Article Source: CS Monitor

Attacks such as Saturday's bombing in Basra will not stop the US's planned drawdown of troops in Iraq, the commander of US forces in Iraq said Sunday.

The United States is on track to meet a Sept. 1 deadline for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, says Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of US forces there.

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Article Source: CS Monitor

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have secured $125 billion from 40 families and individuals on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans for the Giving Pledge campaign.

Forty American billionaires have pledged at least half of their wealth to charitable causes – a combined value of at least $125 billion. The offerings came at the request of some of the country's best-known billionaires, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. The trio worth a combined $100 billion convinced 40 families and individuals on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans to sign onto their Giving Pledge campaign.

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Article Source: Blueridge Outdoors.com

Solutions that could actually save the planet

BRO asked Pulitzer-Prize-winning authors, CEOs, and leading environmental experts: what is the single most important change needed to protect the planet and its people? Here are their 12 insightful, innovative, and inspiring responses.

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Article Source: CS Monitor

New York City opened its first public electric-vehicle charging station Wednesday as part of a nationwide push to add infrastructure for plug-in cars.

For New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it was a "the-chicken-or-the-egg" type of question: Do you build charging stations for electric vehicles so people buy energy-efficient cars or do you wait until they buy the cars and then provide a place for them to recharge their car batteries?

On Wednesday, Mr. Bloomberg answered the question by opening the city’s first electric-vehicle charging station at a commercial parking lot, adding some spark to a nationwide push to boost infrastructure for electric cars.

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