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ready to fight a holy war against the United States. Chinese pro-democracy activist Xu Wenli (zhoo wen-lee) was released from a prison in Beijing and flown to the United States.
• Five years ago: President George W. Bush made Christmas Eve calls to 10 U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other spots around the world, thanking them for their sacrifice and wishing them a happy holiday. French news cameraman Gwen Le Gouil was released eight days after he had been abducted by Somali gunmen outside the town of Bossaso.
• One year ago: In a setback, Republican presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry failed to qualify for Virginia's Super Tuesday primary ballot by falling short of the 10,000 signatures required to appear on the ballot. Troops commanded by relatives of Yemen's outgoing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh (AH'-lee ahb-DUH'-luh sah-LEH'), attacked a crowd of more than 100,000 peaceful protesters, killing at least nine and driving Saleh to promise to leave the country. Pope Benedict XVI decried the increasing commercialization of Christmas as he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass.
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• Today's Birthdays: Songwriter-bandleader Dave Bartholomew is 92. Author Mary Higgins Clark is 85. Federal health official Anthony S. Fauci is 72. Recording company executive Mike Curb is 68. Rock singer-musician Lemmy (Motorhead) is 67. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., is 66. Actor Grand L. Bush is 57. Actor Clarence Gilyard is 57. Actress Stephanie Hodge is 56. The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai (HAH'-mihd KAHR'-zeye), is 55. Rock musician Ian Burden (The Human League) is 55. Actor Anil Kapoor is 53. Actor Wade Williams is 51. Designer Kate Spade is 50. Rock singer Mary Ramsey (10,000 Maniacs) is 49. Actor Mark Valley is 48. Actor Diedrich Bader is 46. Actor Amaury Nolasco is 42. Singer Ricky Martin is 41. Author Stephenie Meyer ("Twilight") is 39. "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest is 38. Rock singer Louis Tomlinson (One Direction) is 21.
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• Thought for Today: "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." -- The Rev. Norman Vincent Peale (born 1898, died this day in 1993).
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