Health bill gains ground with weekend vote likely
WASHINGTON (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 aimed at health care plan
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care overhaul 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
WASHINGTON (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....

Medvedev: Russia must tap Arctic resources
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia must defend its claims to mineral riches of the Arctic in increasing competition with other powers, President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday....

Yemen-American imam calls for US Muslim revolt
CAIRO (AP) -- A Yemeni-American Muslim preacher known for his ties to extremists operating in the U.S. called on American Muslims in a new audio message to turn against their government because of its actions against Muslims around the world....

Brazil: Protests over proposed oil law change
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Rio de Janeiro to protest against changes in an oil royalties law that would drain the city's coffers....

Health bill gains ground with weekend vote likely
WASHINGTON (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....

FACT CHECK: Obama plan only slows premiums rise
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Buyers, beware: President Barack Obama says his health care overhaul will lower premiums by double digits, but check the fine print....

Recent cases show challenge of US terrorists
WASHINGTON (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....

Texas manager tested positive for cocaine in 2009
SURPRISE, Ariz. (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....

Jordan's bid for Bobcats approved by NBA board
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Michael Jordan became a basketball star at North Carolina. Now he'll try to turn around the state's money-losing NBA team by becoming the first ex-player to be a majority owner in the league....

NFL to examine 2 possessions in playoffs OT
NEW YORK (AP) -- NFL owners will vote next week whether to allow each team a possession in overtime in the playoffs if the team winning the OT coin toss kicks a field goal on the first series....

Viacom-YouTube secrets to be exposed in lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A legal tussle pitting media conglomerate Viacom Inc. against online video leader YouTube is about to get dirtier as a federal judge prepares to release documents that will expose their secrets and other confidential information....

Yahoo buying fantasy sports company Citizen Sports
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Yahoo is buying a fantasy sports company co-founded by an MIT graduate whose card-counting skills helped him win millions of dollars in blackjack and spawned a film and a best-selling book....

Texan accused of disabling 100 cars over Internet
DALLAS (AP) -- A man fired from a Texas auto dealership used an Internet service to remotely disable ignitions and set off car horns of more than 100 vehicles sold at his old workplace, police said Wednesday....

Drunken thief takes singer Justin Moore's guitar
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Country singer Justin Moore knows his fans can get rowdy - maybe sometimes to a fault....

Posner says he failed to source material for book
NEW YORK (AP) -- An author and journalist who resigned last month from the Internet news site The Daily Beast over allegations of lifting material acknowledged that passages in his latest book are similar to those of another writer....

Reagan 'GE Theater' tapes restored, go to library
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- All 208 episodes of television's "General Electric Theater," hosted by then-actor Ronald Reagan, are being delivered to former first lady Nancy Reagan on Wednesday as part of the two-year celebration of the late president's 100th birthday....

Sleeping man shocked after cold man jumps into bed
PITTSBURGH (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."...

Police: La. man denied beer run gets very testy
THIBODAUX, La. (AP) -- A 25-year-old man did not take his inability to get more beer well. Lafourche sheriff's spokeswoman Lesley Hill Peters said the man was accused of breaking furniture and throwing a beer bottle at a woman after she refused to give him car keys so he could buy more beer on Monday night. The Courier reported Wednesday that the man admitted to deputies he'd been drinking before the argument with the alleged 29-year-old victim....

Errant spike strip leaves Calif. drivers flat
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Some drivers in Newport Beach said they were left flat after a spike strip fell out of a police car and punctured their tires. A police report said the strip, which is designed to slow down fleeing drivers, fell out of a police officer's Chevy Tahoe on Feb. 27. The report said the officer had checked out the vehicle but forgot to close the back door before leaving the police station....

Convicted embezzler given tax break, then arrested
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A convicted embezzler who snagged a $9.1 million business tax credit from the state of Michigan was arrested Wednesday on a parole violation, a day after he appeared on stage with Gov. Jennifer Granholm as she announced the credits....

More than 100 complaints lodged over fixed Toyotas
WASHINGTON (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....

Stocks climb after Fed pledges to hold rates low
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market has a new formula for success: a slow and steady trek higher....