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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Imagine if your country had an unlimited budget but a limited amount of land: what renewable energy has the most potential? Rutgers University professor Clinton Andrews and colleagues ran the numbers on this thought experiment and came up with some surprises. They identified clear limits on some technologies, notably biofuels, but concluded that the bigger challenges to renewable energy and land relate to siting energy facilities, particularly transmission lines.

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The president’s visit to Grand Isle, a thin barrier island on the far southern tip of Louisiana about two and a half hours south of New Orleans, came as BP faced a day of stops and starts in its latest effort to stem the flow of oil. In the operation, known as a “top kill,” heavy drilling liquids were being pumped into the well to stem the gushing oil.

Sen. Roberts is being too generous. Obama is among the most thin-skinned presidents we have had, and we see evidence of it in every possible venue imaginable, from one-on-one interviews to press conferences, from extemporaneous remarks to set speeches.

RECENT POLLS have shown that the American people overwhelmingly support allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Congress reflected that view late Thursday when a Senate committee and the full House of Representatives voted to repeal the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The vote was a victory for anyone who abhors discrimination. But it’s not a done deal yet.

One way to understand the divisions in the Republican Party is as a clash of regional philosophies. Northeastern conservatism is moderate, accepts the modern welfare state, and dislikes mixing religion with politics. Western conservatism is hawkish, hates government, and embraces individual freedom. Southern conservatism is populist, draws on evangelical Christianity, and plays upon racial resentments. The big drama of the GOP over the past several decades has been the Northeastern view giving way to the Southern one. To see this transformation in a single family, witness the shift from George H.W. Bush to George W. Bush.

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Late Friday night as the Memorial Day weekend began, Arizona’s Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, in effect, suspended the state’s Democratic attorney general from defending the new law in upcoming legal challenges. The measure, known as S.B. 1070, is due to take effect this summer and, among other things, allows local police under federal guidelines to check the immigration status of people they stop. (For a full list of background stories, see Related Items below.)

HOUSTON – BP engineers struggled Friday to plug a gushing oil well a mile under the sea, but as of late in the day they had made little headway in stemming the flow.

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VENICE, La./HOUSTON, May 29 (Reuters) - BP Plc (BP.L) said on Saturday the complex “top kill” maneuver to plug its Gulf of Mexico oil well has failed, crushing hopes for a quick end to the largest oil spill in U.S. history already in its 40th day.

The germ, known as Clostridium difficile, has long plagued the medical profession and is blamed for an increasing amount of illness in patients.

(Reuters) – Gay and lesbian activists eluded Russian security services in a five-hour game of cat and mouse on Saturday to hold the first gay protest in Moscow not to be broken up by riot police.

MADRID (AP) -- Fitch Ratings cut Spain’s credit rating Friday, saying its government’s efforts to reduce debt would weigh down economic growth.

(Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N)(BRKb.N) confirmed on Friday that Warren Buffett will testify under subpoena before a U.S. panel examining the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.