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• "This is our shot in the dark, really," said Melinda Elkins Dawson, one of more than 200 newborns relocated to other states from the clinic in McCaysville in the 1950s and '60s.
• As children, their true ancestry was erased on birth certificates falsely listing adoptive couples as their natural parents. Genetic codes are the only links left.
• So Dawson worked with Ohio-based DNA Diagnostics Center to arrange free cheek-swab sampling Saturday at a motel in Ducktown, Tennessee, a few miles from where the clinic was located. The adoptees hope potential relatives from the area come forward to give samples, even if they remain anonymous.
• "We're not trying to make anyone look bad," she said. "We're just trying to get some answers. Every adopted child has questions. We deserve some answers."
• ___

• RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- A draw between Italy and Costa Rica on Friday would put England out of contention at the World Cup.
• Luckily for England, neither team will want to settle for one point with so much still at stake in Group D.
• Italy and Costa Rica already have a win each, and another victory would let either team take control of the standings. Costa Rica opened with a stunning win over 2010 semifinalist Uruguay, which rebounded with a 2-1 victory over an England team that lost its opener to Italy.
• In Group E, the top spot will likely go to the winner of the France-Switzerland match on Friday, when Ecuador and Honduras also are playing for survival on Day Nine of the World Cup.
• ___

• NEW YORK (AP) -- Gerry Goffin, a prolific and multi-dimensional lyricist who with his then-wife and songwriting partner Carole King wrote such hits as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," ''(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," ''Up on the Roof" and "The Loco-Motion," died early Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 75.
• His wife, Michelle Goffin, confirmed his death.

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