Yahoo! News: Top Stories

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• For Santorum, new challenges follow his big wins (AP)

  AP - One day after Rick Santorum's startling breakthrough in the presidential race, his few aides decamped to distant states to start building campaign organizations from scratch. It was evidence of his challenge in converting sudden momentum into victories in the rush of contests ahead.

  
  
• APNewsBreak: Sources: New military roles for women (AP)

  AP - For the past decade women in the U.S. military have served, fought and died on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  
  
• 8 minutes pass before cops got sent to Powell home (AP)

  AP - Emergency call logs show that nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell's children were in danger and when sheriff's deputies were dispatched. By the time officers were on their way, the home was exploding in a gas-fueled inferno, with Powell and his two young boys inside.

  
  
• EU threatens new sanctions on Syria (AP)

  AP - The European Union will impose harsher sanctions on Syria, a senior EU official has said, as Russia tried to broker talks between the vice president and the opposition to calm violence. Activists reported at least 50 killed in the regime's siege of the restive city of Homs.

  
  
• APNewsBreak: GOP report questions detainee release (AP) AP - Facing domestic political pressures, the Bush and Obama administrations released or transferred 600 terror suspects deemed an acceptable threat from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, only to face the challenge that 27 percent re-engaged in terrorist or insurgent activities, according to a report by Republicans on a House Armed Services subcommittee.
• Washington state lawmakers pass gay marriage bill (AP)

  AP - Washington state lawmakers voted to approve gay marriage Wednesday, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed.

  
  
• GOP vows to reverse Obama birth control policy (AP)

  AP - Republicans vowed Wednesday to reverse President Barack Obama's new policy on birth control, lambasting the rule that religious schools and hospitals must provide contraceptive coverage for their employees as an "unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country."

  
  
• More photos found in Calif. teacher abuse case (AP)

  AP - The scandal embroiling an elementary school where two teachers were arrested last week on lewdness charges widened Wednesday with revelations of 200 more inappropriate photos of children and that one teacher sent warmly written birthday cards and presents to students who participated in his "games."

  
  
• Dr. House hangs up his Fox TV stethoscope (AP)

  AP - Fox's medical drama "House" is ending its eight-year run this season.

  
  
• No. 10 Duke stuns No. 5 North Carolina 85-84 (AP)

  AP - Austin Rivers never looked like a freshman in his first Duke-North Carolina rivalry game — including when he buried a shot that will live on in the lore of this fierce rivalry.

  
  
• Groupon disclosure, growth concerns hit stock (Reuters) Reuters - Groupon Inc shares slumped Wednesday as the daily deal company's first quarterly results since it went public stoked concern about limited disclosure and slowing growth.
• After wins, Santorum seeks funding (Reuters) Reuters - Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum, a day after his stunning sweep of nominating contests in three states, scrambled in Texas on Wednesday to round up the support and money he needs to take on well-financed and well-organized rival Mitt Romney.
• Qantas, Korean Air check A380s for wing cracks (Reuters) Reuters - Qantas Airways and Korean Air will carry out inspections for wing cracks on their Airbus A380 superjumbo planes earlier than previously scheduled, after European air safety officials ordered global checks, warning of a safety risk if the defects were not fixed.
• Exclusive: American Airlines creditors want to talk merger (Reuters) Reuters - Some American Airlines unsecured creditors increasingly feel the bankrupt airline should explore a deal with US Airways Group or another carrier, after hearing parent company AMR Corp's plan to remain independent, people familiar with the situation said.
• Jobs rebound dampens QE3 prospects: Fed officials (Reuters) Reuters - The pick-up in jobs has caught the eye of two top Federal Reserve officials who said on Wednesday that continued improvement in the beleaguered labor market dampens prospects for more economic stimulus measures from the central bank.
• Diamond removes CEO, CFO after walnut payment probe (Reuters) Reuters - Diamond Foods Inc removed top management after a probe by its audit committee found that the company improperly accounted for payments to walnut growers, sending its shares down 40 percent in after-hours trading.
• Gay marriage wins final legislative approval in Washington state (Reuters) Reuters - A bill to legalize gay marriage in Washington state won final legislative approval on Wednesday in a largely party-line vote that moved the state to the cusp of becoming the seventh in the nation to recognize same-sex nuptials.
• Greek party leaders fail to sign off on bailout (Reuters) Reuters - Greek political leaders failed early on Thursday to sign off on a tough reform and austerity program, the price of a new international bailout for the nation, but Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said they would try to strike a deal within hours.
• Prop. 8 ruling: why it might not go the the Supreme Court (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor - A day after the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Proposition 8 – California's 2008 voter-approved ban on gay marriage – the big question is: What happens next? 
• Boehner vows Congress will reverse Obama birth control policy (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor - Congress this week plunged into fray over new Obama administration rules that will require religious employers to offer birth control in their health-insurance programs, even if contraception runs afoul of their religious doctrines.