Democrats, White House close in on health bill (AP)
FULL STORY - AP business Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:11:27 GMT

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 - A final agreement nearly in hand, President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders are about to embark on one last sales job that will determine the outcome of the president's signature health care overhaul.


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(AP)

Biden: Talks can meet Israeli, Palestinian goals (AP)
FULL STORY - AP world Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:07:04 GMT

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden gestures as he speaks at Tel Aviv University, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 11, 2010. Biden repeatedly voiced Washington's commitment to Israel's security, trying to allay any concerns it might have. But he also said an end to the conflict would restore to the Palestinians 'the fundamental dignity and self-respect that their current predicament denies them.' (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)AP - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says "good faith negotiations" can recognize Israeli security needs and the Palestinian goal for a viable state.


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(AP)

Success of lone gunmen may shift al-Qaida strategy (AP)
FULL STORY - AP politics Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:11:20 GMT

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 - 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.


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(AP)

Toyota troubles put spotlight on US safety agency (AP)
FULL STORY - AP business Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:36:31 GMT

Toyota Prius vehicles are seen for sale Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Hayward, Calif. The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid. A day after state troopers helped the car slow to a stop and its driver to emerge unharmed, Toyota could shed no new light on what might have gone wrong. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)AP - Toyota's massive recalls are prompting Congress to reconsider whether the nation's auto safety agency has lived up to its mission of protecting motorists.


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(AP)

NJ man accused of raping, beating 5 daughters (AP)
FULL STORY - AP us Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:11:04 GMT
AP - A New Jersey man with apocalyptic visions is accused of years of terrorizing his family, raping his five daughters and impregnating three, beating his children with wooden boards and even moving at one point to avoid child welfare investigators.

Mexico's Slim becomes 'world's richest' person (AP)
FULL STORY - AP business Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:36:02 GMT

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2008 file photo, Mexican businessman Carlos Slim visits the Museo Alameda where some of his personal art collection is on display in San Antonio. On March 10, 2010, Forbes announced that Slim claims the title of world's richest person with a net worth of $53.5 billion. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)AP - Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim is the first man from a developing nation to become the world's richest person — a shift that underlines the loosening of America and Europe's stranglehold on the top spots in the billionaires' club.


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(AP)

Complaints persist as US frees Afghan detainees (AP)
FULL STORY - AP world Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:10:53 GMT

In this image made on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, three freed Afghan detainees from Loghar province listen during a prisoner release ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. Four prisoners were released from a U.S.-run military prison on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)AP - The Pashtun tribal leaders picked at the chocolate cake and fruit laid out for them at the conference table. Politely, they listened to speeches touting a new program to release detainees from Afghanistan's largest U.S.-run military prison if community leaders vouch for them.


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(AP)

Critics of Justice Dept. lawyers under fire (AP)
FULL STORY - AP politics Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:10:40 GMT

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2010, file photo, Liz Cheney, board member, Keep America Safe, addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in Washington. The conservative group's bashing of several Obama administration lawyers as the 'al-Qaida Seven' has struck a nerve in the U.S. legal community, prompting even some fellow Republicans to denounce the group's attack. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)AP - A conservative group's bashing of several Obama administration lawyers as the "al-Qaida Seven" has struck a nerve in the U.S. legal community, prompting even some fellow Republicans to denounce the group's attack.


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(AP)

'Big Mike' draws tears, cheers on 'American Idol' (AP)
FULL STORY - AP entertainment Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:14:22 GMT

American Idol Judge Kara DioGuardi arrives at the Elton John Oscar Party in West Hollywood, Calif. on Sunday, March 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)AP - Michael "Big Mike" Lynche made Kara DioGuardi cry and turned the rest of the "American Idol" judges giddy with a moving performance of "This Woman's Work."


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(AP)

A-Rod: Lawyers are setting up interview with feds (AP)
FULL STORY - AP sports Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:10:28 GMT

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez slaps a pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm up the middle, driving in two runs during a spring training baseball game in Bradenton, Fla., Monday, March 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)AP - Alex Rodriguez may soon be talking to federal authorities, and he hopes it will happen close to spring training.


