AP - House Democratic leaders abandoned a long struggle to appease the most ardent abortion opponents in their ranks, gambling Thursday that they can secure the support for President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation with showdown votes looming next week.

AP - The earth shook and shook Thursday as dignitaries walked in for the swearing-in of Sebastian Pinera as Chile's president. It shook some more as they waited for him to join them.

AP - Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth — gradually. Household net worth rose last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was slight. And it was less than in the previous two quarters.

AP - Ever since al-Qaida attacked the United States in 2001, U.S. authorities have worked to detect and prevent the next big terrorist strike.

AP - The decision by a Rome high school to install condom vending machines has set off a storm in Italy, with the Catholic Church charging the move will encourage young people to have sex and Rome's mayor saying it sends the wrong message.

AP - An 18-year-old Mississippi lesbian student whose school district canceled her senior prom rather than allow her to escort her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo said she got some unfriendly looks from classmates when she reluctantly returned to campus Thursday.

AP - A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments on Thursday that the phrases violate the separation of church and state.

AP - The DNA tests that revealed how the famed boy-king Tutankhamun most likely died solved another of ancient Egypt's enduring mysteries — the fate of controversial Pharaoh Akhenaten's mummy. The discovery could help fill out the picture of a fascinating era more than 3,300 years ago when Akhenaten embarked on history's first attempt at monotheism.

AP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is grateful that actor Sean Penn has defended him against his critics within the U.S. media. In an appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week, Penn slammed Chavez critics who refer to the socialist leader as a dictator.

AP - Merlin Olsen, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman and member of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" who followed up football with a successful television career in "Little House on the Prairie," NFL broadcasts and commercials, has died. He was 69.

Reuters - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki posted mixed results in initial returns on Thursday from Iraq's parliamentary election, and a rival grouping complained of serious fraud.

Reuters - The ground shook and buildings swayed as billionaire Sebastian Pinera took over as Chile's president on Thursday, tasked with rebuilding after a massive earthquake killed hundreds just 12 days ago.

Reuters - Police clashed with stone-throwing youths in Athens on Thursday as tens of thousands of strikers protested against draconian cutbacks aimed at pulling Greece out of a debt crisis shaking the euro zone.

Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden called on Thursday for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to start without delay despite Palestinian insistence that Israel first cancel a settlement project condemned by Washington.

Reuters - President Barack Obama on Thursday named 10 charities to share his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize, with causes ranging from wounded veterans to Haiti's earthquake survivors and education for minorities.

AFP - Strong aftershocks and a tsunami alert rocked Chile and rattled nerves Thursday as rightwing billionaire Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president of the quake-hit nation.

AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly apologised Thursday to US Vice President Joe Biden, hoping to defuse a row over settlements that appeared to scuttle indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.