Environment

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Darlene Derosier, 43, a Muslim convert since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, posts a sign explaining Islamic cleansing rituals for prayer at the Al-Fattah Mosque in Gressier. The tradition of constant washing, she said, helps Muslims avoid cholera. (Associated Press)

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This 1969 illustration by Charles Bittinger showing Earth from outer space is among the works the National Geographic Society will be auctioning at Christie’s. The auction of 240 photos and illustrations in December, the first by the society, is expected to bring $3 million. (National Geographic via Associated Press)

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Darlene Derosier, 43, a Muslim convert since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, posts a sign explaining Islamic cleansing rituals for prayer at the Al-Fattah Mosque in Gressier. The tradition of constant washing, she said, helps Muslims avoid cholera.

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Darlene Derosier, 43, a Muslim convert since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, posts a sign explaining Islamic cleansing rituals for prayer at the Al-Fattah Mosque in Gressier. The tradition of constant washing, she said, helps Muslims avoid cholera.

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Defendants Claudio Eva (center) and Bernardo De Bernardinis (third from right) listen to the verdict at the court in L'Aquila, Italy, on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. The two were among seven scientists and experts convicted of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn citizens before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. (AP Photo/Raniero Pizzi)

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Pro-North Korean activists stage a rally to stop the sending of anti-North Korea leaflets across the border on the road in Paju, near the Demilitarized Zone, in South Korea on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. North Korea's military warned last week that it would strike if South Korean activists carried through with their plan to fly balloons carrying the propaganda leaflets across the border. South Korea pledged to retaliate if it was attacked. The placards translate as "Stop sending anti-North Korea leaflets." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

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Police officers block an activist in a car carrying anti-North Korea leaflets in Paju, near the Demilitarized Zone, in South Korea on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. South Korea banned the activists Monday from entering a border area where they planned to launch anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea, an unusual move that the activists likened to surrender. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

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North Korean defector Park Sang-hak protests as police block his planned rally on a road in Paju, near the demilitarized zone, in South Korea on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. South Korea has banned activists from launching propaganda leaflets into North Korea after the North threatened to attack. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

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North Korean defectors shout slogans as police officers block their planned rally on a road in Paju, near Demilitarized Zone, in South Korea, on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. South Korea has banned activists from launching propaganda leaflets to North Korea after the North threatened to attack. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

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North Korean defector Park Sang-hak hurls anti-North Korea leaflets as police block his planned rally on a road in Paju, near the Demilitarized Zone, in South Korea on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. South Korea banned activists from launching the propaganda leaflets to North Korea after the North threatened to attack. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

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Members of the next expedition to the International Space Station — (from left) U.S. astronaut Kevin Ford and and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Evgeny Tarelkin — stand in front of St Basil's Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. The three are scheduled to blast off to the International Space Station from the Baikonur cosmodrom on a Russian-made Soyuz spacecraft on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

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A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his weapon toward Syrian army positions in the Karmal Jabl district of Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)