Mark Memmott

As expected, "Slovakia's Parliament has approved expanding the powers of the European Union bailout fund," The Associated Press reports from Bratislava.

The wire service adds that:

"French prosecutors have suspended the investigation into sexual assault claims against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn," France 24 reports. "French journalist Tristane Banon has accused Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her in 2003."

The Associated Press writes that "the prosecutor's office said Thursday that Strauss-Kahn admitted to sexual aggression against writer Tristane Banon but that it is too late to prosecute for that charge, because the incident in question happened in 2003."

Just for the beautiful colors and relative simplicity of the ceremony, it's worth noting and taking a look at today's wedding in Bhutan of King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck to "commoner bride" Jetsun Pema.

The Associated Press has video.

Good morning.

Our early headlines were:

-- Jobless Claims Nearly Unchanged.

-- BlackBerry: 'We've Let Many Of You Down;' Still Working To Restore Service.

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits last week was basically the same as the week before, the Employment and Training Administration just reported.

It says 404,000 such claims were submitted, vs. 405,000 the week before (a number that was revised up slightly from the previous estimate of 401,000).

As we wrote last week:

"Fueled by Tea Party supporters, conservatives and high-interest GOP primary voters, former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain now leads the race for the Republican presidential nomination, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll," NBC News deputy political director Mark Murry reports.

Here's another way to look at what U.S. law enforcement officials say was a plot by two Iranians — with assistance from "factions" of Iran's government — to kill the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.:

Yesterday, we posted about how "brazen and bizarre" the alleged scheme appears.

Our colleagues at Oregon Public Broadcasting's Think Out Loud hosted today's announcement of the 20 finalists for this year's National Book Awards.

They report that the nominees are:

The alleged plot by two Iranians to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, which U.S. investigators say had the support of some "factions" within Iran's government, marks a "dangerous escalation" in that nation's support for terrorism, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said this morning.

After a 4-3 vote by the Harrisburg, Pa., city council Tuesday night to file for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy protection, a council member delivered the necessary documents to court today.

But now, The Associated Press reports, Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson (D) is making the case that the council doesn't have the authority to seek bankruptcy.