AP - Historic health care change in the balance, Democrats plowed fresh billions into insurance subsidies for consumers on Thursday and added a $250 rebate for seniors facing high prescription drugs, last-minute sweeteners to sweeping $940 billion legislation headed for a climactic weekend vote.
AP - President Barack Obama, facing criticism from advocates of immigration reform, pledged Thursday "to do everything in my power" to get immigration legislation moving in Congress this year.
AP - A woman accused of trolling the Internet as Jihad Jane and agreeing to marry a suspected terrorist and kill a Swedish artist targeted by radical Muslims cooperated with authorities, a congressman said.
AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Russian counterpart clashed openly Thursday over the planned launch this summer of Iran's first, Russian-built nuclear power plant, highlighting a split in views over how to steer Iran away from nuclear weapons.
AP - Freshman Rep. Steve Driehaus is getting it from all sides on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The Ohio Democrat opened his local newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer, on Wednesday to find a giant ad urging him to vote against the bill — featuring a photo of him with his two young daughters. Tea party protesters stormed his office and berated his staff.
AP - Computer data from a Toyota Prius that crashed in suburban New York City show that at the time of the accident the throttle was open and the driver was not applying the brakes, U.S. safety officials said Thursday.
AP - When Alana Sanders gave birth to her fourth child, the people on hand to towel off the baby and tie its umbilical cord weren't the usual team of doctors or nurses. They were her 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.
AP - Sandra Bullock is on a career high. America's Sweetheart and "Miss Congeniality" was repeatedly anointed as Hollywood royalty this year, sweeping awards season and capping it off with an Oscar for her role as a devoted mom in "The Blind Side."
AP - Fess Parker, a baby-boomer idol in the 1950s who launched a craze for coonskin caps as television's Davy Crockett, died Thursday of natural causes. He was 85.
AP - Marquette came into the tournament averaging 7.9 3-pointers a game and Washington was at 5.2. The teams combined for almost that many in the opening 12 1/2 minutes of the game. Marquette was 6 of 9 from long range and held a 29-28 lead over the Huskies, who were 5 of 6.
Reuters - Congressional budget analysts said on Thursday a broad healthcare overhaul would cut the U.S. deficit over 10 years and sharply expand insurance coverage, boosting the momentum for final passage in the House of Representatives.
Reuters - Israel tried to defuse a dispute with the United States on Friday over plans to expand settlements, saying it would propose "confidence-building" steps to the Palestinians to encourage a renewal of peace talks.
Reuters - President Barack Obama, under pressure to keep a campaign promise to revamp U.S. immigration policy, embraced a "promising, bipartisan framework" on Thursday offered by two senior senators.
Reuters - Some Tea Partiers say they can pinpoint the precise moment when they made it clear to the Republican Party they had no intention of being its lapdog.
Reuters - Bowing to political pressure at home, President Barack Obama on Thursday scrapped his trip to Indonesia and Australia next week to stay in Washington for a final push for a healthcare overhaul.
AFP - International talks on the Middle East set for Friday were lent a fresh sense of urgency after Israeli warplanes replied with airstrikes to a fatal rocket attack launched from the Gaza Strip.
AFP - Thailand's rural underclass, vying to revive flagging momentum after a week of colourful protests, appealed Thursday for a popular uprising against the well-entrenched political and aristocratic elite.
