Lens Blog: Gustav Arvidsson's Photos of Landless Peasants in Colombia

Land is no small thing in Latin America. Dynasties flush with wealth and power have arisen from plantations and cattle ranches owned by a select few families. For those left on the margins, taking over a tiny, fallow plot long forgotten by its owners may be the only thing keeping their family alive.Until someone pushes them out.Gustav Arvidsson has been following the plight of landless peasants in...

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Ben Affleck & More Oscar Nominees Then and Now

By Alicia Dennis 02/28/2013 at 12:30 PM EST Jason Merritt/Getty; Jim Smeal/WireImage The years may have passed, but the talent remains for Oscar nominees who have been there, done that and continue to look good doing it.Denzel Washington, Robert De Niro, Helen Hunt, Sally Field, Alan Arkin...

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Medicare paid $5.1B for poor nursing home care

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Medicare paid billions in taxpayer dollars to nursing homes nationwide that were not meeting basic requirements to look after their residents, government investigators have found.The report, released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general, said Medicare paid about $5.1 billion for patients to stay in skilled nursing facilities that failed to...

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Eric Garcetti showed political savvy during busy student years

Fourth in a series of articles focusing on key periods in the lives of the mayoral hopefuls.Ben Jealous still recalls walking...

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The Lede: Video of Pope Benedict’s Public Farewell

An English translation from the Vatican of Pope Benedict XVI’s last general audience before his formal resignation on Thursday. As our colleagues, Rachel Donadio and Alan Cowell report, Pope Benedict XVI held his final general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, a day before he withdraws from the public for a cloistered life of prayer and meditation.Before tens of thousands of people gathered...

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Josh Brolin and Diane Lane's Split Was 'Mutual,' Says James Brolin

By Andrea Billups 02/27/2013 at 12:30 PM EST James Brolin said his son Josh is doing fine in the wake of his impending divorce from Diane Lane, calling their split "mutual."Brolin – who accompanied wife Barbra Streisand as she performed at the Oscars Sunday night – said his son, 45, was watching the Academy...

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Vt. lye victim gets new face at Boston hospital

BOSTON (AP) — A Vermont nurse disfigured in a 2007 lye attack has received a new face at a Boston hospital.Carmen Blandin Tarleton's full facial transplant at Brigham & Women's Hospital included transplanting a female donor's facial skin to Tarleton's neck, nose and lips, along with facial muscles, arteries and nerves.Hospital officials say the 44-year-old Thetford, Vt., woman suffered burns on...

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Imperial County betting its future on renewable energy

Situated in the southeastern corner of California, bordering Arizona and Mexico, Imperial County has long depended on agriculture...

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India Ink: Image of the Day: Feb. 26

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Ben Affleck Finally Comes Clean - and Shaves His Beard!

02/26/2013 at 12:40 PM EST Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck David Livingston/Getty And what did Ben Affleck do after his Argo won Best Picture on Sunday night? He took it all off – his facial hair, that is.A friend of the actor-filmmaker's confirms to PEOPLE that following the Oscars ceremony...

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