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(AP)

Volcker rule gets lift in Senate amid reform talks (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters politics Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:17:22 GMT

Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Paul Volcker testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington in this February 2, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Jim YoungReuters - The controversial "Volcker rule" to curb risky trading by banks got a boost in the Senate on Wednesday, as two Democrats introduced a bill that would enact and expand the rule.


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(Reuters)

Biden appeals for Mideast peace talks without delay (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters topstories Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:33:51 GMT

British journalist Paul Martin (C) gestures after he was released in Gaza March 11, 2010. Martin was freed by the Hamas Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, nearly four weeks after his arrest on suspicion of spying for Israel, Palestinian and British officials said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden called on Thursday for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to start without delay despite Palestinian insistence that Israel first cancel a settlement project condemned by Washington.


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(Reuters)

Obama: Time for talk is over on healthcare bill (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters politics Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:51:01 GMT

President Barack Obama welcomes El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes (not shown) to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 8, 2010. REUTERS/Larry DowningReuters - President Barack Obama declared on Wednesday the "time for talk is over" and urged the U.S. Congress to vote on healthcare as his health secretary directly challenged insurers to forgo profits to make coverage more affordable.


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(Reuters)

Greek workers strike as anger at austerity grows (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters topstories Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:04:34 GMT

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 - Greek public and private sector workers went on strike on Thursday, grounding flights, shutting schools and halting public transport in the second nationwide walkout in a fortnight in protest against austerity plans.


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(Reuters)

Senate passes $149 billion for jobless aid (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters business Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:45:06 GMT
Reuters - The Senate on Wednesday passed a $149 billion package of jobless aid and tax breaks, as Democrats continued efforts to lower the 9.7 percent unemployment rate before congressional elections in November.

BP to pay Devon $7 billion for oil fields (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters business Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:09:52 GMT

A British Petroleum (BP) sign is seen at a petrol station in south London July 29, 2008. REUTERS/Dylan MartinezReuters - London-based oil major BP has agreed to buy Brazilian, Azeri and Gulf of Mexico assets from Devon Energy for $7 billion, as the U.S. producer refocuses on onshore U.S. fields.


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(Reuters)

Iran warns neighbors over U.S. presence in the Gulf (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters topstories Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:09:04 GMT
Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Gulf countries on Thursday against the U.S. presence in the region, saying Washington aimed to dominate their energy resources in the name of fighting terrorism.

We don't want proxy wars in Afghanistan, Karzai says (Reuters)
FULL STORY - Reuters topstories Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:34:43 GMT

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (L) welcomes his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon his arrival in Kabul March 10, 2010. Ahmadinejad arrived on Wednesday for a visit to Afghanistan, after U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he was wary of Tehran's influence in the country. REUTERS/Sorkhabi/PoolReuters - Afghanistan does not want a proxy war between Pakistan and India or anybody else fought on its soil, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday during a visit to Pakistan.


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(Reuters)

Mideast talks hopes in tatters (AFP)
FULL STORY - AFP world Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:41:21 GMT

US Vice President Joe Biden and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas read a statement to the press following their meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Prospects for indirect peace talks lay in tatters on Thursday after the Palestinians said they would not negotiate with Israel unless it reversed plans to build 1,600 settler homes in east Jerusalem.(AFP/David Furst)AFP - Prospects for indirect peace talks lay in tatters on Thursday after the Palestinians said they would not negotiate with Israel unless it reversed plans to build 1,600 settler homes in east Jerusalem.


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(AFP)

Ukraine president secures ruling coalition (AFP)
FULL STORY - AFP topstories Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:41:04 GMT

Newly appointed Prime Minister Mykola Azarov holds flowers presented to him by President Viktor Yanukovych (not seen) after the parliament approved his appointment in Kiev. Yanukovych has tightened his grip on power as one of his closest allies became the new prime minister and his party succeeded in forming a ruling coalition.(AFP/Sergei Supinsky)AFP - Ukraine's new President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday tightened his grip on power as one of his closest allies became the new prime minister and his party succeeded in forming a ruling coalition.


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(AFP)