The Kansas City school board voted Wednesday night to close nearly half the district's schools in a desperate bid to stay afloat.

CBC.ca
Carlos Slim Tops Forbes List of Billionaires
New York Times
By BLOOMBERG NEWS The net worth of Mr. Slim, 70, who built a telecommunications empire after buying Mexico's state-run phone monopoly two decades ago, rose $18.5 billion, to $53.5 billion. Mr. Gates, 54, chairman of Microsoft, fell to second as his net ...
Technology's Richest BillionairesForbes
Bill Gates falls on world's-richest listHollywood Reporter
The Industry's Movers & Shakers on Forbes' List of BillionairesDiamonds.net
BusinessWeek -The Guardian -KITV Honolulu
all 528 news articles »

Globe and Mail
Arab League Pulls Talks Support Over Israeli Settlements Issue
Voice of America
Arab League chief Amr Moussa says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told him he will not enter indirect talks with Israel due to its settlement expansion plan. Moussa made his remarks Wednesday following an emergency Arab League meeting in Cairo. ...
PA sources: Talks will happenJerusalem Post
Biden tells Palestinians US won't be deterredLos Angeles Times
The US will no longer turn a blind eye to Israeli settlementsHa'aretz
Times Online -Aljazeera.net -Wall Street Journal
all 4,039 news articles »

Financial Times
British official urges Afghanistan to negotiate with Taliban, other insurgents
Washington Post
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called Wednesday for early and substantive political negotiations between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban and other insurgent groups, saying that military successes will never be ...
Iran's Ahmadinejad Criticizes US Role in AfghanistanVoice of America
US-Iran tension plays out in AfghanistanThe Associated Press
Iran and US trade insults over Taliban-led violenceTelegraph.co.uk
Xinhua -Press TV -DAWN.com
all 864 news articles »

Reuters
House GOP leaders press earmark moratorium
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — House GOP leaders are pushing rank-and-file Republicans to break their addiction to pet projects by going cold turkey and giving up the long-cherished practice of directing federal dollars to their home districts. ...
Quigley supportive of House's decision not to OK earmarksChicago Sun-Times
Michael Barone: Can Nancy Pelosi Get the Votes?Wall Street Journal
House Democrats plan ban on earmarks for for-profitsCNN
Courthouse News Service -UPI.com -Newsday (subscription)
all 385 news articles »

CBS News
Miss. prom canceled after lesbian's date request
USA Today
By Matthew Sharpe for The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger By Chris Joyner, USA TODAY JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi county school board announced Wednesday it would cancel its upcoming prom after a gay student petitioned to bring a same-sex date to the ...
Miss. school prom off after lesbian's date requestThe Associated Press
Prom date debateWTVA
School Prom Off After Lesbian's Date Request13wmaz
WTVA
all 301 news articles »

Reuters
House ethics committee to end Eric Massa investigation
Washington Post
Eric Massa resigned his House seat this week under a sexual harassment cloud, claiming fellow Democrats forced his ouster to keep him from voting against their health care bill. It's the latest claim in a changing stream of explanations. ...
What's Next in the Massa Investigation?CBS News
Massa: Yeah, I Groped Male Staff But Not SexuallyFOXNews
Massa: Mentally Challenged Swing Vote?Black Star News
ABC News -WBEN 930
all 1,724 news articles »

Reuters
Obama Gets Tough on Health Care Fraud
New York Times
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — President Obama continued his ramped-up drive for a health care overhaul on Wednesday, ordering a crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud and dispatching his secretary of health and human ...
Obama Makes Closing Argument for Health OverhaulWall Street Journal
Obama Promises to Root Out Waste in Push for Healthcare billBaltimore Sun
Obama: Nothing needs reform more than health careUSA Today
Voice of America -Reuters -CNN
all 2,369 news articles »

Reuters
Â'JihadJane' suspect dropped out before high school, married at 16
Washington Post
The self-described "Jihad Jane" who thought her blond hair and blue eyes would let her blend in as she sought to kill an artist in Sweden is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists, authorities say. By Carrie Johnson and Alice Crites ...
A Terror Suspect Who Fits No ProfileCBS News
'JihadJane' indictment alleges threat from within USLos Angeles Times
Woman indicted in plot to kill Swedish cartoonistIrish Times
Wall Street Journal -The Associated Press -ABC News
all 1,817 news articles »

CNBC
Senate Bill on Finance to Include Agency That Tracks Financial Risk
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee members from both parties said on Wednesday that they had agreed to include in their regulatory overhaul bill a new Office of Research and Analysis that would provide early warnings ...
Fight to Overhaul Bank Rules Enters New StageWall Street Journal
Payday lenders may avoid US oversightLos Angeles Times
Compromise would shield payday lenders, pawnbrokers and car dealers from oversightWashington Post
Reuters -Financial Times -NewsHour
all 96 news articles »

The self-described "Jihad Jane" indicted on terror charges is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists and shows the evolution of the threat, authorities say.

CBC.ca
Arab League puts peace talks on the brink
Times Online
Fresh attempts to revive peace talks in the Middle East were on the verge of collapse last night as the Palestinians threatened to pull out before the negotiations began. At an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo Mahmoud Abbas, ...
Netanyahu regrets 'timing' of E. J'lem housing announcementHa'aretz
Joe Biden and Obama 'humiliated' by Israel? Well, not exactly.Christian Science Monitor
US-Israel row highlights quandary over settlementsThe Associated Press
Los Angeles Times -Xinhua -CNN
all 4,050 news articles »

ABC News
Math and English classes could be standardized
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — Governors and education leaders on Wednesday proposed sweeping new school standards that could lead to students across the country using the same math and English textbooks and taking the same tests, replacing a patchwork of state and local ...
Uniform academic standards for US students: draft releasedChristian Science Monitor
Panel Releases Proposal to Set US Education StandardsNew York Times
States Develop National Set of Standards, Hope to Improve U.S. EducationABC News
ChattahBox -Washington Post -UPI.com
all 524 news articles »

The Pentagon is training people to hack into its own computer networks.

Seattle Post Intelligencer
House rejects pullout from Afghanistan
Reuters
Two helicopters escorting US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates take off after a visit to Camp Black Horse where the Afghan National Army (ANA) receive training in Kabul March 10, 2010. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Wednesday ...
House Votes Down Afghan Withdrawal ResolutionVoice of America
House rejects call for withdrawal from AfghanistanThe Associated Press
Test to Democratic Agenda Comes From WithinWall Street Journal
MiamiHerald.com -Baltimore Sun -Boston Herald
all 309 news articles »

CBS News
Female WWII aviators honored with gold medal
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — They flew planes during World War II but weren't considered real military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home. ...
At Capitol ceremony, female aviators of WWII honoredMiamiHerald.com
Michigan woman is among World War II pilots honoredDetroit Free Press
Congress Honors Female PilotsWMTW Portland
The Detroit News -Scripps News -First Coast News
all 521 news articles »

It's become clear that the behavior toward his subordinates that got former Rep. Eric Massa into trouble in Congress is part of pattern that dates to his time in the Navy.

Democrats claim momentum in their drive to enact the sweeping health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama, citing near agreement on crucial issues.

Conan O'Brien decided last week to pick Killen as the only person he would follow on Twitter, turning the 19-year-old's life upside down.

When Juanita Goggins became the first black woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature in 1974, she was hailed as a trailblazer.  Three decades later, she froze to death at age 75.