GOP loses bid for ethics probe of Dem leaders (AP)

FILE - This Tuesday Oct. 14, 2008 file photo shows Eric Massa, Democratic candidate for New York's 29th Congressional District in Rochester, N.Y. One is a former Democratic freshman who was little known outside his Corning-Olean-Pittsford, N.Y. district. The other, a 20-term Democratic kingpin from Harlem, known to New Yorkers and anyone following tax bills. But now, Republicans — looking for any opening to regain control of the House — are portraying newly resigned first-termer Eric Massa and veteran Charles Rangel as dual symbols of Democratic ethical misconduct. (AP Photo/David Duprey, File)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.

Obama says he’s committed to immigration overhaul (AP)

Bishop John Wester, from Salt Lake City, talks to the media outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 11, 2010, following after a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss comprehensive immigration reform. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)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.

Reid’s wife, daughter injured in highway accident (AP)

FILE - In this June 24, 2007, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., right, and his wife Landra Reid attend an event at Ford's Theater in Washington. A spokesman says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter were being treated in a hospital Thursday, March 11, 2010, from serious injuries they sustained when their vehicle was rear-ended. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)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.

Sen. Reid’s family injured in car accident (Reuters)

Reuters – The wife and daughter of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were seriously injured on Thursday when their vehicle was rear-ended by a truck on a highway, the senator’s office said.

US slams rights abuses in China, NKorea and Iran (AFP)

Two ethnic Uighur women pass Chinese paramilitary policemen standing guard in the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang region. The United States on Thursday accused China and Iran of worsening human rights abuses as it raised the alarm about growing anti-Semitism worldwide and discrimination of Muslims in Europe.(AFP/File/Peter Parks)AFP – The United States accused China and Iran of increasing human rights abuses as it raised the alarm about growing anti-Semitism worldwide and discrimination of Muslims in Europe.

Obama issues new call on China over yuan (AFP)

AFP – President Barack Obama called on China to embrace a “market oriented” exchange rate, upping US pressure on the yuan at a time of turmoil in Washington’s delicate relations with Beijing.

Ginsburg endorses end to local judicial elections (AP)

AP – Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is endorsing an end to the election of judges at the state and local levels.

Democrats move closer to healthcare deal (Reuters)

Protesters display placards supporting US President Barack Obama?s healthcare reform during a demonstration in Washington, DC, on March 9. US Senate Democrats Thursday heralded a bitter endgame of President Barack Obama's health reform drive, announcing they would use a contentious legislative tactic to try to pass the bill.(AFP/File/Jewel Samad)Reuters – Congressional Democrats drew closer on Thursday to agreement on a broad healthcare overhaul that could clear the way for a final vote in the next few weeks, but vowed not to be bound by White House deadlines.

Al-Qaida may be encouraging lone jihadists in U.S. (AP)

FILE - This December 2009 file photo released by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Milan, Mich.  On Christmas Day, a passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit tried to blow up the plane with plastic explosives in his underwear. He failed, yet the very attempt shook the U.S. government, set federal agencies against each other and triggered months of political second-guessing.  (AP Photo/U.S. Marshal's Service)AP – Ever since al-Qaida attacked the United States in 2001, U.S. authorities have worked to detect and prevent the next big terrorist strike.

Activists hopeful on Obama immigration plan (AFP)

US President Barack Obama in Washington, DC. Reform activists emerged from a meeting with Obama Thursday convinced that he could enact sweeping immigration reform this year, despite a toxic political environment.(AFP/Saul Loeb)AFP – Reform activists emerged from a meeting with US President Barack Obama Thursday convinced that he could enact sweeping immigration reform this year, despite a toxic political environment.