The Iowa magic that launched Barack Obama to the presidency four years ago has all but faded.

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney likes to portray himself as a better job creator than President Barack Obama, but he may have a hard time backing up those boasts.

Mitt Romney's vice presidential search has entered a new phase: auditions.

ABUJA/LAGOS (Reuters) - A new draft of Nigeria's long delayed oil bill, whose passage is needed to unblock billions of dollars of stalled investment into exploration and production, will be finalized this week, sources close to the matter said on Thursday. A copy of the 200-page Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) obtained by Reuters includes plans to partly privatize and list the state oil firm, tax oil company profits at 20 percent for deep offshore and 50 percent for shallow or onshore, and give the oil minister supervisory powers over all institutions in the industry. ...

CHARDON, Ohio (Reuters) - Suspected Ohio high school shooter T.J. Lane will be charged as an adult for the killings of three students in February and should not be released from jail on bail, an Ohio judge ruled on Thursday. Geauga County Judge Timothy Grendell made the ruling after a hearing. If convicted as an adult, the 17-year-old could be sentenced to life in prison. He would not face the death penalty. A Geauga County sheriff's deputy testified Thursday that Lane told him shortly after the killings that he had aimed for the victim's heads because, "I didn't want them to suffer. ...

ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni troops fought Islamist militants in southern cities on Thursday, as the government pressed ahead with a U.S.-backed offensive to help stabilize the impoverished Arab state that has turned into a base for al Qaeda. At least 33 militants were killed in heavy fighting with the Yemeni army on the western outskirts of the city of Jaar, in southern Abyan province, army officials and residents said. Among the dead were a Somali and an Egyptian fighting with the insurgents, they said. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. prosecutors in the corruption case of the late Alaska Senator Ted Stevens face suspensions without pay for engaging in reckless professional misconduct by failing to disclose evidence that could have helped him, the Justice Department said on Thursday. A report by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, an internal ethics office, concluded the prosecutors in several instances failed to disclose the evidence to the defense in violation of their obligations, but their actions had not been intentional. ...

Mitt Romney's vice presidential search has entered a new phase: auditions.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, who flew to the United States last week, said on Thursday China's handling of the local officials who harassed and abused him and his family will determine whether the country can begin to achieve rule of law. "If authorities can promptly investigate and prosecute those lawless officials who broke China's laws, then possibly China can rather quickly move onto the road of rule of law," Chen told Reuters in an interview. ...

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Democratic governors pledged $1 million on Thursday to pay for Wisconsin television advertisements in a final push to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker, who has a small but consistent lead in polls before the June 5 vote. Walker faces a special election after he angered Democrats and labor unions by pushing through the state legislature a law that strips public sector labor unions of much of their power. Walker critics gathered nearly a million signatures to force the vote, and Democrats picked Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to run against him in the recall vote. ...

The Iowa magic that launched Barack Obama to the presidency four years ago has all but faded.