The original deadline "was the one ray of hope emanating from this room, " she said.

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To be fair, the Fed did provide one ray of hope.

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One ray of hope is that the previous centre-left government did more than Mr Berlusconi in such areas as privatisation, as well as getting the public finances into better shape.

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But in one ray of hope for those shivering in tents, Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be the coldest days before the weather clears up and temperatures rebound by the end of the week.

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One ray of hope for states seeking to bridge their health care funding gaps: Unlike pension benefits, which are often constitutionally guaranteed, states have considerable leeway in adjusting medical benefits and thus the ability to reduce the liability side of the equation.

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However, there was one bright ray of hope for small investors in current financial reform.

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That's the one faint ray of hope, that we do have precisely this 10-member, fully bipartisan, and I think truly open-minded commission.

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