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Obama urges US corporate tax cut, closing loopholesPresident Barack Obama made an opening offer in what could be a long negotiation with corporate America on Wednesday, putting forward his first clear plan to cut the corporate tax rate. The President proposed cutting the top corporate rate to 28 percent from 35 percent, addressing a long-standing gripe that the rate is too high.

Housing market perks up, but prices are still fallingThough the pace of home sales picked up last month as the economy and job market improved, home prices have yet to show any meaningful turnaround. The National Association of Realtors saidthat sales of existing homes rose 4.3 percent in January. That pace s far below the peak of 7 million homes sold in 2005.

Anthony Shadid’s funeral held in BeirutIn the Assembly Hall of the American University of Beirut, Shadid’s father, wife, brother and cousin joined diplomats and fellow reporters in recalling a man who had won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work in the Middle East and, said the speakers, touched many lives.

Adele breaks a Whitney Houston chart recordThe late Whitney Houston was unable to oust Adele from the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, and the British singer’s “21″ replaced “The Bodyguard” as the longest running No. 1 album by a woman. Boosted by her six Grammy awards and performance comeback, Adele’s “21″ saw its biggest sales week yet.

Buenos Aires Commuter Train Crash Kills 49, Injures 460Forty-nine people were killed and more than 460 injured when a packed commuter train slammed into the buffers and safety barriers at one of Buenos Aires’ busiest railway stations. The crash, the second-worst in Argentina’s history, may have been caused by brake failure, Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi told local media.

Santorum surges among California GOP votersCalifornia’s Republican voters have warmed up to the surging candidacy of Rick Santorum but also are expressing growing dissatisfaction with the field of GOP presidential candidates, according to a Field Poll released Wednesday.

3 dead in Washington avalancheAll those who were missing after an avalanche Sunday near a popular ski resort in Washington state have been accounted for, and the total number of people killed remains at three, a resort official said.  Also Sunday, a snowboarder was killed in a separate incident at the Alpental ski area east of Seattle.

Lindsay Lohan to host ‘Saturday Night Live’NBC says the troubled actress, whose career in recent years has been upstaged by legal and personal problems, will serve as guest host of SNL on March 3.  According to TMZ sources, Lindsay feels doing “SNL” again will remind people she’s an actress … not a defendant.