McCain urges Libyan militias to join national army (AP)

AP - Sen. John McCain urged Libya's militias on Wednesday to integrate themselves into the country's new national army, and called for the alleged abuse of prisoners held by the ex-rebels to stop.

Lithuanian archive releases KGB collaborator names (AP)

AP - Lithuania's government has released the names of 238 citizens who were reservists for the KGB when their country was ruled by the Soviet Union, and said Wednesday it plans to identify scores of people who have refused to disclose their relations with the security agency.

Romney calls for 20 percent income tax cuts (AP)

AP - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday called for 20 percent across-the-board cuts in personal income tax rates as part of a program to help the economy grow.

Wall St closes lower on banks (Reuters)

Reuters - Banks led stocks lower on Wednesday as the S&P 500 stalled near a 10-month-high after signs of weak European business activity rekindled concerns about a recession overseas.

Some money from mortgage settlement to be diverted (AP)

AP - The ink wasn't even dry on a settlement with the nation's top mortgage lenders when Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon laid claim to a chunk of the money.

How gasoline demand is faring (AP)

AP - U.S. motorists have bought less gasoline every week for the past 48 weeks, according to a survey published Wednesday by MasterCard SpendingPulse. At the same time, prices have risen. Those trends should continue, say industry analysts.

Obama urges corporate tax cut, closing loopholes (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama made an opening offer in what could be a long negotiation with corporate America on Wednesday, putting forward his first clear plan to cut the corporate tax rate.

Chavez surgery rocks Venezuela ahead of election (Reuters)

Reuters - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's imminent departure for more cancer surgery in Cuba has thrown his re-election campaign into uncertainty and once again shaken the socialist leader's passionate supporters.

Police: 2 Ga. children reported missing found safe (AP)

AP - Authorities say they are searching for a man they believe kidnapped two young children after offering help to their mother after the family car broke down along an Atlanta-area interstate.

Woman tries to hire hit man to kill fur-wearer: FBI (Reuters)

Reuters - An Ohio woman who likened freeing lab animals to liberating Holocaust survivors was being held in custody Wednesday on charges she used Facebook to try to hire a hit man to kill a person at random for wearing fur, prosecutors said.

'Game Change' -- Anatomy of a Smear of Sarah Palin (ContributorNetwork)

ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | Thanks to some remarkable reporting from Big Hollywood, it has become increasingly clear the upcoming HBO movie "Game Change" is less a political melodrama than an all-out attempt to destroy the person and reputation of Sarah Palin.

Santorum mocks Romney ahead of Arizona GOP debate (AP)

AP - Rick Santorum acknowledged Wednesday that he's probably running behind Mitt Romney in Arizona, but he implored a tea party crowd not to settle for "a Johnny-come-lately to the conservative cause."

Man's childhood comic collection fetches $3.5M (AP)

AP - The bulk of a man's childhood comic book collection that included many of the most prized issues ever published has sold for about $3.5 million.

Rio's Carnival a big draw for gay tourists (AP)

AP - It took Dutch tourist Adriaan little time after landing in Rio to pick out his favorite spot during Carnival, the five-day party that officially ended Wednesday.

W.Va. mine boss charged with fraud in deadly blast (AP)

AP - Federal prosecutors investigating the West Virginia coal mine explosion that killed 29 men are working their way up the corporate ladder with criminal charges.

Jurors weigh murder case of ex-Va. lacrosse player (AP)

AP - After six hours of deliberations, jurors in the murder trial of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player are asking a second question about their instructions.

Newark mayor: NYPD misled us on Muslim spying (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.

Newark mayor: NYPD misled us on Muslim spying (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.

Witness: Explosions rock northern Nigeria city (AP)

AP - Multiple explosions rocked a highway checkpoint in Nigeria's second-largest city, witnesses said Wednesday, just over a month after a radical Islamist sect claimed an attack there that left at least 185 people dead.

