The Senate of the United States of America is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. In the Senate, each state is equally represented by two members; as a result, the total membership of the body is currently 100. Senators serve for six-year terms that are staggered so elections are held for approximately one-third of the seats (a "class") every second year.

The Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and serves as its presiding officer, but is not a Senator and does not vote except to break ties. The Vice President rarely acts as President of the Senate unless casting a tie-breaking vote or during ceremonial occasions, so the duty of presiding usually falls to the President Pro Tempore, customarily the most senior senator of the majority party. Most often, the President Pro Tempore will designate a member from his party to serve as presiding officer for the day.

The Senate is regarded as a more deliberative body than the House of Representatives; the Senate is smaller and its members serve longer terms, allowing for a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere that is somewhat more insulated from public opinion than the House. The Senate has several exclusive powers enumerated in Article One of the Constitution not granted to the House; most significantly, the President cannot ratify treaties or make important appointments without the advice and consent of the Senate.

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Keene teen critical after shooting
Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:34:00 -0000
Police said a 17-year-old was shot in the head, and a Winchester man was arrested.
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Sheila LaBarre, right, was the latest high-profile murder defendant to plead not guilty by reason of insanity and fail. But judges can – and do – find murder suspects not guilty by reason of insanity, and some of those killers are now free.More on the insanity defense:
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MANCHESTER - Two more signs have been erected at intersection of Taylor and Young streets, where a 15-year-old Manchester bicyclist was recently struck and killed.

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