AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinian leaders on Wednesday that Washington will hold accountable any side that hurts peace prospects, pointedly citing Israel's settlement expansion plans.
Reuters - President Barack Obama declared on Wednesday the "time for talk is over" and urged the U.S. Congress to vote on healthcare as his health secretary directly challenged insurers to forgo profits to make coverage more affordable.
Reuters - With Governor David Paterson enveloped in scandal, New York's lieutenant governor is leading the notoriously difficult budget process and freeing up his boss to fight for his political life, experts say.
California revenue jumps, tax refunds should be paid on time
(Reuters)
Reuters - California's revenue in February was $480 million or 8.7 percent above the estimate in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's state budget plan, so tax refunds should be paid on time, State Controller John Chiang said on Wednesday.
AP - An open diplomatic row during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden has shined a spotlight on the U.S. failure to rein in Israeli settlement ambitions and deepened Palestinian suspicions that the United States is too weak to broker a deal.
Reuters - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel, only days after the Palestinian side had agreed to the contacts.
AFP - Militants armed with guns and grenades stormed the offices of a US-based Christian charity in Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six aid workers in an attack blamed on Islamist rebels.
AP - They flew planes during World War II but weren't considered real military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home.
