AP - President Barack Obama is delaying his trip to Asia next week to focus on his big push on health care.

AP - An Iraqi Shiite religious alliance with ties to Iran is leading in one southern province according to the latest vote tallies released.

AP - Retail sales posted a surprising increase in February as consumers did not let major snowstorms stop them from storming the malls. The advance, the biggest since November, provided hope that the recovery from the Great Recession is gaining momentum.

Reuters - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had a narrow lead over rival Shi'ites, partial results in Iraq's tight election race showed on Friday, but a secularist challenger remained far ahead in minority Sunni areas.

AP - A pair of suicide bombers targeting army vehicles detonated explosives within seconds of each other Friday, killing at least 43 people in this eastern city and wounding about 100, police said. It was the fourth major attack in Pakistan this week, indicating Islamist militants are stepping up violence after a period of relative calm.

AP - A lesbian student who wanted to take her girlfriend to her senior prom is asking a federal judge to force her Mississippi school district to reinstate the dance it canceled.

AFP - The head of Germany's Roman Catholic Church issued a new apology to victims of paedophile priests as he met the pope Friday and announced the creation of a watchdog to counter abuses.

Reuters - Suicide bombers targeting the Pakistani military killed at least 45 people in Lahore on Friday, officials said, in a challenge to government assertions that crackdowns have weakened Taliban insurgents.

AFP - Twin suicide attacks seconds apart targeted the Pakistani military Friday, killing up to 45 people in the second attack to hit security forces in the country's cultural capital this week.

Reuters - President Barack Obama plans to nominate San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen, a respected policy dove, to be vice chairman of the central bank, a source familiar with the process said on Thursday.

AFP - The head of Germany's Roman Catholic Church issued a new apology to victims of paedophile priests as he met the pope Friday and announced the creation of a watchdog to deal with the abuse issue.

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.

AP - Teen power won out on "American Idol" as Katie Stevens claimed a place in the top 12 while a more experienced singer got the ax.

AP - Sharif Mobley had strong Muslim views as early as high school. But his old friend Roman Castro knew he had radicalized when he saw him about four years ago.

AP - A settlement that could pay up to $657.5 million to more than 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers sickened by dust from the destroyed World Trade Center goes before a judge Friday, and he has said he favored a settlement but planned to analyze it carefully to make sure it was fair.

AP - President Barack Obama's intense juggling of domestic issues reflects all the realities he faces: a vast agenda, a smaller window for results this year and a need to keep promises to constituencies that will have a huge say in the fall congressional elections.