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cans lost nearly a quarter of their wealth.
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• BRUSSELS (AP) -- European Union officials failed Wednesday to reach a deal on giving Greece more aid, prolonging uncertainty over the future of the debt-hobbled country and the 17-member eurozone.
• Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the meeting of finance ministers from the 17 countries that use the euro, said the talks which lasted nearly 12 hours will reconvene on Monday. It was the second consecutive meeting at which the ministers failed to agree on a deal, highlighting the depth of their divisions over how to handle Greece's huge debt problem without reaching more deeply into the pockets of their own taxpayers.
• Juncker, however, said he was optimistic that a deal could be reached eventually.
• "We are very close to a result. We see no major stumbling block," he said. There are technical issues and calculations to be made in coming days, he said.
• But Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, which gives Greece bailout loans alongside the eurozone, sounded a more cautious note, saying only "we have narrowed the positions."
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• NEW YORK (AP) -- Even on "Sesame Street," where everything is famously A-OK, problems can arise for its residents.
• And that includes the Muppets. Cookie Monster grapples with an eating disorder. Oscar the Grouch gets cranky. Mr. Snuffleupagus gets the blues.
• But Elmo seemed immune to any of that. Since enjoying his breakout success more than two decades ago, the 3 1/2-year-old red monster has radiated good cheer, love and trilling giggles. No wonder everyone -- adults as well as children -- adore him.
• The key to Elmo is "his innocence, his positiveness and his sweetness," according to Kevin Clash, the man who created him and once told The Associated Press, "I would love to be totally like Elmo."

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