AFP - A French nursing assistant Thursday admitted suffocating eight newborn babies because she did not want more children and wished to avoid seeing a doctor for contraception, a prosecutor said.
Obama talks race, pop culture on 'The View' (AP)
AP - President Barack Obama said Thursday that the racial firestorm that led to the ouster of a black Agriculture Department official was a "phony controversy" generated by the media. He said his administration overreacted by forcing her out.
Pitino tells jury he hoped to keep tryst secret (AP)
AP - Rick Pitino, worried that his wife and kids would find out he had a one-night stand with a woman he met in a bar, acknowledged Thursday that he didn't immediately tell police about demands for cars, cash and housing in order to keep the tryst secret.
DC pushes female condoms to fight HIV epidemic (AP)
AP - Charlene Cotton will talk to anyone about sex. Several days a week she stands behind a table decorated with a bowl of flavored condoms and safer sex pamphlets, calling to women passing on the street, "Come check out my table. Don't be scared."
NY AG announces probe of life insurance industry (AP)
AP - New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo says his office has opened a "major fraud investigation" into the life insurance industry.
APNewsBreak: Study says Amish expanding westward (AP)
AP - The search by the booming North American population of Amish for affordable, fertile farmland has produced settlements in 28 states and Ontario — and has even led parties to scout recently for suitable properties in Alaska and Mexico.
Past problems for company at heart of oil spill (AP)
AP - A Canadian company whose pipeline leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a Michigan river has experienced leaks, an explosion and dozens of regulatory violations in the past decade throughout the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in the U.S.
Liverpool, Juve make winning Europa League starts (AFP)
AFP - European giants Liverpool and Juventus began life under new coaches with victories in the first legs of their Europa League third qualifying round ties on Thursday.
Pair wanted in US woman's death deported to Panama (AP)
AP - Nicaragua deported a U.S. couple to Panama, where they face charges of killing two Americans in a scheme to steal their property on a Caribbean archipelago popular with expatriates.
Novelist Anne Rice says she's leaving Christianity (AP)
AP - Anne Rice has had a religious conversion: She's no longer a Christian.
Cops issue cat alert for feline that caused wreck (AP)
AP - Oregon State Police have taken the unusual step of issuing a missing cat alert for a feline that caused a car crash, escaped from a smashed SUV and vanished.
Top Mexican trafficker Coronel dead (Reuters)
Reuters - Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, a major Mexican drug trafficker, was killed during an army operation, the government confirmed on Thursday in what may be a coup for President Felipe Calderon's war on drugs.
The Facebook Data Torrent Debacle: Q&A (PC World)
PC World - Security concerns over Facebook have been raised yet again after a security consultant collected the names and profile URLs for 171 million Facebook accounts from publicly available information. The consultant, Ron Bowes, then uploaded the data as a torrent file allowing anyone with a computer connection to download the data.
Ariz. files appeal as sheriff launches new sweep (AP)
AP - The showdown over Arizona's immigration law played out in court and on Phoenix's sun-splashed streets on Thursday, as the state sought to reinstate key parts of the measure and angry protesters chanted that they refused to "live in fear." Dozens were arrested.
Ellen DeGeneres out as 'American Idol' judge (AP)
AP - Ellen DeGeneres is dancing off "American Idol" after one season, leaving Fox's hit show with two vacancies on its judging panel.
Oswalt traded to Phillies; Tejada, Cantu also move (AP)
AP - Roy Oswalt granted his own wish: He's now part of a pennant race. Miguel Tejada and Jorge Cantu joined the mix, too.
Eternal City grapples with endless vandalism (AP)
AP - They knock the noses off statues in a park that was a favorite haunt of poet John Keats and throw dye into the iconic Trevi Fountain.
Scientists say global warming is continuing (AP)
AP - Scientists from around the world are providing even more evidence of global warming, one day after President Barack Obama renewed his call for climate legislation.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS KEITH OLBERMANN? (Ann Coulter)
Ann Coulter - While engaging in astonishing viciousness, vulgarity and violence toward Republicans, liberals accuse cheerful, law-abiding Tea Party activists of being violent racists.
Moroccan king marks anniversary with clemency (AFP)
AFP - King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Thursday granted pardons or reduced sentences to nearly 1,000 people to mark his 11 years on the throne, the justice ministry said.