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During a 12-month period ended in March this year, for example, the U.S. intelligence community suggested on a daily basis that 1,600 people qualified for the list because they presented a “reasonable suspicion,” according to data…

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The Supreme Court this week will hear a case that raises bedrock questions about the ability of the market to set “reasonable” corporate compensation, and experts say its outcome could hold important clues about the judiciary’s view of extraordinary interventions in the economy by the executive branch and Congress.

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The White House Halloween 2009 festivities involved 2,600 children and adults. Pres. Barack Obama’s halloween costume was simple — casual slacks, a checked shirt and black sweater. First Lady Michelle Obama had a Cat Woman costume, while White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was decked out as Darth Vader. United Nations ambassador Susan Rice opted for a Goofy costume for the event. The

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Saturday doled out presidential M&Ms and dried fruit mixes to more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters, marking their Halloween at a White House event partly aimed at honoring military families.

Dressed as superheroes, pirates, fairies and skeletons, the kids came in with their parents from Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., lining up at the orange lit White House.

The Obamas smiled, chatted and passed out cellophane goody bags that were also filled with a sweet dough butter cookie made by White House pastry chef Bill Yosses and a National Park Foundation Ranger activity book. Mrs. Obama wore furry cat ears and a leopard-patterned top.

A big, stuffed, black spider dangled in a web of string from the top of the portico, and pumpkins had sprouted up around the columns.

The loot handed out was just part of the treat for the kids, ages 6 to 14.

“He touched my hand,” said a beaming Tiera Thomas, 11, of Washington, D.C., after she picked up her candy from President Obama.

The Obamas spent about a half hour passing out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Then they headed inside to a reception in the East Room, where the first couple attended a reception for military families and for the moms and dads who work at the White House, along with their kids. The visiting children were chosen with help from the Education Department.

Obama thanked the military members and their families. “We are so grateful to you,” he said. “Especially now, a lot of the times, you guys are separated. It’s tough. The spouses who are at home are serving just as much as folks who are deployed. So we are just so thrilled that you guys could be here and we could say personally ‘thank you’ to all of you.”

Michelle Obama said the kids were “just so cute.”

Obama added: “They’re adorable, as is, by the way, my wife, a very nice looking catwoman.”

The president, dressed in casual clothes, was one of the few not in costume. Even Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, was dressed as Darth Vader, the “Star Wars” villain.

It was also the first White House Halloween for the Obamas’ daughters, 8-year-old Sasha and 11-year-old Malia.

But the White House refused to say where Sasha and Malia Obama were celebrating Halloween and what the two girls were wearing, even though hundreds of other children their ages were in costume in full view of the media. The White House referred back to first lady Michelle Obama’s comment to Jay Leno, that finding out what Sasha and Malia were wearing would require “security clearance.”

Over the years, the winter holidays have been the ones to get the full treatment at the White House, with Christmas trees and tinsel all around.

The Obamas are not the first, though, to show Halloween spirit.

President George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush hosted 500 children on Halloween in 1989, loading them up with fun loot but also teaching them about the dangers of drugs. The kids came decked out in costumes; some Secret Service agents came dressed as clowns.

In the Clintons’ first year in the White House, the Great Pumpkin returned. A huge orange jack-o’-lantern was formed around the front entrance to the White House, with the front door to the mansion serving as the middle tooth. The first couple’s daughter, Chelsea, was 13 at the time and the house was stuffed with pumpkins.

During the Nixon administration, first daughter Tricia hosted parties for underprivileged children, according to the White House Historical Association. And plenty of other first families got festive for Halloween.

No telling what kind of goblins might pop up this year, although stories of ghosts – especially Abraham Lincoln’s – are woven into White House history.

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Associated Press writers Ben Feller and Nancy Benac contributed to this story.

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On the Net:

White House Historical Association on Halloween: http://tinyurl.com/ydeyhmw

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People who illegally download music from the internet also spend more money on music than anyone else, according to a new study.

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LONDON — The Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock, and Lloyds Banking Group are to sell off as many as 700 branches in the next few years in exchange for the public aid they received during the economic meltdown, a government official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The assets being put up for sale would be reserved for new entrants to the British banking market, effectively creating three new banks over the next five years or so, the official said.

The official said that the banks were in negotiations with Britain’s treasury and European regulators over how many assets they would have to give up in return for the help they received from taxpayers.

“Essentially, they are expected to have to divest – each of them – some of their branches,” he said.

As many as 700 branches could be sold off, the official said. That figure would include all of Northern Rock’s 100 or so branches, as well as chunks from the Lloyds Banking Group PLC’s approximately 3,000 branches and just over 2,200 branches operated by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.

Established players such as Barclays PLC or the Spanish Banco Santander S.A., which owns three U.K. banking businesses, would not be allowed to bid.

The official warned that the figures were subject to change, and spoke on condition of anonymity because the moves had yet to be finalized. He added that an official announcement could come within days.

The shake-up would come after Britain pumped billions of pounds (dollars) into its banking sector in an effort to stave off the collapse of its financial system in the wake of the credit crunch. Northern Rock was nationalized early last year after it struggled to raise funds from crunch-hit wholesale lending markets. The government has significant stakes in both RBS and Lloyds Banking Group.

The European Union has kept a wary eye on efforts by Britain and other governments to prop up their banks, warning that it may call on banks that got public help to sell off some of their units, a move intended to help counter the advantage they get from massive state recapitalizations.

In the case of RBS, Northern Rock and Lloyds Banking Group, proceeds from the sales would indirectly help the government recoup some of the money it spent bailing the banks out because it still owns all or parts of them.

Lloyds Banking Group and RBS declined to comment on the matter late Saturday.

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Barack Obama’s most devilish political move since the 2008 campaign was to appoint a Republican congressman from upstate New York as secretary of the Army. This week’s election to fill that vacant seat has set off nothing less than a riotous and bloody national G.O.P. civil war.

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I am still waiting for the game to start. Yankees vs Phillies World Series Game 3 is currently delayed due to rain.It’s Yankees at Phillies for the 2009 World Series Game 3. It’s tied at a game apiece. Who will win tonight? World Series Game 3 results may not be known soon. The tarp remains down and the rain is still pouring. And there’s no estimated start time. Major League Baseball