 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 - A nudist in Boulder who was threatened with eviction last spring for gardening outside wearing only pasties and a thong has caused another stir by gardening topless. At least four callers told police 52-year-old Catharine Pierce was in her yard topless on Wednesday. State law prohibits exposed genitals, but Pierce was wearing a thong and gardening gloves.
 AP - Elston Turner's 3-pointer brought Washington into a 20-20 tie with Marquette midway through the first half.
 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 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed "confidence-building steps" with Palestinians in a telephone call on Thursday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after a dispute over settlements.
 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 - President Barack Obama signed into law a $17.6 billion jobs bill on Thursday and sounded an optimistic note about the U.S. economy, saying it may soon begin adding jobs instead of losing them.
Reuters - A Chicago man pleaded guilty in court on Thursday to scouting targets for the 2008 assault on Mumbai that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans.
 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.
Reuters - A Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane" pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to kill in a foreign country.
Reuters - U.S. safety officials believe driver error may be behind the crash in New York of a Toyota Motor Corp Prius that has been investigated as a possible case of unintended acceleration, federal investigators said on Thursday.
 AFP - A Middle East diplomatic flurry was given a sense of urgency after a rocket fired from Gaza killed a farmworker in Israel Thursday while the EU foreign policy chief visited the Palestinian enclave.
 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.
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