With his black turtleneck, wire-rimmed glasses and conspiratorial grin, Steve Jobs was arguably the best ambassador ever between androids and humans.

When Jobs died Wednesday at 56 after protracted combat with pancreatic cancer, the world lost a valuable shuttle diplomat between computers and tablets and gadgets and animated robots, and the people who so desperately long to relate to them.

School and local government employees belonging to more than 550 health insurance plans across Ohio will see their share of health care costs rise if voters approve a collective bargaining law this fall, state data show.

Opponents say the union-limiting bill will hurt tens of thousands of average workers around the state.  Supporters argue having employees pay a bigger share of their health care costs will save government money and align more fairly with the private sector.

The new law will require public employees to pay 15% health-care costs.

Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer is the 2011 Nobel laureate in literature, it was just announced.

In its statement, the Nobel committee said his work "gives us fresh access to reality."

Our friends over at Monkey See have more, including Neda Ulaby's pre-announcement look at the "Nobel shortlist."

Officials have given unanimous approval to Dayton's "immigrant-friendly" plan aimed at bolstering a shrinking population.

Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell read a statement during Wednesday's city commission meeting saying the Welcome Dayton program is not about harboring illegal immigrants or drawing them into the city. He says the focus instead is on treating all people kindly, fairly and humanely.

It took 16 years for authorities to catch reputed Boston mob boss James Whitey Bulger. He was captured this past June in Santa Monica, Calif., and is charged in a string of murders.

For families of alleged victims, it's been a long wait. They've also spent the past decade trying to get the FBI to pay for letting those murders happen.

Several families sued the FBI and won millions of dollars, but they'll be back in court Thursday as government lawyers try to overturn those judgments.

The debate on trade sanctions against China that's roiled the Senate all week comes to a head in a make-or-break vote Thursday. Earlier this week, 79 senators voted to take up the bill, which could slap punitive tariffs on imports from China, the largest U.S. trading partner.

The legislation has strong backing from Democrats and Republicans alike; they say it could boost American jobs by punishing China's efforts to keep its currency undervalued and its exports underpriced. Opponents warn that should the bill become law, it could touch off a devastating trade war.

In Libya, anti-government fighters are facing fierce resistance in Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. It's one of the last areas that has not fallen to rebel forces. But it's hardly the last bastion of support for the deposed leader.

On a busy afternoon in the market in the southern Tripoli neighborhood of Abu Salim, it doesn't take long for a man to approach a visiting reporter and say under his breath, "You know, we all support Gadhafi here."

Back in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, doctors prescribed a hormone called diethylstilbestrol, or DES, to millions of pregnant women in the unfounded belief it would prevent miscarriages.

Smack in the middle of this period, the deformed thalidomide babies demonstrated the terrible things that can happen when drugs are casually prescribed during pregnancy.

Sarah Palin will not be adding her name to the pool of candidates running for U.S. president in 2012, according to reports. In a statement provided to the Mark Levin radio show, Palin said, "I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for president of the United States."

In the statement, read on air by Levin, Palin went on to say that she and her husband, Todd, had considered the matter and decided that not competing for the nomination was the best move for their family.

Senate Democrats haven't exactly been moving as one to embrace President Obama's $447 billion jobs bill.

The disagreement in their ranks arises partly from how the president proposes to pay for his plan, an approach seen by some senators as potentially making their already difficult path to re-election even more so.

The president envisions increasing taxes on couples who, after deductions, have at least $250,000 in taxable income.