Noontime News Roundup – September 27th, 2012

Noontime News is a snapshot of the news from the past 24 hours.  (More)

Obama Up In Iowa As Early Voting Begins

President Obama has expanded his lead in Iowa, a state where voters can begin casting their ballots starting tomorrow.

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Barnes & Noble And Microsoft Still Aim To Seal Partnership By Fall

Barnes & Noble announced two new Google Android-based Nook tablets on Wednesday without much mention of its new business partner Microsoft, a curious omission given the companies’ big announcement five months earlier that they’d be teaming up on a new company, “Newco,” that would include the entire Nook line, all of Barnes & Noble’s e-books and digital content, and future jointly developed devices and digital services.

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Gay marriage arguments reach federal appeals court in latest bid for equality

A New York federal appeals court will hear arguments against the Defense of Marriage Act on Thursday, in the latest battle for same-sex equality in the US.

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2012 Gender Gap Could Be Historic, But Maybe Not For The Reason You’d Think

A slew of new presidential polls released this week not only confirm a long-established gender gap among voters, but also suggest that the male-female preference divide in this year’s presidential contest could hit historic levels.

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Army Seeks To Curb Rising Tide Of Suicides

At Fort Myer, Va., a small Army base across the river from Washington, D.C., Chaplain Mark Worrell is talking to about 100 soldiers, reciting the grim numbers.

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Big Quakes Signal Changes Coming To Earth’s Crust

On April 11 of this year, an extraordinary cluster of earthquakes struck off Sumatra. The largest shock, magnitude 8.7, produced stronger ground-shaking than any earthquake ever recorded. And it surprised seismologists by triggering more than a dozen moderate earthquakes around the world.

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Activist Mona Eltahawt released after arrest in New York subway protest

Prominent Egyptian-American writer and activist Mona Eltahawy has been released from police custody after being arrested in New York on Tuesday for spray painting a subway poster that equates Muslims with “savages”.

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