Ousted USDA employee Sherrod plans to sue blogger (AP)

AP - Ousted Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said Thursday she will sue a conservative blogger who posted a video edited in a way that made her appear racist.

Unemployment claims fall, but still elevated (Reuters)

Reuters - New claims for unemployment benefits slipped last week, but stayed at a stubbornly high level that underscored the labor market recovery was having trouble gaining traction.

Weakened Arizona immigrant rules still draw protests (Reuters)

Reuters - Police arrested at least 30 protesters who took to the streets of Phoenix on Thursday after Arizona adopted a new immigration law, even though its most intrusive provisions had already been blocked by a U.S. court.

AZ appeals order blocking parts of immigration law (AP)

AP - Arizona asked an appeals court Thursday to lift a judge's order blocking most of the state's immigration law as the city of Phoenix filled with protesters, including about 50 who were arrested for confronting officers in riot gear.

Mo. ballot measures tests federal health care law (AP)

AP - More than 1 million people are expected to participate in what amounts to the largest-ever public opinion poll on the nation's new health care law.

BP lawsuits over oil spill take center stage (Reuters)

Reuters - More than 2,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico shoreline, a panel of U.S. judges heard arguments from lawyers on Thursday on how piles of spill-related lawsuits against BP Plc should be merged.

Oswalt approves deal, Astros trade ace to Phillies (AP)

AP - Roy Oswalt is going to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Al-Qaida plants flag, burns bodies in Iraq attack (AP)

AP - Militants flew an al-Qaida flag over a Baghdad neighborhood Thursday after killing 16 security officials and burning some of their bodies in a brazen afternoon attack that served as a grim reminder of continued insurgent strength in Iraq's capital.

DC sniper claims conspirators in Shatner interview (AP)

AP - Convicted DC sniper Lee Boyd Malvo tells actor William Shatner on a cable TV special that he and his partner tried to recruit fellow shooters for their 2002 spree and that his accomplice killed one man for backing out, according to the program set for airing Thursday.

French mother confesses to eight infant murders (AFP)

AFP - A French nursing assistant Thursday admitted suffocating eight newborn babies because she did not want more children and wished to avoid seeing a doctor for contraception, a prosecutor said.