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Dems look to health vote without abortion foes (AP)
03/12/2010 12:46 AM

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks about healthcare reform at her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 4, 2010. REUTERS/Jose Luis MaganaAP - House Democratic leaders Thursday abandoned a long struggle to strike a compromise on abortion in their ranks, gambling that they can secure the support for President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation with showdown votes looming as early as next week.






Strong quakes torment Chile as president sworn in (AP)
03/12/2010 12:40 AM

Chile's newly inaugurated President Sebastian Pinera, waves the the crowds after his swearing-in ceremony in Valparaiso, Chile, Thursday, March 11, 2010.(AP Photo/Aliosha Marquez)AP - The earth shook and shook Thursday as dignitaries walked in for the swearing-in of Sebastian Pinera as Chile's president. It shook some more as they waited for him.






Court upholds 'under God' in Pledge of Allegiance (AP)
03/12/2010 12:06 AM

File - In this June 14, 2004 file photo, Michael Newdow looks down at the fax copy of the Supreme Court's ruling preserving the phrase 'one nation under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance outside his Sacramento, Calif., home. A federal appeals court in San Francisco has ruled that the phrase 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional. In a 2-1 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected arguments by Newdow that the phrase violates the separation between church and state. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,Ffile)AP - A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments on Thursday that the phrases violate the separation of church and state.






Al-Qaida may be encouraging lone jihadists in U.S. (AP)
03/12/2010 12:06 AM

FILE - This December 2009 file photo released by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Milan, Mich.  On Christmas Day, a passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit tried to blow up the plane with plastic explosives in his underwear. He failed, yet the very attempt shook the U.S. government, set federal agencies against each other and triggered months of political second-guessing.  (AP Photo/U.S. Marshal's Service)AP - Ever since al-Qaida attacked the United States in 2001, U.S. authorities have worked to detect and prevent the next big terrorist strike.






GOP loses bid for ethics probe of Dem leaders (AP)
03/12/2010 12:06 AM

FILE - This Tuesday Oct. 14, 2008 file photo shows Eric Massa, Democratic candidate for New York's 29th Congressional District in Rochester, N.Y. One is a former Democratic freshman who was little known outside his Corning-Olean-Pittsford, N.Y. district. The other, a 20-term Democratic kingpin from Harlem, known to New Yorkers and anyone following tax bills. But now, Republicans — looking for any opening to regain control of the House — are portraying newly resigned first-termer Eric Massa and veteran Charles Rangel as dual symbols of Democratic ethical misconduct. (AP Photo/David Duprey, File)AP - House Democrats on Thursday stopped a Republican bid to force an investigation of Democratic leaders aimed at determining whether they covered up sexual harassment allegations against ex-Rep. Eric Massa.






Reid's wife, daughter injured in accident (AP)
03/12/2010 12:49 AM

FILE - In this June 24, 2007, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., right, and his wife Landra Reid attend an event at Ford's Theater in Washington. A spokesman says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter were being treated in a hospital Thursday, March 11, 2010, from serious injuries they sustained when their vehicle was rear-ended. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)AP - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter were hospitalized Thursday — the wife with a broken back and neck — after their minivan was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck on an interstate highway in suburban Virginia, authorities said.






Lesbian teen in prom flap sues, returns to school (AP)
03/12/2010 12:14 AM

This 2009 photo released by Constance McMillen's family via The ACLU of Mississippi, taken in Fulton, Miss., shows Constance McMillen, 18, a student at the Itawamba County Agricultural High School. The American Civil Liberties Union had demanded she be allowed to bring her girlfriend, who is also a student at the school to the April 2, 2010, prom. The school board met, Wednesday, March 10, 2010, and issued a statement announcing it wouldn't host the prom at the Itawamba County Agricultural High School. (AP Photo/The McMillen Family via The ACLU of Mississippi) NO SALES.AP - Constance McMillen didn't believe her Mississippi school district would really call off her senior prom rather than allow her to show up with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo. On Thursday, a day after the Itawamba County school board did just that, the 18-year-old lesbian high school senior reluctantly returned to campus to some unfriendly looks, she said.






APNewsBreak: Calif. murder suspect broke parole (AP)
03/12/2010 12:19 AM

This April 6, 2004 photo released Wednesday, March 10, 2010, by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows murder suspect John Albert Gardner III with a prison identification card. Gardner has pleaded not guilty to murdering Chelsea King in San Diego County and to the attempted rape of another woman. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 ordered California corrections officials to keep sex offenders' parole records indefinitely after he learned the files of a man now charged with killing a 17-year-old girl had been destroyed. (AP Photo/California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)  EDS NOTE: IMAGE PROVIDED BY POLICE SHOWS WHITE AREA IN BOTTOM RIGHT CORNERAP - A convicted sex offender charged with murdering one California teenager and under investigation for another killing violated his parole by moving too close to a school but was allowed to remain free, according to records obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.






Chavez thanks Sean Penn for slamming his critics (AP)
03/11/2010 11:25 PM

Sean Penn presents the award for best actress during the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday,  March 7, 2010, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)AP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is grateful that actor Sean Penn has defended him against his critics within the U.S. media. In an appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week, Penn slammed Chavez critics who refer to the socialist leader as a dictator.






