Nation, world go green for St. Patrick's Day
(AP)
AP - All the world from the Sydney Opera House to the Empire State Building turned Irish, or at least Irish for the day, as revelers marked St. Patrick's Day with bagpipes, dancing, emerald lights and green body paint in a flurry of celebration.

First lady: Diet is key to children's productivity
(AP)
AP - First lady Michelle Obama says her fight against childhood obesity isn't about appearance but about whether kids have enough energy to be productive at school.

Kids, teens key to flood fighting effort in Fargo
(AP)
AP - Some children lugged sandbags that weighed more than they did. Determined teens showed up just after dawn with groups of friends, ready and willing to shovel. New groups of kids arrived by the busloads, all ready to join the race to protect their city from the rising Red River.

NY Gov.'s press aide quits in scandal; 4th to fall
(AP)
AP - Gov. David Paterson's press secretary on Wednesday became the fourth top staffer to quit amid dual scandals, resigning just hours after her boss publicly proclaimed for the first time that he did nothing wrong when he talked to a woman who had accused one of his top aides of abuse.

Activist's family sues over Mass. wheelchair death
(AP)
AP - A wheelchair company and its technicians are to blame for the death of a disability advocate who died after his wheelchair malfunctioned during routine repairs, pinning his legs under a tabletop and causing him to suffer seizures, according to a lawsuit brought by the man's family.

Broken drive shaft likely caused Texas bus crash
(AP)
AP - A broken drive shaft likely caused a Mexico-bound bus to veer wildly on a Texas highway before flipping over, killing two passengers and injuring 40 others on board, investigators said Wednesday.

Beach jogger killed by plane likely never heard it
(AP)
AP - The kit-built single-engine plane was gliding quietly as it came down for an emergency landing on a beach. Pharmaceutical salesman Robert Gary Jones, listening to his iPod while jogging, likely never saw or heard it before the aircraft hit him from behind Monday evening and killed him.

44 of 172 Detroit schools slated to close in June
(AP)
AP - Doors are expected to shut on more than a quarter of Detroit's 172 public schools in June as the district fights through steadily declining enrollment and a budget deficit of more than $219 million, an emergency financial manager said Wednesday.

Landmark exoneration in NC almost never happened
(AP)
AP - Nearly two years ago, North Carolina's groundbreaking innocence panel received the evidence it needed to free a man who spent 16 years in prison after he was wrongly convicted of murdering a prostitute.

Judge rejects request to delay Blagojevich trial
(AP)
AP - A federal judge refused Wednesday to postpone the June start of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial, brushing aside defense attorneys' claims that they won't have enough time to prepare.
