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Reuters - A US Airways passenger plane was diverted to Philadelphia on Thursday after a religious item worn by a Jewish passenger was mistaken as a bomb, Philadelphia police said.

Reuters - The Supreme Court struck down on Thursday long-standing limits on corporate spending in U.S. political campaigns, such as this year's congressional races and the 2012 presidential contest.

Reuters - President Barack Obama will propose stricter limits on financial risk-taking on Thursday in his latest populist-tinged move to crack down on banks and address the roots of the financial crisis.

AP - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan plans to tighten the rules on night raids, The Associated Press has learned, in a new step to curb public anger over perceived violations against civilians.

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.

AP - The Supreme Court threw out a 63-year-old law designed to restrain the influence of big business and unions on elections Thursday, ruling that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress. The decision could drastically alter who gives and gets hundreds of millions of dollars in this year's crucial midterm elections.

Reuters - Pakistan ruled out any new offensive against militants on Thursday, as U.S. defense chief Robert Gates began meetings aimed at persuading the country to expand its military campaign to take on Afghanistan's Taliban.

Reuters - Scott Brown, who scored a big win for Republicans by winning a Democrat-held Senate seat in Massachusetts, said on Wednesday that given the wide margin of his victory he should be allowed to take up the seat very quickly.

Reuters - The Senate will not vote this week on whether to confirm Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second four-year term, a Democratic party aide said on Thursday.

Reuters - The Supreme Court struck down on Thursday long-standing limits on corporate spending in U.S. political campaigns, such as this year's congressional races and the 2012 presidential contest.

AP - Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown, whose surprise win in the race to fill the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's seat created the sonic boom heard all the way to Washington, was visiting the nation's capital Thursday to pay a round of courtesy calls on his new colleagues.

AP - The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns.

AFP - President Barack Obama has said he had mistakenly neglected his direct connection to the American people, after a stunning Republican election win shifted the balance of power in Washington.

AFP - Rescuers in Haiti have pulled two more people from the rubble, more than a week after a massive 7.0-magnitude quake, but elsewhere desperate crowds fought for aid being handed out.

Reuters - A bomb scare that led to the diversion of a US Airways flight to Philadelphia on Thursday was caused by a mistaken belief that a religious item was a bomb, Philadelphia police said.