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WASHINGTON (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....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Thursday assured immigration advocates frustrated by the wait for a promised overhaul of U.S. immigration laws that he remains committed to fixing a system he has said is broken. What remains unclear is whether Congress will send him a bill this year....

NEW YORK (AP) -- After years of fighting in court, lawyers representing the city, construction companies and more than 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers have agreed to a settlement that could pay up to $657.5 million to responders sickened by dust from the destroyed World Trade Center....

BUENA, N.J. (AP) -- He was raised in New Jersey, where he was on the high school wrestling team and earned a black belt in karate. Nearly a decade later, Sharif Mobley is under arrest in Yemen, suspected of being an al-Qaida member and accused of killing a guard in an attempt to break out of a hospital....

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

DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods intends to remain out of golf at least until the Masters, two people with knowledge of his plans told The Associated Press on Thursday....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Da'Sean Butler took an inbounds pass and banked in a 3-pointer from the head of the key at the buzzer to give No. 7 West Virginia a 54-51 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Lazar Hayward gave Marquette the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 1:51 to play, then added the clinching free throws with 3.2 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles went on to another close win, 80-76 over No. 10 Villanova on Thursday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals....

DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- Five birdies were enough to put Charl Schwartzel among the leaders at the CA Championship. No mistakes is what put in the lead alone Thursday on a rough-and-tumble day at Doral....

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, who helped form one of the NFL's greatest defensive lines before embarking on a successful career in television, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 69....

MIAMI (AP) -- Devotees of a man claiming to practice a traditional African religion said they had to ingest the mucus of a Giant African Snail that sickened them. Federal authorities in January raided the Miami man's home after receiving complaints. The man has not been criminally charged, but prosecutors and state and federal wildlife agencies are investigating. The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval....

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Police said a man did more than take a pickup for a spin during a test drive this week. Red Star Auto of Lincoln reported a pickup had been stolen Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. The dealership's owner said a 39-year-old man had taken the truck for a test drive earlier Tuesday....

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) -- Kingsport Police have filed a 10th DUI charge against a driver who was going about 20 miles per hour on Interstate 26 and weaving. The Kingsport Times -News reported that the 57-year-old man told the officer on Tuesday, "I'm drunk. Do what you gotta do." The police report stated that when asked to take sobriety, breath or alcohol tests, the man kept repeating that he was drunk....

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- The animal rights group PETA is offering to help the cash-strapped city of Colorado Springs by paying to put trash cans back in parks - on one condition. The cans have to carry an anti-meat slogan and a picture of a woman in a lettuce bikini....

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Second-degree burglary charges have been filed against an Ames man who broke into a church where he allegedly used the institution's electronic equipment to watch pornography. Police allege the 55-year-old man broke into the First Christian Church on Thursday. After gathering items from around the building, he is believed to have gone to the basement to spend the night....