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year.
• The White House had hoped Karzai would sign the bilateral security agreement by the end of last year. When that deadline passed, administration officials repeatedly said a deal needed to be signed within "weeks, not months."
• ___

• Two blind, aging cows were 350 miles apart, distressed and facing a dark future.
• What happened next is a love story starring, not cows, but rescuers who worked across international borders for nearly a month to bring the bovines together.
• It started when Sweety, an 8-year-old Canadian cow with a hoof infection, was rescued from the slaughterhouse by a horse sanctuary in Ontario. Workers at Refuge RR put out the word to the small legion of folks devoted to saving aging farm animals that she needed a permanent home.
• Farm Sanctuary in New York is just such a place and they had a 12-year-old Holstein named Tricia, who seemed lonely and anxious after losing her cow companion to cancer a year ago. Cattle are herd animals and she was the only one at the shelter without a partner.
• "It was exciting to think that by giving Sweety a new life, we might also give Tricia another chance to enjoy her own," said Susie Coston, national shelter director for the sanctuary.
• ___

• SOCHI, Russia (AP) -- The U.S. speedskating team is desperately trying to figure out why it's had such a miserable performance the first week of the Sochi Olympics -- and much of the speculation has turned to its new high-tech skinsuit.
• The much-heralded Under Armour suit was developed with help from aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin. Now, some are wondering if it's actually a drag on performance.
• After a strong season on the World Cup circuit, no U.S. skater has finished higher than seventh through six of 12 Olympic events. Team officials huddled in the stands after the women's 1,000 meters, trying to figure out what they can do to turn things around.

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