Associated Press

Here are 10 Things You Need to Know as You Start your Friday:

1. Congress gets ready to vote on the payroll tax. The showdown may finally end a standoff that has dominated Washington since last autumn.

2. Bird flu is still with us. Recent human deaths in Asia and Egypt are a reminder that the H5N1 virus is still alive and dangerous.

3. Thailand police search for two more suspects in botched bombing plot. Police also say the three detained Iranians had been cavorting with prostitutes.

4. Families of those killed in Honduras fire express collective rage. They say the official explanation of a mattress fire killing 355 people is just too implausible.

5. New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid dies while reporting in Syria. The two-time Pulitzer winner apparently died of an asthma attack.

6. Chinese leader wraps up four-day U.S. visit. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and his U.S counterpart, Joe Biden, will attend a series of events in Los Angeles.



7. Lincoln museum shows examples of modern day slavery. The exhibit opening at 11 a.m. tells stories of unpaid domestic servants, women forced into prostitution and men serving out debt contracts. Continued...

• 1
• 2
• See Full Story

8. Mardi Gras is much more than floats and beads in New Orleans. The pre-Lent celebration is big business in coastal towns from Texas to Florida.



9. More indicators will show how the economy is shaping up. The government releases the latest consumer price index at 8:30 a.m. and the index of leading economic indicators at 10 a.m.

10. Asian-Americans watch Jeremy Lin with pride. Feeling overlooked, many hope the basketball star's talents will make others look upon them as Americans, not foreigners.

• 1
• 2
• See Full Story

• 1
• 2
• 3
• See Full Story

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• See Full Story

• Return to Paging Mode