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• BANGKOK (AP) -- Sometimes it seems the only thing more common than a traffic jam in Thailand's capital is a fat police officer trying to solve it.
• While not much can be done about the clogged roads, an effort is under way to whip Thailand's potbellied policemen in shape with the start of a 12-day boot camp this week.
• About 60 of the overweight officers from around the country are taking part in the dawn-to-dusk exercise and lecture programs on living more healthy at a police training center in a Bangkok suburb.
• Wearing T-shirts with "Get rid of the belly" on them, they start their days with pre-dawn jogs followed by yoga, aerobic dance classes, tai chi to reduce stress and improve blood flow, and lectures from nutritionists and trainers.
• The biggest weight loser at the end of the program wins 5,000 baht ($160), a bonus for underpaid police officers though many say their real motivation is the chance to improve their health.
• ___
Today in History
The Associated Press
• Today is Friday, July 5, the 186th day of 2013. There are 179 days left in the year.
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• Today's Highlight in History:
• On July 5, 1943, the Battle of Kursk began during World War II as German forces attacked a Soviet salient (or bulge) around the Russian city of Kursk; in the weeks that followed, the Soviets were able to repeatedly repel the Germans, who eventually withdrew in defeat.
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• On this date:
• In 1687, Isaac Newton first published his Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.
• In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare inde
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