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not quite there yet."
• The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities in 10 states range from shelters to foster homes and have about 2,500 beds. Government-contracted shelters were maxing out their emergency bed space, setting up cots in gymnasiums and other extra spaces.
• ___

• BEIJING (AP) -- A blind legal activist who fled house arrest in his rural China village is under the protection of U.S. officials and high-level talks are taking place between the countries about his fate, an overseas activist group said Saturday.
• The whereabouts of Chen Guangcheng -- amid unconfirmed reports that he sought protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing -- could be a major political complication for the two countries, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top U.S. officials due to arrive in China this coming week for the latest round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
• "Chen is under U.S. protection and high-level talks are currently under way between U.S. and Chinese officials regarding Chen's status," said a statement from the ChinaAid Association. It cited a source close to the situation.
• Texas-based ChinaAid and its founder, Bob Fu, have been active in promoting Chen's case and confirmed Friday that Chen had escaped to Beijing from where he was being held in his village in Shandong province in eastern China.
• The U.S. Embassy in Beijing declined to comment Saturday, as have U.S. officials in Washington.
• ___

• KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Police unleashed tear gas and chemical-laced water Saturday at thousands of demonstrators who staged one of Malaysia's largest street rallies in years, demanding fair rules for national elections expected soon.
• At least 25,000 demonstrators swamped Malaysia's largest city, hoping to pressure Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition -- which has held power for nearly 55 years -- to overhaul electoral policies before polls that could be held as early as

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