Ark. man pleads not guilty in death of teen (AP)

AP - A convicted rapist accused of killing a 16-year-old girl he met online pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday, several days after authorities found the girl's body in a blue, plastic barrel in western Arkansas.

Judge: Wash. can't make pharmacies sell Plan B (AP)

AP - Washington state may not force pharmacies to sell Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the state's true goal is to suppress religious objections by druggists — not to promote timely access to the medicines for people who need them.

Suspect in Capitol bomb sting waives court hearing (AP)

AP - A Virginia man charged with plotting a suicide bombing inside the U.S. Capitol waived his rights Wednesday to preliminary and detention hearings.

Iran defiant as U.N. nuclear talks fail (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.N. nuclear watchdog ended its latest mission to Iran after talks on Tehran's suspected secret atomic weapons research failed, a setback likely to increase the risk of confrontation with the West.

High court torn over law banning lie about medals (AP)

AP - The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided Wednesday over a law that makes it a crime to lie about having been awarded top military honors.

Court seems split on double jeopardy question (AP)

AP - The Supreme Court seemed divided Wednesday on whether to allow an Arkansas man to be retried on murder charges even though a jury forewoman said in open court that they were unanimously against finding him guilty.

Supreme Court hears military medal lying case (Reuters)

Reuters - Supreme Court justices questioned on Wednesday whether the federal government, in making it a crime to lie about receiving a military medal, could next make it illegal for someone to tell lies about an extramarital affair or a college degree.

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

U.S. judge orders Moroccan held for Capitol plot (Reuters)

Reuters - A U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered a Moroccan man to be held on charges that he planned a suicide bombing attack against Congress, believing he was working with al Qaeda militants when in fact his contacts were undercover agents.

Police: Ga. victims related in Korean spa shooting (AP)

AP - A gunman who was asked to leave a Korean health spa in an Atlanta suburb earlier in the day came back and shot two of his sisters and their husbands and then killed himself, police said Wednesday.

Quran burning incites deadly riots in Afghanistan (AP)

AP - Clashes between Afghan troops and protesters angry over the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. military base left at least seven people dead and dozens wounded Wednesday as anger spread despite U.S. apologies over what it said was a mistake.

Rush: Rick gave good answer on Satan (Politico)

Politico - Limbaugh gave a signal of approval to Santorum’s explanation of his 2008 “Satan” comment.

Arizona finally gets GOP candidates' attention (AP)

AP - Rick Santorum is looking for another upset or two, while Mitt Romney is hoping to keep his leading rival at bay in the run-up to the 20th debate of the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

AP Exclusive: National meth lab busts up in 2011 (AP)

AP - An Associated Press survey of the nation's top methamphetamine-producing states shows national lab seizures rose again last year.

Santorum aide: âWhy is Mormonism off limits?â (Daily Caller)

Daily Caller - Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign is arguing that reporters should ask rival Mitt Romney about his Mormon faith if they continue to scrutinize the former Pennsylvania senator’s Catholicism.

Report: Crime at US public schools on the decline (AP)

AP - Crimes and homicides in public schools nationwide have declined, part of a downward trend seen over the past several years.

Newark mayor: NYPD misled city on Muslim spying (AP)

AP - Newark Mayor Cory Booker and his top police official say the city was misled by the New York Police Department and never would have authorized such wholesale spying on Muslims if they had known about it.

Romney proposes 28 percent top income tax rate (Reuters)

Reuters - Republican Mitt Romney, looking for a boost in his presidential campaign, proposed an overhaul of the tax system on Wednesday that he said would cut Americans' tax rates by 20 percent and limit deductions for the wealthy.

MGM Resorts 4th-quarter loss narrows, revenue up (AP)

AP - MGM Resorts International said Wednesday that high costs kept it in the red in the fourth quarter, but it lost less than a year earlier as more people stayed at its Las Vegas Strip casinos and visitors spent more on the food, gambling, entertainment and shopping it offers.