#!/usr/bin/perl

    while (<DATA>) {

if (/(<\w+>)/) {
$flag = $1;
}
if($flag =~ m/<Content>/){
 s/\^[A-Z]/&lt;br\/&gt;/g;
}
else{
s/\^[A-Z]//g;
}
    print;

    }

__DATA__
<ID>^M
<Number>124^M</Number>^M
        <Content>
Some of the week's top stories:^M
EASTON AREA^M
BETHLEHEM AREA^M
CARBON, SCHUYLKILL AND REGION^M^M
have charged his mother's boyfriend, Paul Hoffman, with third-degree m
+urder. Officials said the charges were filed after an exhaustive inve
+stigation that showed Miller, who died Sept. 25, had the mental capac
+ity of a 12-year-old.^M
</Content>
^M
^M
^M
^M
^M
        ^M
</ID>

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The code above should substitute ^M with &lt;br\/>&gt; only with in the <Content> portion. and continuous &lt;br\/>&gt; should be replaced with single &lt;br\/>&gt; But the above code is replacing all the ^M after </Content> and before </ID>.

In reply to substitution issue by Anonymous Monk

Title:
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and:  <code> code here </code>
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