AP – Facing a public still wary of his massive health care overhaul, President Barack Obama urged Americans not to judge the nearly $1 trillion legislation he signed into law last week until the reforms take hold.
AP – Drivers will have to pay more for cars and trucks, but they’ll save at the pump under tough new federal rules aimed at boosting mileage, cutting emissions and hastening the next generation of fuel-stingy hybrids and electric cars.
AP – Police in Albuquerque arrested a businessman on fraud charges in a gruesome case in which body parts that were supposed to be cremated and returned to families turned up in plastic bins in a delivery truck in Kansas.
AP – Cardinals across Europe used their Holy Thursday sermons to defend Pope Benedict XVI from accusations he played a role in covering up sex abuse scandals, and an increasingly angry Vatican sought to deflect any criticism in the Western media.
AP – Somali army recruits are using sticks instead of guns as they train for combat against battle-hardened Islamist rebels. With the army lacking equipment and training, Somalia’s prime minister said an offensive the government has threatened to launch for months will be gradual instead of a blitzkrieg.
AP – A man who murdered one of the few U.S. doctors who performed late-term abortions lashed out at the court during his sentencing hearing Thursday and took the opportunity to describe abortion procedures in detail, which he was previously forbidden from doing during the trial.
AP – President Hamid Karzai lashed out at the U.N. and international community Thursday, accusing them of interfering in last year’s fraud-tarnished presidential election and seeking to weaken his authority after parliament rejected his bid to expand his control over the country’s electoral institutions.
AP – Jennifer Hudson didn’t gain a huge amount of weight when she was pregnant with her son, but it was enough to make her do a double-take when she saw a picture of herself.
AP – New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will start the season on the disabled list to get in better shape.
Reuters – President Barack Obama touted the immediate benefits small businesses will receive from his healthcare reforms on Thursday as he made his second speech this week promoting the sweeping plan to a skeptical public.
AFP – President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday urged tough anti-terror measures as he made a surprise visit to the North Caucasus region hit by a major suicide attack and linked to the Moscow bombings.
AFP – Guinea-Bissau soldiers Thursday arrested the army chief and prime minister, who they also threatened to kill, in an apparent coup bid in the African country plagued by cocaine trafficking.
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