Princess Anne spending eyed
PRINCESS ANNE -- Town officials are defending their decision to purchase tickets to last weekend's UMES Gala, saying their attendance helps build ties between the university and Princess Anne.

Wicomico schools approve $165.5M budget
SALISBURY -- The Wicomico County Board of Education on Tuesday approved a proposed $165.5 million expense budget for the upcoming school year, a near-flat operating package that now gets a review by the Wicomico County Council, which must decide whether to kick in $50.59 million in per-pupil funding toward the requested total.

OC, Worcester tourism funding tussle looms
SNOW HILL -- Facing another year of funding cuts, Worcester's director of tourism wants the money Ocean City traditionally gets to market the resort.

OC, utility property swap suggested
OCEAN CITY -- Resort officials could pull an uptown property swap with Delmarva Power, leaving the utility with the land it might need for a substation while keeping a larger parcel free for municipal parking.

LOTTERIES
Delaware

Pelosi says Dems near deal on health care bill
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) -- Democrats claimed momentum Wednesday in their drive to enact the sweeping health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama, citing near agreement on crucial issues despite persistent Republican efforts to knock them offstride....

US-Israel row highlights quandary over settlements
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- An open diplomatic row during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden has shined a spotlight on the U.S. failure to rein in Israeli settlement ambitions and deepened Palestinian suspicions that the United States is too weak to broker a deal....

Female WWII aviators honored with gold medal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- They flew planes during World War II but weren't considered real military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home....

Church abuse scandal reaches pope's brother
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Church abuse scandals in Germany have reached the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI and are creeping ever closer to the pontiff himself....

Pa. suspect: Caretaker by day, 'Jihad Jane' online
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Colleen LaRose spent long days caring for her boyfriend's father in a second-floor apartment in Pennsburg, a small town north of Philadelphia....