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.

Idaho GOP state Sen. McGee resigns amid scandal (AP)

AP - An Idaho Republican state senator who had been seen as a political riser has stepped down amid sexual harassment allegations.

GOP rivals pass contraception debate, hit Obama (AP)

AP - The Republican presidential candidates are trying to avoid a debate on contraception and instead are looking to keep the focus of their criticism on President Barack Obama.

Guantanamo captive in plea deal with U.S. prosecutors (Reuters)

Reuters - An alleged al Qaeda operative from Maryland held at Guantanamo Bay has entered into a plea agreement with U.S. military prosecutors that calls for him to testify against other detainees, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

GOP candidates all oppose auto bailout (AP)

AP - All of the GOP presidential candidates say they oppose President Barack Obama's decision to bail out failing automakers.

Romney and Santorum swap charges in 20th debate (AP)

AP - Primed for a fight, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum swapped accusations about spending, taxes and congressional earmarks Wednesday night in the 20th and possibly final debate of the roller-coaster race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Japan royal heir suggests easier load for emperor (AP)

AP - Japan's crown prince believes efforts should be made to reduce the burden on his ailing father, Emperor Akihito, as the 78-year-old monarch recovers from heart bypass surgery.

GOP rivals spar over earmarks in Congress (AP)

AP - Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are clashing on spending requests during a sharp confrontation that fellow Republican Newt Gingrich calls "silly" as the Republican presidential contenders' debate.

Palin aides lash out at HBO's 'Game Change' (AP)

AP - Current and former aides to Sarah Palin lashed out Wednesday at HBO's "Game Change," describing the upcoming film's depictions of her on the 2008 campaign trail as "sick" and inaccurate.

Romney defends himself as 'severely conservative' (AP)

AP - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is explaining what he meant when he described himself as "severely conservative" at a conservative political meeting earlier this month.

Grasping at Straws: The Syrian Opposition Appeals to Russia (Time.com)

Time.com - In the face of continuing bloodshed in their homeland, one anti-Assad group courts the regime's allies in the Syrian business community and Moscow. Is it all in vain?

Syria: War Reporter Marie Colvin and Photographer Remi Ochlik Are Killed (Time.com)

Time.com - A celebrated American-born war reporter and a young French photographer were killed on Wednesday morning when Syrian forces bombed a makeshift media center in the besieged city of Homs

Take Two: Can a Second Bailout Save Greece? (Time.com)

Time.com - After months of delays, arguments and doubts, euro zone finance ministers agreed on a second, $170 billion bailout of beleaguered Greece in the early hours of Tuesday morning

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 drunken, jealousy-fueled slaying of his ex-girlfriend, rejecting a verdict of first-degree murder and a possible life sentence.

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

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

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 her death days later was ruled a homicide.

Authorities tracing phone of mountain man's family (AP)

AP - Troy James Knapp is a wanted man, a mountain recluse authorities say is responsible for more than two dozen cabin burglaries in the remote southern Utah wilderness. He's considered armed and dangerous, a ticking time bomb.

Opening GOP debate, Romney pounces on Santorum (AP)

AP - Republicans Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are sparring in what is likely to be the final debate before the next slate of states has nominating contests, trading barbs on Washington spending and borrowing.

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 a lesbian court employee by relying on the 1996 law that bars government recognition of same-sex unions.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.