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fering."
• Speaking at an open-air Mass before a huge crowd, he urged the international community and Arab countries in particular to find a solution to end the conflict in neighboring Syria.
• "Why so much horror? Why so many dead," Benedict said, lamenting that "the first victims are women and children."
• With pilgrims from across the Middle East in the crowd he said Christians must do their part to end the "grim trail of death and destruction" in the region.
• "I appeal to you all to be peacemakers," Benedict said.
• ___

• NEW YORK (AP) -- The clock struck midnight, and the NHL turned into another sports league closed for business.
• Unable to reach agreement on a new labor deal, the National Hockey League locked out its players at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, the third major pro sport to impose a work stoppage in the last 18 months, behind the NFL and NBA.
• The action also marks the fourth shutdown for the NHL since 1992, including a year-long dispute that forced the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season when the league successfully held out for a salary cap.
• That fight ended with the latest collective bargaining agreement, and when it ended Commissioner Gary Bettman followed through on his longstanding pledge to lock out the players if no deal was in place.
• NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the shutdown was in effect. The union said it would have no comment.
• ___

• CHICAGO (AP) -- After a weeklong strike over job security and evaluation procedures, it all comes down to this: Are Chicago teachers satisfied enough with a proposed contract deal that they will vote to end their walkout?
• Parents and striking teachers are waiting to learn whether students in the nation's third-largest school district will return to the classroom on Monday after a week of tense negotiations between the teachers union, the district, and representatives

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