Former United States Senator Ted Stevens was killed in a plane crash in southwestern Alaska on Monday night, a former member of Mr. Stevens’s Congressional staff said on Tuesday.

There were nine people on board, and five were believed to have been killed in the crash, authorities said. Mr. Stevens, who had been the longest serving Republican in the United States Senate, was 86.

The body of Mr. Stevens was found just after daylight, according to the aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of respect to the family.

Three survivors were airlifted to Anchorage for further medical attention.

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From The UK Guardian

The tragedy unfolding in Jamaica is symptomatic of a wider crisis of organised crime, armed violence and political corruption caused by a failed “war on drugs”. The tangled political and economic roots of the problem run very deep.

Caribbean nations were born from the violence of chattel slavery and rebellion, colonial domination and the struggle for liberation and self-determination. The postcolonial flight of capital and structural readjustment have been compounded by the end of transatlantic trade agreements that have led to the collapse of the region’s agricultural economic base. High levels of unemployment and extreme marginality have been the result for many communities.

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This video by Democracy Now, speculates that the violence going on in Jamaica is a direct result of the U.S. War On Drugs.

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From WashingtonPost.com:

His campaign finance report, filed late Wednesday, shows that about 73 percent, or $238,000, was raised among contributors who donated the maximum $2,000 and that $34,000 came in the form of $1,000 donations.

The report also showed that the Fenty campaign, known for its aggressive fundraising, is going beyond traditional contributors to people outside the city and outside government. Fenty’s reach stretched from hip-hop producer Irv Gotti to wine critic and merchant Pierre-Antoine Rovani. Fenty (D) has $3.3 million in cash on hand, according to the report.

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