Australian PM calls party vote as challenger rises (AP)

AP - Prime Minister Julia Gillard put her job on the line Thursday, announcing a leadership ballot in hopes of quashing a comeback by the premier she ousted in a Labor Party coup. But Kevin Rudd's supporters said that even if Gillard survives Monday's vote, the turmoil surrounding her unpopular government will continue until she is out.

Obama signs payroll tax cut extension into law (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama signed the payroll tax cut extension into law Wednesday, notching an election-year victory and rare bipartisan agreement in the continuing partisan battle over jobs, taxes and debt.

Struggling Floridians line up for a chance to keep homes (Reuters)

Reuters - Nearly 1,200 people lined up at a downtown Miami conference center on Wednesday, holding onto mortgage documents and income statements in the hope of saving the homes they are struggling to pay for.

Newark mayor: NYPD Muslim files 'deeply offensive' (AP)

AP - The mayor and police director of New Jersey's largest city said Wednesday the New York Police Department misled their city and never told them it was conducting a widespread spying operation on Newark's Muslim neighborhoods. Had they known, they said, they never would have allowed it.

Swedish palace: crown princess about to give birth (AP)

AP - The Swedish Royal Court says Crown Princess Victoria has been admitted to a hospital for the birth of her first child, who would be a future heir to the throne.

Newark mayor: NYPD Muslim files 'deeply offensive' (AP)

AP - The mayor and police director of New Jersey's largest city said Wednesday the New York Police Department misled their city and never told them it was conducting a widespread spying operation on Newark's Muslim neighborhoods. Had they known, they said, they never would have allowed it.

Shelling kills 2 Western journalists in Syria (AP)

AP - Syrian gunners pounded an opposition stronghold where the last dispatches from a veteran American-born war correspondent chronicled the suffering of civilians caught in the relentless shelling. An intense morning barrage killed her and a French photojournalist — two of 74 deaths reported Wednesday in Syria.

Poll: Obama benefitting from improving economy (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama is reaping political benefits from the country's brighter economic mood. A new poll shows that Republicans and Democrats alike are increasingly saying the nation is heading in the right direction and most independents now approve the way he's addressing the nation's post-recession period.

2nd degree murder verdict in lacrosse death trial (AP)

AP - Jurors found a former University of Virginia lacrosse player guilty of second-degree murder Wednesday in the slaying of his ex-girlfriend that was fueled by jealousy over her relationship with another lacrosse player.

Teenage girl dies after inhaling helium at party (AP)

AP - Last weekend, 14-year-old Ashley Long told her parents she was going to a slumber party. But instead of spending the night watching videos and eating popcorn two blocks away, she piled into a car with a bunch of her friends and rode to a condo in Medford, Ore., where police say the big sister of one of her friends was throwing a party with booze and marijuana.

Police: Girl forced to run 3 hours dies; 2 charged (AP)

AP - At a doublewide trailer along a dirt road in rural Alabama, authorities say 9-year-old Savannah Hardin was forced to run for three hours as punishment for having lied to her grandmother about eating candy bars. The severely dehydrated girl had a seizure and died days later, her death ruled a homicide.

Man's childhood comic collection fetches $3.5M (AP)

AP - Billy Wright plunked down dime after dime for comic books while growing up in the late 1930s and early 1940s, caring for the collection he started around the age of 9 until his death more than half a century later. On Wednesday, most of that collection sold for a whopping $3.5 million.

Obama urges corporate tax cut, closing loopholes (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama made an opening offer in what could be a long negotiation with corporate America on Wednesday, putting forward his first detailed plan to cut the corporate tax rate.

Obama urges corporate tax cut, closing loopholes (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama made an opening offer in what could be a long negotiation with corporate America on Wednesday, putting forward his first detailed plan to cut the corporate tax rate.

Police say love triangle led to CA murder-suicide (AP)

AP - A 73-year-old gunman entangled in a love triangle shot and killed the treasurer of a remote-controlled airplane club who police said was having an affair with the estranged wife of the attacker.

Romney and Santorum seek edge in 20th debate (AP)

AP - Struggling for an edge, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum campaigned Wednesday into the 20th and possibly final debate of the roller-coaster race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Virginia lawmakers pass revised ultrasound requirement (Reuters)

Reuters - Virginia lawmakers on Wednesday passed a revised ultrasound requirement for women seeking abortions that dropped a mandatory internal scan, after Republican Governor Bob McDonnell shifted his stance on the hotly contested measure.

Argentine train slams into station, killing 49 (AP)

AP - The first two cars were packed as usual for the morning rush, so tightly that people stood pressed flesh to flesh, sandwiched between bicycles and the few seats, many without so much as a strap to hold onto.

