For Mitt Romney, it's likely to feel a lot hotter in South Carolina (+video)

An Initial Party Offering? China's communists go for an IPO of their news site.

11:45 am ET - China's Communist Party plans to sell stocks in the online version of its official mouthpiece the People’s Daily to raise money.

Partisan feud escalates over voter ID laws in South Carolina, other states

11:27 am ET - The Obama administration has blocked South Carolina's tough voter ID law, citing possible minority disenfranchisement. The spread of such laws is reviving a Democratic-Republican feud over voting rights.

Nigeria closes its borders amid unrest from Islamists, strikers

10:02 am ET - Nigeria's president met with security chiefs to discuss Islamist group Boko Haram, while Nobel prize winner Wole Soyinka warned his country may be heading toward civil war.

Another Iranian nuclear scientist killed: part of 'covert war'?

8:56 am ET - Tehran blamed the death of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a deputy director at the Natanz enrichment facility, on the US and Israel.

7.3 quake hits Indonesia again, but this time residents are better prepared

9:49 am ET - 7.3 quake struck Indonesia early Wednesday morning, six years and one month after a devastating earthquake rocked Banda Aceh and South East Asia, causing tsunami warnings, but residents had escape routes planned.

US ends longest lull in drone strikes over Pakistan. Why now?

9:02 am ET - The two-month freeze in US drone strikes in Pakistan, the longest in three years, was intended to allow time for US-Pakistan relations to heal after a mistaken US strike on Pakistani soldiers.

Alaska's tale of two cities: one desperate for fuel, another for big shovels

7:46 pm ET - Blitzed by heavy snow and early-season ice in the Bering Strait, two Alaska towns – neither accessible by road – have been cut off from critical supplies, including fuel.

Lawyer makes startling argument in Supreme Court hearing on FCC

6:10 pm ET - A lawyer arguing that the FCC has gone overboard in its regulation of broadcast nudity and language directed the justices' attention to the bare buttocks of statues in the Supreme Court. The justices are considering whether FCC rules are inconsistent. 

Iran keeps issuing threats, US keeps saving Iranian sailors

5:16 pm ET - As Iran has been promoting its naval prowess and ability to shut the Straits of Hormuz, US naval assets have been busy rescuing Iranian sailors.

• What's Ahmadinejad getting out of his Latin America tour?

Syria violence accelerates, UN responds with go-slow approach

5:11 pm ET - A UN official says the Syrian government has ramped up attacks on protesters since Arab League monitors arrived. But the UN Security Council will wait at least a week to consider action. 

Why US support for sacked Pakistan ambassador is a double-edged sword

3:49 pm ET - Americans have voiced support for Pakistan's former Washington ambassador, under virtual house arrest following the 'memo-gate' scandal. But the atmosphere is so poisonous, the words may do more harm than good.

Hungary turns away from democracy

3:43 pm ET - Hungary has seen a stunning consolidation of power under President Orban. A new Constitution that took effect Jan. 1 appears to confirm a move toward more authoritarian rule.

Stampede at university highlights South Africa's education shortage

1:10 pm ET - A late application period at the University of Johannesburg led to a stampede that killed one and injured 22. Critics say South Africa doesn't provide as much access to higher education as it promises.