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• Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, was soundly defeated by his tea party-backed opponent, a little-known economics professor named David Brat, in Virginia's GOP primary Tuesday. Despite being massively outspent by Cantor, Brat rode a wave of public anger over calls for more lenient immigration laws, reducing the prospects that already reluctant House Republicans might take up a bill this year.
• The day after his defeat, Cantor announced he would serve out his term but resign his leadership post this summer, sparking a flurry of maneuvering among GOP lawmakers eager to take his spot.
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• BAGHDAD (AP) -- The al-Qaida-inspired group that led the charge in capturing two key Sunni-dominated cities in Iraq this week vowed Thursday to march on to Baghdad, raising fears about the Shiite-led government's ability to slow the assault following the insurgents' lightning gains.
• Fighters from the militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Wednesday took Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, as soldiers and security forces abandoned their posts and yielded ground once controlled by U.S. forces.
• That seizure followed the capture of much of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, the previous day. The group and its allies among local tribesmen also hold the city of Fallujah and other pockets of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province to the west of Baghdad.
• A spokesman for the Islamic State said the group has old scores to settle with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government in Baghdad. The Iraqi leader, a Shiite, is trying to hold onto power after indecisive elections in April.
• Al-Maliki has called on parliament to declare a state of emergency that would give him the "necessary powers" to run the country -- something legal experts said could include powers to impose curfews, restrict public movements and censor the media. Lawmakers are expected to consider that request later today.
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