Lesbian federal worker wins health benefits case (AP)

AP - A federal judge in San Francisco ruled Wednesday that the U.S. government cannot deny health benefits to the wife of lesbian court employee by relying on the 1996 law that bars government recognition of same-sex unions.

Texas man gets life in prison in torture case (AP)

AP - A Texas man who kidnapped his former neighbor and tortured her while holding her captive nearly two weeks was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

8-year-old critical after Wash. school shooting (AP)

AP - An 8-year-old girl was in critical condition Wednesday after she shot in the abdomen at her elementary school near Seattle, and one of her classmates was detained, authorities said Wednesday.

Judge says Wash. can't make pharmacies sell Plan B (AP)

AP - Washington state cannot force pharmacies to sell Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the state's true goal was to suppress religious objections by druggists — not to promote timely access to the medicines for people who need them.

Romney proposes 28 percent top income tax rate (Reuters)

Reuters - Republican Mitt Romney revised his proposal for overhauling the U.S. tax code on Wednesday, calling for all individual tax rates to be cut by 20 percent while declining to offer specifics on how to make up the lost revenue from lower rates.

Ford to add $3.8B to pension plans this year (AP)

AP - Ford Motor Co. will pump $3.8 billion into its global pension plans this year as it tries to get them closer to fully funding their obligations.

HP CEO pleads patience as earnings fall 44 pct (AP)

AP - Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Meg Whitman pleaded for patience Thursday as she described operational challenges and other internal problems that contributed to a decline in earnings at one of the world's largest technology companies.

Assad forces renew barrage on Syria's Homs (Reuters)

Reuters - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces rained rockets and bombs down on opposition-held neighborhoods of the city of Homs, reducing buildings to rubble and killing more than 80 people, including two Western journalists.

California Republicans back Democrat governor on pensions (Reuters)

Reuters - Republican lawmakers in California on Wednesday fully embraced Governor Jerry Brown's plan for overhauling public pensions and pressed his fellow Democrats, who control the state legislature, to back it as well.

Police: Ga. victims related in Korean spa shooting (AP)

AP - A gunman walked into the Su Jung Health Sauna, argued with someone and then opened fire, killing two of his sisters and their husbands, then himself, authorities said Wednesday

Australian PM calls party leadership ballot (AP)

AP - Prime Minister Julia Gillard is announcing that her party will vote next week on its leadership.

Congressional offices receive mailed threats (AP)

AP - Some congressional offices outside Washington and media organizations have received threatening letters containing a suspicious powdery substance that was tested and proved to be harmless, the FBI and the Senate's top law enforcement officer said Wednesday.

Air Canada mechanics, baggage handlers reject labor (Reuters)

Reuters - Air Canada's 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents have rejected a tentative contract agreement with the country's biggest airline, a union spokesman said on Wednesday, marking another setback for the carrier during a year of rocky labor relations.

Report: Crime at US public schools on the decline (AP)

AP - Violent crime at the nation's schools is declining, and students and schools are reporting less bullying and gang activity.

Some money from mortgage settlement to be diverted (AP)

AP - The ink wasn't even dry on a settlement with the nation's top mortgage lenders when Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon laid claim to a chunk of the money to avert a huge budget cut for public colleges and universities.

Karzai urges calm as six die in Afghan Koran protests (Reuters)

Reuters - Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for calm Wednesday after officials said six people were shot dead and dozens wounded in protests over the burning of copies of the Koran, Islam's holy book, at NATO's main base in the country.

G20 hopes for progress on EU debt crisis: Carstens (Reuters)

Reuters - Group of 20 policymakers are hoping for a signal this weekend that Europe will boost crisis funding, smoothing the way for a deal to increase International Monetary Fund resources, the head of Mexico's central bank said on Wednesday.

A few miles from Giffords shooting, Santorum greets Tucson Tea Party under very high security (The Ticket)

The Ticket - TUCSON, Arizona --The Tucson Tea Party didn't take any chances with security when they hosted Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum at a meeting here Wednesday, just a few miles from where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot last year while meeting with constituents. "Sen. Santorum is not intending to speak outside, for security reasons," the Tucson [...]

Santorum mocks Romney ahead of Arizona GOP debate (AP)

AP - Rick Santorum acknowledged Wednesday that he's probably running behind Mitt Romney in Arizona, but he implored a tea party crowd not to settle for "a Johnny-come-lately to the conservative cause."

Rick: Obama won't 'call evil evil' (Politico)

Politico - He says the president is making threats worse.

Palin book author pays fine for using confidential emails (Reuters)

Reuters - A former aide to Sarah Palin who wrote an unflattering memoir of his time in her inner circle has paid a $11,900 fine for using confidential state emails without permission, according to the Alaska Department of Law.

Common prenatal tests become campaign issue (AP)

AP - First birth control, now prenatal testing? Once again a fact of life for many American women has become a jarring issue in the presidential race.