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

AP - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife was hospitalized with a broken back and neck Thursday after a tractor-trailer truck slammed into the back of the minivan in which she and their daughter were riding on an interstate highway in suburban Virginia, officials said.

AP - President Barack Obama is planning to nominate Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, to take over as vice chairman of central bank in Washington, The Wall Street Journal reported.

AP - With one eye on the calendar and the other on elusive bipartisanship, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd plans to offer his own version of a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations without Republican support.

AP - Republicans in Pennsylvania have nominated a political newcomer to fill the congressional seat of the late Rep. John Murtha.

AP - Over the years, "Little Billy" learned much from the country's top minds.