AP - The Internet got an April Fools' Day makeover, as many of the major destinations on the Web continued the annual tradition of lighthearted hoaxes.

AP - The murder of one of the few U.S. doctors who performed late-term abortions was a gutless act of terror and was as destructive as an earthquake for women seeking such medical services, the doctor's friend and attorney said Thursday.

AP - President Dmitry Medvedev made a surprise visit Thursday to the violence-wracked southern province of Dagestan, telling police and security forces to use tougher, more cruel measures to fight the scum responsible for terrorist attacks.

Reuters - Apple Inc's iPad scored very well on ease of use and battery life in its first reviews, but it will not obliterate the laptop computer market just yet, according to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

AFP - President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday urged tough anti-terror measures as he made a surprise visit to the North Caucasus region hit by a major suicide attack and linked to the Moscow bombings.

Reuters - Pope Benedict, accused by victims' lawyers of being ultimately responsible for an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse of children by priests, cannot be called to testify at any trial because he has immunity as a head of state, a top Vatican legal official said on Thursday.

AFP - Guinea-Bissau soldiers Thursday arrested the army chief and prime minister, who they also threatened to kill, in an apparent coup bid in the tiny African country plagued by the illegal drugs trade.

AP - An incentives war touched off by Toyota boosted sales at most major automakers last month.

Reuters - President Hamid Karzai accused the West on Thursday of trying to ruin Afghanistan's elections, intensifying a showdown with parliament over whether foreigners will oversee a parliamentary vote this year.

Reuters - A U.S. warship captured five suspected pirates on Thursday after an exchange of fire in the Indian Ocean west of the Seychelles, the U.S. navy said.

AP - President Barack Obama is promoting his health care overhaul's benefits for small businesses as he tries to rally public support behind the new law scorned by Republicans and protesters.

AP - The Obama administration set tougher gas mileage standards for new cars and trucks Thursday, spurring the next generation of fuel-sipping gas-electric hybrids, efficient engines and electric cars.

AP - The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in March at its strongest pace in 5 1/2 years, leading the rebound from the recession on growth in exports and inventory rebuilding. Another drop in construction spending in February, however, underscored weakness in real estate.

AP - North Carolina is on the cusp of another championship. Not the one it wanted, though.

Reuters - China has agreed to serious negotiations with Western powers about imposing new sanctions on Iran and President Hu Jintao will attend a multi-nation summit on nuclear security in Washington this month, officials said.

AP - Jennifer Hudson is the latest celebrity to become a weight-loss spokeswoman.

Reuters - The congregation, one of America's largest, has been scrambling to raise funds to save the arena-sized sanctuary from potential foreclosure. To that end, it has enlisted national leaders, such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Harvard Law School's Charles Ogletree, who was President Barack Obama's law professor.

Reuters - The week after passing landmark healthcare reform and handing President Barack Obama an important victory, members of the U.S. Congress returned to their home districts for a recess to face constituents and justify their votes after the bruising legislative battle.

AP - People who lined up to buy the first iPhone knew what they were paying hundreds of dollars for: a new cell phone that promised to be better. Apple Inc.'s newest gadget, the iPad tablet computer, falls into a category that's foreign to most people.

Reuters - The sentencing on Thursday of an anti-abortion activist who gunned down a Kansas doctor comes amid a bitter U.S. debate over abortion that nearly derailed landmark healthcare reform legislation last month and is expected to remain a factor in U.S. midterm elections.