Yahoo! News: Top Stories
Top Stories


Health bill gains ground with weekend vote likely (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation won precious support from a longtime liberal holdout in the House on Wednesday and from Catholic nuns representing dozens of religious orders, gaining fresh traction in the run-up to a climactic weekend vote.

Idaho first to sign law against health care reform (AP)

AP - Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care reform Wednesday when its governor became the first to sign a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government if residents are forced to buy health insurance.

More than 100 complaints lodged over fixed Toyotas (AP)

AP - Complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyotas repaired under recalls have nearly doubled in the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis of government data.

Pakistani court charges 5 Americans with terrorism (AP)

AP - A Pakistani court charged five young Americans on Wednesday with planning terrorist attacks in the South Asian country and conspiring to wage war against nations allied with Pakistan, their defense lawyer said.

Recent cases show challenge of US terrorists (AP)

AP - The growing front in the war on terrorism may be no farther than Main Street. The terror cases that have emerged in the past week have one common characteristic: The suspects are all Americans.

Iraqi PM fights for survival as votes are counted (AP)

AP - The man who has led Iraq for the past four years is battling for his political survival just as U.S. troops are getting ready to pack up and go home.

Black people must leave, NJ Walmart announcer says (AP)

AP - An announcement at a Walmart store in New Jersey ordering black people to leave brought chagrin and apologies Wednesday from leaders of the company, which has built a fragile trust among minority communities.

US clinic sparks debate with UK human egg raffle (AP)

AP - An American infertility clinic seeking business in Britain prompted fierce criticism by offering free eggs from a U.S. woman to one participant in a promotional seminar in London on Wednesday.

Sleeping man shocked after cold man jumps into bed (AP)
AP - Police said a man broke into a Pittsburgh home and climbed into bed with its owner, apparently because he was drunk and cold following a rap concert. Homeowner Frank Fontana says he was in bed when the man climbed in about 5:30 Wednesday morning. Fontana says he asked whether it was a woman who has keys to his home — and he grabbed a baseball bat when a deep male voice answered, "No, it's not."

Texas Rangers manager tested positive for cocaine (AP)

AP - Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington admitted he made a "huge mistake" when he used cocaine and failed a Major League Baseball drug test last season.

Obama picks up new support for health bill (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama picked up support for healthcare reform on Wednesday from a former critic and from a group of Catholic nuns, who broke with bishops on the abortion issue and urged final passage of the Senate overhaul.

U.S. believes key al Qaeda planner killed in Pakistan (Reuters)
Reuters - A U.S. drone strike in Pakistan last week appears to have killed a top al Qaeda planner who Washington believes helped organize December's deadly suicide bombing at a CIA base in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

First of several job-creation bills clears Congress (Reuters)
Reuters - A package of tax breaks and highway spending cleared Congress on Wednesday, the first of what Democrats hope will be several efforts to bring down the 9.7 percent unemployment rate.

Would U.S. forces kill or capture bin Laden? (Reuters)
Reuters - Would U.S. forces kill or capture al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, if they ever found him? The goal is to capture him, the Pentagon insists, but the leading U.S. law enforcement official says that's not likely.

Insurer targeted HIV patients to drop coverage (Reuters)
Reuters - In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV. The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him: On his own initiative, in anticipation of his first year in college, he had purchased his own health insurance.