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AP Top News at 4:05 p.m. EST -Thursday, January 21, 2010

Obama steps up campaign against Wall Street banks

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama stepped up his campaign against Wall Street on Thursday with a far-reaching proposal for tougher regulation of the biggest banks. "We have to get this done," Obama said at the White House. "If these folks want a fight, it's a fight I'm ready to have."

Pelosi: House lacks votes to OK Senate health bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats' last-ditch approach to saving President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul - prodding House members to pass a Senate version vastly unpopular with them - isn't working. So lawmakers are talking about more modest health legislation that could have bipartisan appeal, though even that may prove more complicated than many suggest.

Split court eases limits on biz election spending

WASHINGTON (AP) - Bitterly divided, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that big business can spend its millions to directly support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, a decision that sharply reverses a century-long trend to limit the political influence of corporations and labor unions. It remakes the political landscape just as crucial midterm election campaigns are getting under way. The court, in a 5-4 split, overturned two earlier decisions and threw out parts of a 63-year-old law that said companies and unions can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to produce and run their own campaign ads. The decision threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states.

Haiti's mass graves swell; doctors fear more death

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Workers are carving out mass graves on a hillside north of Haiti's capital, using earth-movers to bury 10,000 people in a single day even as relief workers warn that Haitians are still dying of injuries from the Jan. 12 quake for lack of medical care. Clinics have 12-day waiting lists for patients, crushed arms and legs are festering and makeshift camps that have sprung up in parks, streets and vacant lots now house an estimated 500,000 people, many in need of food, water and a doctor.

Brown arrives on Capitol Hill, meets with senators

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen.-elect Scott Brown came to Congress with celebrity swagger Thursday, attracting hordes of cameras while proclaiming Washington needs help because "we've sort of lost our way." Still basking in the glow of his stunning victory in the Massachusetts special Senate election against Martha Coakley, Brown said he looks forward to getting to work. "I plan to look at every bill and make a rational decision," said Brown, speaking to reporters outside a Senate office building after he arrived on Capitol Hill.

Stocks slide as Obama calls for tougher bank rules

NEW YORK (AP) - Financial shares pulled the stock market lower Thursday as President Barack Obama proposed rules that would limit the types of trading banks can do with their money. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 210 points after dropping 122 on Wednesday. The index has seen four straight triple-digit moves and the latest slide erased the Dow's gains for 2010. Bond prices rose as the stock market became more volatile.

US Embassy in Baghdad looking for Facebook friends

BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is looking for Iraqi friends on Facebook. The embassy launched the page Thursday with the aim of reaching out to Iraqis who want to learn more about American culture and society, the latest step by the State Department to boost interest in Iraq's burgeoning online culture and promote Web entrepreneurship.

John Edwards admits paternity, Elizabeth relieved

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards finally admitted Thursday he fathered a child during an affair before his second White House bid, dropping long-standing denials just ahead of a book by a former campaign aide who initially took the fall. Edwards released a statement admitting paternity of the girl, Frances Quinn Hunter, who was born in 2008 to videographer Rielle Hunter as the result of an affair Edwards has already confessed to.

Police: Man poses as cop, interferes in sex sting

DETROIT (AP) - A 51-year-old Detroit man was arrested for impersonating an officer after police said he interfered with a prostitution sting. Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said in a release Wednesday that the man pulled alongside an undercover female officer on Detroit's east side, flashed a badge and yelled "get off the street." Another man who believed he was speaking with a prostitute drove away.

Cowboys keeping coach Wade Phillips next 2 years

IRVING, Texas (AP) - Wade Phillips is sticking around as coach of the Dallas Cowboys for two more years. Dallas won the NFC East for the second time in Phillips' three seasons. The team also won its first playoff game since 1996 and the first in Phillips' head coaching career. The Cowboys are 34-17 over his three seasons in charge. Only three NFL teams have won more games in that span. "We want to build on the foundation we have put in place over the last three years," team owner Jerry Jones said Thursday, when announcing Phillips' new two-year deal. "I want to take advantage of the continuity."

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