The state attorney general has launched an investigation into the financial dealings of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi's personal accountant, according to multiple government officials, in a move that escalates the level of scrutiny of the profits and influence of DiMasi's close cadre of friends.

Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/10/21/dimasis_ally_gets_scrutiny_from_ag/

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India and Pakistan reopen an old Kashmir trade route after six decades as part of efforts to bolster peace moves.

The opening of the trade route is part of a 2004 peace agreement between India and Pakistan, which both claim Kashmir.

The trade link follows other confidence-building measures introduced in Kashmir in recent years, including the opening of rail and bus links.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7681320.stm

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A new national poll suggests that only a quarter of Americans think things are going well in the country today, while the rest of those questioned are angry, scared and stressed out.

Seventy-five percent of those surveyed in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday said things are going badly in the United States.

An equal portion of those polled said they are angry about the way things are going. Two-thirds of those questioned said they're scared about the way things are going and three in four said the current conditions in the country are stressing them out.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/21/america.poll/index.html