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Cresson, Edith

(Encyclopedia)Cresson, Edith ādētˈ krĕsōNˈ [key], 1934–, French politician, b. Edith Campion. After studying at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales, she became a consultant in private industry. Activ...

accessory

(Encyclopedia)accessory, in criminal law, a person who, though not present at the commission of a crime, becomes a participator in the crime either before or after the fact of commission. An accessory before the fa...

Berkeley, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Berkeley, Sir William, 1606–77, colonial governor of Virginia. Appointed governor in 1641, he arrived in Virginia in 1642. Berkeley defeated the Native Americans and the Dutch, extended explorations...

conspiracy

(Encyclopedia)conspiracy, in law, agreement of two or more persons to commit a criminal or otherwise unlawful act. At common law, the crime of conspiracy was committed with the making of the agreement, but present-...

Labor, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Labor, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1913 and charged with administering and enforcing statutes that promote the welfare of U.S. wage earners, improve their ...

school vouchers

(Encyclopedia)school vouchers, government grants aimed at improving education for the children of low-income families by providing school tuition that can be used at public or private schools. The idea behind schoo...

Rio de Janeiro, city, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Rio de Janeiro rēˈō də zhänāˈrō, Port. rēˈo͝o ᵺĭ zhənĕēˈro͝o [key] [Port.,=river of January], city (1990 pop. 5,533,011; 1995 metropolitan area est. pop. 10,181,000), capital of Rio...

East African Community

(Encyclopedia)East African Community (EAC), organization of E African nations established to promote regional economic and political cooperation. Its headquarters are in Arusha, Tanzania. It was first founded in 19...

Alemán, Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Alemán, Miguel mēgĕlˈ älāmänˈ [key], 1902–83, president of Mexico (1946–52). Son of a revolutionary general, Alemán became a highly successful lawyer and a champion of Mexican labor. He w...

Extremadura

(Encyclopedia)Extremadura ĕstrəmədo͝oˈrə [key], autonomous community, 16,075 sq mi (41,634 sq km), W central Spain, ...

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