Tuesday,  September 4, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 051 • 26 of 37 •  Other Editions

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several months, scientists have seen changes that suggest Voyager 1 is on the verge of crossing over.
• When it does, it will be the first spacecraft to explore between the stars. Space observatories such as the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes have long peered past the solar system, but they tend to focus on far-away galaxies.
• As ambitious as the Voyager mission is, it was scaled down from a plan to send a quartet of spacecraft to Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto in what was billed as the "grand tour" of the solar system. But the plan was nixed, and scientists settled for the Voyager mission.
• American University space policy expert Howard McCurdy said it turned out to be a boon.
• They "took the funds and built spacecraft robust enough to visit all four gas giants and keep communicating" beyond the solar system, McCurdy said.

• The double missions so far have cost $983 million in 1977 dollars, which translates to $3.7 billion now. The spacecraft have enough fuel to last until around 2020.
• By that time, scientists hope Voyager will already be floating between the stars.
•

Weeks before Election Day, early voting kicks off
JIM KUHNHENN,Associated Press
PHILIP ELLIOTT,Associated Press

• CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Heard enough from the presidential candidates? Here's an answer: Vote now and put the election behind you.
• Early voting in the presidential race begins Thursday, and in the weeks to come millions of people in key states will cast ballots that could prove decisive on Election Day. They did in 2008, when President Barack Obama's margin of victory relied to a great degree on early votes cast in such crucial states as Florida, Colorado, North Carolina and Iowa.
• These days, a call to vote early is a standard plea in Obama's campaign speeches.
• "Because in Iowa, you don't have to wait till Nov. 6 to vote. You can be among the very first to vote in this election, starting Sept. 27," Obama told supporters Saturday in Urbandale, Iowa.
• Republican challenger Mitt Romney is looking to build up that early vote as well, eager to erect a better firewall than John McCain did four years ago. But early voting has favored Democrats, drawing heavily from the African-American community, and

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