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Show DAILY HERALD A4 Wednesday, April 29, 2009 FAST FACT Morning Briefing The continental shelf is an underwater ledge around the coastline of the world's oceans. The edge of the shelf lies at depths between 360 and 480 feet The width may vary from a few feet to several hundred miles, source: the Book of Answers Complied from Daily Herald wire services The WORLD The Nation Specter switches to Democratic Party WASHINGTON Veteran Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched parties Tuesday with a suddenness that seemed to stun the Senate, a moderate's defection that pushed Democrats to within a vote of the 60 needed to overcome filibusters and enact President Barack Obama's top legislative priorities. Specter, 79 and seeking a sixth term in 2010, conceded bluntly that his chances of winning a Pennsylvania Republican primary next year were bleak in a party grown increasingly conservative. But he cast JIM COLEAP Scott Mason gets a hug from his sister Amy on Tuesday after he spent three nights lost in weather observatory and its crew atop the mountain, (S ... M- "i -r f TV Children make gains in reading and math the White Mountains his decision as one of principle, in Pinkham Notch, N.H. rather than fueled by political ambition as spurned GOP leaders alleged. Franken is ahead in a mara"I have found myself inthon recount in Minnesota. If creasingly at odds with the Re- he ultimately defeats Republican Norm Coleman, he would publican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy become the party's 60th vote of the Democratic Party," he the number needed to oversaid at a news conference. He come a filibuster that might otherwise block legislation. added, "I am not prepared to have my 29 year record in the United States Senate decided Teen hiker lost for 3 by the Pennsylvania Republinights in NH found safe can primary electorate." PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. Not long after Specter met An Eagle Scout whose day privately with Republican senhike in the mountains went ators to explain his decision, the party's leader, Sen. Mitch awry when unusually warm weather turned small streams McConnell, said the switch posed a "threat to the country." into raging rivers that blocked The issue, he said, "really rehis way, was found safe Tueslates to ... whether or not in the day after spending three nights alone in the woods. United States of America our Scott Mason, a people want the majority party to have whatever it wants, from Halifax, Mass., was without restraint, without a spotted by searchers Tuesday check or balance." morning making his way to the summit of Mount WashAs a result of last fall's elections, Democrats control the ington, the Northeast's highWhite House and have a large est mountain. He was about a hike from the majority in the House. Spec- ter's switch leaves them with 59 Senate seats. Democrat Al officials said. "We saw a hiker who was moving slowly, but methodically," said searcher Fred Wilkinson, one of the searchers who spotted the teen. Mason was reunited with his family at a command center about two hours later, hugging them and slapping his father on the back. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital to have pain in one of his legs checked out, said Maj. Tim Acerno of New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department. WASHINGTON Kids are making strides in reading and math, though progress in math seems stalled among high school students, according to a federal report that tracked test scores going back to the 1970s. The scores come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, considered the benchmark of how students perform across the country. The report issued Tuesday measured children's scores in 2008 against long-tertrends. It offered a glimmer of hope for high school kids. Their reading scores improved since 2004, the last time results were issued. In fact, every age group 9, 13 and 17 made gains over 2004. In math, scores improved for younger children since 2004, rebut scores for TARA L Associated Press A day of remembrance Israeli soldiers stand at attention as a boy sits nearby during a ceremony for Israel's annual memorial day at a military cemetery on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Old City of ritual Tuesday Jerusalem, on Tuesday. Israel came to a standstill in a solemn as the country marked its annual Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and terror victims. two-minu- Seychelles Coast Guard arrests 9 under cover of darkness and unleashed a volley of automatic gunfire, but security guards aboard the liner fought them off, returning fire and spraying them with a fire hose. suspected pirates NAIROBI, Kenya -- The Seychelles took custody of nine pirate suspects Tuesday and accused them of trying to hijack a cruise liner carrying 1,000 Pakistani jets pound militants near capital tourists. The island nation had dis- patched an aircraft to trace the men through the Indian Ocean, resulting eventually in the capture of the suspects. The MSC Melody, a luxury cruise liner on its way to Europe from the southern tip of Africa, was attacked Saturday. Pirates in speed boats raced up to the ship mained flat. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he was pleased but not satisfied with the results. "It's a step in the right direction," he said in a brief interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. ISLAMABAD Pakistani jets and attack helicopters struck Taliban positions in mountains close to the capital Tuesday as part of a widening offensive against militants spreading out from the lawless region along the border with Afghanistan, the military said. With residents reporting ground troops also moving into the Buner area, the operation could allay worry in the U.S. and other Western nations that nuclear-arme- d Pakistan lacks the will to fight extremists in the northleader west, where Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding. The attack stands to further strain a shaky peace deal in the Malakand region, which Buner is a part of. The truce has been widely viewed in the West as a surrender to the militants and a sign Pakistan's shaky civilian government does not recognize the threat they pose. 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