AP sources: Woods likely to return at Masters (AP)
03/12/2010 12:33 AM

FILE - In this April 14, 2002, file photo, Tiger Woods, left, adjusts the 2002 Masters Green Jacket he received from Augusta National Golf Club chairman William W.'Hootie' Johnson, as Johnson applauds at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Woods intends to remain out of golf at least until the Masters, two people with knowledge of his plans have told The Associated Press on Thursday, march 11, 2010. The two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only Woods is supposed to release such information, say he is likely to play first at Augusta National in April.  (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)AP - Tiger Woods intends to remain out of golf at least until the Masters, two people with knowledge of his plans told The Associated Press on Thursday.






Bank reform talks fail, Dodd to go solo (Reuters)
03/11/2010 10:51 PM
Reuters - Chances of a broad overhaul of U.S. financial regulation dimmed on Thursday after bipartisan Senate talks collapsed, jeopardizing a top Obama administration priority and boosting bank share prices.



Toyota discounts boost sales, U.S. mulls "black box" (Reuters)
03/11/2010 11:57 PM

The 2011 Toyota Avalon debuts at the Chicago Auto Show February 10, 2010. REUTERS/John GressReuters - Unprecedented discounts after a series of damaging recalls boosted Toyota Motor Corp's U.S. sales in early March, as U.S. regulators weighed new auto safety measures.






Iraq results trickle out, Maliki rivals cry fraud (Reuters)
03/11/2010 07:21 PM

Officials count parliamentary election ballots at the tally centre in Baghdad March 10, 2010. REUTERS/Thaier al-SudaniReuters - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki posted mixed results in initial returns on Thursday from Iraq's parliamentary election, and a rival grouping complained of serious fraud.






Democrats move closer to healthcare deal (Reuters)
03/11/2010 11:34 PM

Protesters display placards supporting US President Barack Obama?s healthcare reform during a demonstration in Washington, DC, on March 9. US Senate Democrats Thursday heralded a bitter endgame of President Barack Obama's health reform drive, announcing they would use a contentious legislative tactic to try to pass the bill.(AFP/File/Jewel Samad)Reuters - Congressional Democrats drew closer on Thursday to agreement on a broad healthcare overhaul that could lead to a final vote in the next few weeks, but vowed not to be bound by White House deadlines.






Sen. Reid's family injured in car accident (Reuters)
03/12/2010 12:17 AM
Reuters - The wife and daughter of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were injured on Thursday when their vehicle was rear-ended by a truck on a highway, the senator's office said.



Billionaire Pinera takes power as quakes jolt Chile (Reuters)
03/11/2010 11:43 PM

Sebastian Pinera (C), accompanied by his wife Cecilia (R) and his son Sebastian (L), in Santiago  in this January 17, 2010 file photo. Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera takes office as Chile's new president on Thursday.  REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero/FilesReuters - The ground shook and buildings swayed as billionaire Sebastian Pinera took over as Chile's president on Thursday, tasked with rebuilding after a massive earthquake killed hundreds just 12 days ago.






Police clash with protesters as Greeks fight cuts (Reuters)
03/11/2010 05:55 PM

Former employees of privatized Olympic Airways stand behind barricades in front of Greece's General Accountants office in Athens March 10, 2010. REUTERS/Yiorgos KarahalisReuters - Police clashed with stone-throwing youths in Athens on Thursday as tens of thousands of strikers protested against draconian cutbacks aimed at pulling Greece out of a debt crisis shaking the euro zone.






Obama lobbied on black unemployment, immigration (Reuters)
03/11/2010 11:29 PM

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, led by Chair Representative Barbara Lee (C), talk to the media following a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington March 11, 2010. REUTERS/Larry DowningReuters - President Barack Obama on Thursday faced pressure to help create jobs in African-American communities and deliver an immigration overhaul even as he tried to push healthcare reform across the finish line.






Quake, tsunami alert hit Chile as new leader sworn in (AFP)
03/11/2010 09:15 PM

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera (C), accompanied by his wife Cecilia Morel (L) and Lower House Congresswoman Carolina Fuenzalida leaves the Congress at the end of the inauguration ceremony in Valparaiso. A 7.2-magnitude aftershock and four other tremors rocked disaster-hit Chile Thursday, triggering a tsunami alert just minutes before Pinera was sworn in as the new president.(AFP/Evaristo Sa)AFP - Strong aftershocks and a tsunami alert rocked Chile and rattled nerves Thursday as rightwing billionaire Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president of the quake-hit nation.






Israel seeks to patch up row over settlement plans (AFP)
03/11/2010 08:45 PM

US Vice President Joe Biden (R) stands alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) prior to their meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem on March 9. Netanyahu publicly apologised Thursday to Biden, hoping to defuse a row over settlements that appeared to scuttle indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.(AFP/David Furst)AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly apologised Thursday to US Vice President Joe Biden, hoping to defuse a row over settlements that appeared to scuttle indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.