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• One well-traveled Clinton staffer described the France-Afghanistan-Japan-Mongolia-Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia-Egypt-Israel itinerary as "especially absurd, even for us."
• Despite the mind- and body-numbing time zone hopping, Clinton joked that she was ready for more.
• ___

• DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- With the trail apparently cold in the search for two missing Iowa girls, the FBI is sending in tracking dogs and local authorities are draining a lake near where the girls' bicycles were found.
• Elizabeth Collins, 8, and her cousin Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, were last reported seen Friday afternoon leaving their grandmother's house. Their bicycles and Elizabeth's purse were found later that day near a bike trail at the edge of Meyers Lake in the northeast Iowa city of Evansdale.
• What followed was a massive sweep of the area that drew hundreds of volunteers over the weekend. But authorities suspended that effort Monday, saying it had failed to produce significant leads.
• Black Hawk County Chief Deputy Rick Abben said the draining of the nearly 5-acre lake began Monday and could take up to three days. Officials believe it will go faster due to the low level of the lake and the Cedar River into which it drains.
• Authorities previously dredged the lake and have been interviewing family,

friends and registered sex offenders who live in the area.
• ___

• BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- When Argentine President Cristina Fernandez got an earful from some reporters frustrated over her general refusal to take questions at news conferences, she offered little hope for change: "If you want official information, listen to my speeches," she told them. "I won't be speaking against myself."
• The brief encounter in the presidential palace press room, recounted by a radio reporter, reflects Fernandez's distrust of the media in a country deeply polarized by her rule.

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