MINNESOTA
Kidney donations: Donating a kidney doesn’t appear to have any long-term health consequences for the donor, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.
WISCONSIN
Ready to fly: The co-pilot who helped safely crash-land a passenger plane into the Hudson River said he hopes to fly again in a few weeks. Jeff Skiles of Oregon, Wis., was in Madison on Wednesday to receive a commendation for heroism from the state Senate.
MICHIGAN
Frozen to death: The death of a 93-year-old Bay City man — who froze in his home after the electric company installed a power-limiting device because of unpaid bills — has led to soul-searching and a resolve never to let something like it happen again. More at chicagotribune.com/frozen
RUSSIA
Castro visit: Cuban leader Raul Castro arrived in Russia for a visit intended to boost ties between the former Cold War allies. Castro is scheduled to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and other officials during his eight-day trip.
CHINA
Crackdown: China has detained 81 people as it launches a security sweep in Tibet ahead of the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising that saw the Dalai Lama flee into exile.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
428,000
The number of workers by which union membership grew in the United States in 2008 — a 12.4 percent increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. It’s the second year in a row that unions have added to their ranks
CALIFORNIA
Octuplet update: The nation’s second set of live-born octuplets were all breathing on their own Wednesday, 48 hours after an unidentified woman gave birth.
VATICAN
Bishop flap: The chief rabbinate of Israel severed ties with the Holy See over a papal decision to reinstate Bishop Richard Williamson, who publicly denied last week that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.
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Page compiled from Tribune news services
