AP - Constance McMillen didn't believe her Mississippi school district would really call off her senior prom rather than allow her to show up with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

AP - House Democrats on Thursday stopped a Republican bid to force an investigation of Democratic leaders aimed at determining whether they covered up sexual harassment allegations against ex-Rep. Eric Massa.

Reuters - Congressional Democrats drew closer on Thursday to agreement on a broad healthcare overhaul that could lead to a final vote in the next few weeks, but vowed not to be bound by White House deadlines.

Reuters - President Barack Obama on Thursday faced pressure to help create jobs in African-American communities and deliver an immigration overhaul even as he tried to push healthcare reform across the finish line.

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.

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 - 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 - 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 - VeriSign Inc., whose technology is key to allowing Internet users to access Web sites with names ending in ".com" and ".net," plans to spend more than $300 million over the next decade to upgrade its systems.

AFP - The United States said Thursday that the battle for human rights is increasingly being fought on the Internet as China, Iran and other states try to block access by political activists and others.

AP - A Georgia man who posted a video on YouTube of himself holding a sign saying "Elton John must die" has been arrested for making terroristic threats.

AP - SkillSoft PLC, an education software company that has agreed to be taken private, said Thursday its fourth-quarter net income fell 16 percent from a year earlier, when it benefited from a tax windfall.

NewsFactor - Version 4.0 of the operating system for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and the forthcoming iPad will represent a major overhaul of the software and will feature a "full-on solution" to one long-standing gripe about Apple's devices -- their inability to multitask.

PARIS (Reuters) - Martine Aubry a appelé jeudi soir les électeurs à porter la gauche à la tête de l'ensemble des régions françaises pour faire contrepoids à la droite et préparer l'avenir.

PARIS (Reuters) - Une tête d'Hatem Ben Arfa à la dernière minute du temps réglementaire a offert jeudi à Marseille un match nul 1-1 sur le terrain du Benfica Lisbonne, en huitième de finale aller de l'Europa League.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Le président américain Barack Obama a fait don jeudi des 1,4 million de dollars de son prix Nobel de la paix à dix causes humanitaires allant de l'aide aux rescapés du séisme haïtien aux programmes d'éducation pour les minorités noire, hispanique et indienne aux Etats-Unis.

NANTES (Reuters) - A trois jours du premier tour des élections régionales, François Fillon a assuré à Nantes qu'il ne cédait pas au pessimisme et a appelé les électeurs à faire mentir les sondages qui promettent à la gauche une large victoire.

POITIERS, Vienne (Reuters) - Ségolène Royal, présidente de Poitou-Charentes en lice pour un nouveau mandat, a appelé jeudi soir les électeurs à sanctionner la droite "sur tout le territoire" lors des régionales.

The Canadian Press - IQALUIT, Nunavut - Jury members broke into tears Thursday after finding a Nunavut man guilty of first-degree murder for shooting a Mountie in the head while the officer sat in his police truck.

The Canadian Press - The U.S. government is asking a court for more time to decide whether to pursue or drop its case against a Canadian doctor's assistant accused of smuggling human growth hormone into the United States.

The Canadian Press - SASKATOON - A Saskatchewan man is accused of uttering threats against Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Brad Wall and Elwin Hermanson, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission.

The Canadian Press - WINDSOR, Ont. - A doctor who performed mistaken mastectomies at a southwestern Ontario hospital has had her privileges restored.

The Canadian Press - MONTREAL - In the struggle to integrate newcomers to Canada, Quebec has distanced itself from other provinces with its hardline stand against religious face coverings, which is likely to earn it a reputation as either a far-sighted pioneer or intolerant loner.

CBC - Alberta has rolled back the royalty rates it charges energy companies to develop the province's oil and gas resources, which will sharply slash government revenues but may boost investment.

The Canadian Press - HALIFAX, N.S. - No discipline will be imposed on an RCMP officer who fatally shot a Nova Scotia man in his own home because the force neglected to start a review of the constable's actions within its legally required time frame.

The Canadian Press - OTTAWA - Longshoremen have lost a legal bid to contest marine security regulations they call an unwarranted invasion of their privacy.

Radio-Canada - Trois cycles de fécondation assistée seront bientôt offerts gratuitement aux couples et aux femmes qui peinent à concevoir un enfant.

Radio-Canada - Le ministre Claude Béchard, affligé depuis un certain temps par un cancer du pancréas, obtient son congé de l'hôpital. Il devra subir des traitements de chimiothérapie et la durée de sa convalescence demeure indéterminée.

Radio-Canada - Radio-Canada a appris que le site Internet Quickvisacanada.com incite des étrangers à immigrer au Canada sous de faux motifs. Il leur promet de rentrer au pays en contrepartie de 2250 $ pour profiter de l'assurance maladie, de l'aide sociale et de l'éducation gratuite.

Radio-Canada - Des villes comme Pincourt et Saint-Jérôme éprouvent des difficultés après avoir choisi de louer des infrastructures sportives à des propriétaires privés, plutôt que d'en construire de nouvelles.

Radio-Canada - La famille d'un bébé au cerveau gravement endommagé a abandonné sa bataille en justice pour qu'il reste branché au respirateur artificiel qui le maintenait en vie depuis sa naissance, en octobre dernier.

Radio-Canada - Les députés de l'Assemblée nationale adoptent à l'unanimité une motion reconnaissant la laïcité des garderies, après plusieurs jours de controverse sur des services de garde à vocation religieuse.

Radio-Canada - Des investisseurs étrangers, notamment chinois, achètent des terres arables dans la province pour nourrir leur pays d'origine.

Radio-Canada - Des investisseurs étrangers, notamment chinois, achètent des terres arables dans la province pour nourrir leur pays d'origine.