston Herald 2011-06-26T12:10:12Z)

Drivers, engineer watched Nev. Amtrak crash unfold

Two truck drivers and a train engineer watched helplessly as a semitrailer skidded the length of a football field before it smashed through crossing gates and into two double-decker cars of an Amtrak train at a highway crossing, killing at least six people ... (Source: Santa Maria Times 2011-06-26T12:38:50Z)

Taliban: Militant and wife staged attack on Pakistani police

More Pakistani cooperation is needed as Washington seeks to wind down the U.S.-led war in neighboring Afghanistan and defeat al-Qaida and its allies. But Pakistan's generals are furious because the United States kept them in the dark over the bin Laden raid. (Source: msnbc.com 2011-06-26T12:10:12Z)

U.S. Veteran Faces Legal Action for Flying American Flag

The association has offered to fly the flag at the entrance of the building development, but Quigley refused the offer. "If they can dictate to me that I cannot fly an American flag in America, then, to me, the country is lost," Mr. Quigley told the paper. (Source: FOX News 2011-06-26T13:21:47Z)

Our View: With 5 days left, here are 5 points to ponder

The least they can do now is offer ideas that might bridge gaps between Republicans and Dayton. No lights-on bills A "lights-on" bill is bad for two reasons. It gives these elected officials an excuse to continue their failed ways. It also sets a ... (Source: St. Cloud Times 2011-06-26T11:48:43Z)

A learning trip to Costa Rica

I discovered that tourism is the country's main source of revenue. In the beginning, it was coffee, then bananas, now it is people from all over the world coming here to this beautiful land of diverse regions. We started planning in September 2010 for our ... (Source: Des Moines Register 2011-06-26T12:38:50Z)

More than 500 search for missing Indiana student; no new leads

Some volunteers carried walking sticks and water bottles; almost all wore sturdy shoes and layers of clothing, ready for an all-terrain hike through outlying areas of Bloomington and into Brown County in the hopes of finding anything that might offer a clue. (Source: Chicago Tribune 2011-06-26T13:28:56Z)

Barack Obama, American President

Anger over the President's performance is understandable. But ahistorical criticism that exaggerates his awfulness or imputes to him unusually dark motives discredits critics and, more importantly, minimizes the work that needs to be done. In case you ... (Source: DAILY KOS 2011-06-26T13:28:56Z)

Bulger: The "Hannibal Lecter of South Boston"

"I don't think she knows anything, but I think she might let people think she knows something, to bargain for her freedom or whatever she wants to do," MacKenzie said. "'Whitey' Bulger was very cunning - the Hannibal Lecter of South Boston." (Source: CBS News 2011-06-25T13:44:26Z)

Death toll rises to 47 from Russian plane crash

MOSCOW—Two people who survived a fiery Russian plane crash have died in a Moscow hospital, bringing the death toll to 47. The Tu-134 plane slammed into a highway just minutes before landing at the Petrozavodsk airport in Russia's northwest on June 20 ... (Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel 2011-06-26T13:28:56Z)

Whitey Bulger, a savvy, feared fugitive, is found frail and paranoid

But soon after Bulger was lured out of a Santa Monica apartment on Wednesday and arrested at long last, it became clear that the reputed mobster was an old and ailing man living a quiet life. The end did not come in a hail of gunfire, as he'd once ... (Source: Los Angeles Times 2011-06-24T17:20:22Z)

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