WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense officials say the Pentagon is changing its rules to allow women to serve in more jobs closer to the front lines.

The changes will allow the rules to catch up a bit with the reality that women have been fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade.

Officials say the new rules are expected to continue the long-held prohibition that prevents women from serving as infantry, armor and special operations forces. But they will allow more women to serve in other roles at the battalion level, which until now had been considered too close to combat.

Officials spoke about the report on condition of anonymity because it has not yet been made public. An announcement is expected Thursday.

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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state Legislature has voted to legalize gay marriage, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed.

The action comes a day after a federal appeals court declared California's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

The Washington state House passed the measure on a 55-43 vote Wednesday. The state Senate approved the proposal last week.

Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign the bill next week, and it would take effect 90 days later. But opponents have promised a challenge, which could put the law on hold pending the result of a November vote.

Same-sex marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington D.C.

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CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has convicted a Chinese-born American of stealing trade secrets but acquitted him of corporate espionage at a trial in Chicago that highlighted fears about China pilfering U.S. company secrets.

Prosecutors accused Hanjuan Jin of stealing confidential information from a U.S. cellphone company knowing it'd likely end up with China's military.

The 41-year-old Jin waived her right to a jury trial, leaving it to Judge Ruben Castillo to announce a verdict at a hearing Wednesday in Chicago.

Prosecutors say Jin rose through Motorola Inc.'s ranks only to steal documents from her Chicago-area Motorola office in 2007. They say she then tried to flee on a one-way ticket to China.

Defense attorneys argued prosecutors overstated the documents' value.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A new report finds that fatal shark attacks worldwide last year reach their highest level in two decades, though there were none in the U.S.

The University of Florida released its International Shark Attack File report for 2011 on Tuesday.

The U.S. and Florida saw a five-year downturn in the number of reported unprovoked attacks.

But ichthyologist George Burgess says the 12 fatalities could show tourists are venturing to more remote places with less access to immediate medical care. The number of deaths in 2011 doubled from 2010.

A total of 75 attacks were reported worldwide, which is close to the decade average. Florida led the U.S. with 11 of the nation's 29 attacks.

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MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say a father who was upset after a Tennessee couple deleted his adult daughter as a friend on Facebook has been charged with killing the couple.

Johnson County Sheriff Mike Reece said Wednesday the victims had complained to police that Marvin's Potter's daughter was harassing them after they deleted her as a friend on the social networking site.

Potter has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in last week's slayings of Billy Payne Jr. and his girlfriend, Billie Jean Hayworth. Their baby was found unharmed in Hayworth's arms.

Potter's friend, Jamie Curd, has also been charged in the killings. Police say he had romantic feelings for Potter's daughter.

Potter has not hired an attorney. Curd's public defender could not immediately be reached for comment.

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Jerry Sandusky wants jurors in his child sex-abuse trial to be chosen from the community where he lives and is suggesting a trial delay may be the best way to address the intense publicity generated by the case.

Sandusky attorney Joe Amendola filed court documents Wednesday opposing a request by the state attorney general's office to bring in out-of-county jurors.

Amendola says publicity about the former Penn State assistant football coach's case has been so pervasive that jurors from other counties will also have been saturated with news coverage.

He says there's no better place than Centre County to pick jurors for Sandusky's trial. A message seeking comment from prosecutors wasn't immediately returned.

Sandusky is accused of abusing 10 boys over a 15-year span. He denies the allegations.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — If you suspect your doctor isn't being completely honest with you -- you could be right.

More than half the doctors in a new survey admit they have described a patient's prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn't fully disclosed a medical mistake, because they were afraid they'd be sued.

And 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they had told a patient something in the past year that wasn't true.

The survey, published in this month's Health Affairs, is by researchers in Massachusetts. The lead researcher (Dr. Lisa Iezzoni), from Harvard Medical School, says she doesn't think doctors "set out to be dishonest" -- and that a lot of the untruths could have been aimed at giving people hope.

But she adds that it takes open communication for patients to make fully-informed decisions about their health care.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Transportation Security Administration says more travelers around the country will be eligible to enroll in a test program so that they can get through airport security with less hassle by the end of this year.

John Pistole says the Obama administration's test run of a program that screens certain travelers based on the risk they pose will expand to 30 more airports around the country.

Among them are Washington Dulles International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Boston's Logan International Airport — the three airports where the 9/11 hijackers departed from in 2001.

Passengers approved to participate in the program would not have to take off their shoes and belts when they go through security as often as they do now.

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UNDATED (AP) — Rick Santorum swept Tuesday night's nominating contests, providing a jolt to the GOP race. Speaking at a rally in Missouri, Santorum cast his wins as a victory for conservatism.

"Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota," Santorum said.

A visibly jubilant Santorum spoke before his third victory, in Colorado's nominating caucuses, was certain. Santorum's victories validated a decision he made to campaign lightly in Florida and Nevada, which preceded Tuesday's votes, and focus on Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri.

It marked a stunning comeback for Santorum, whose hopes seemed to fade after a narrow victory in Iowa was followed by losses in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner says if President Barack Obama doesn't reverse a new policy requiring religious schools and hospitals to provide employees with access to free birth control, the Congress will.

Boehner, a Catholic, said Wednesday that the rule is an attack on religious freedom in the country. The Ohio Republican, speaking on the floor, said the rule "cannot stand, and will not stand."

The speaker said the Energy and Commerce Committee will move ahead on legislation.

The issue has roiled the presidential race and angered congressional Republicans. The White House signaled this week that it is searching for ways to allay the concern of Roman Catholics who say the birth control mandate would force them to violate their religious beliefs against contraception.

Press secretary Jay Carney didn't say how those concerns could be addressed, though he said there were a lot of ideas for doing it.

He continued to defend the new policy, while making clear Tuesday that the White House is looking for a way to calm the growing election-year firestorm that's erupted since it was announced late last month.

Carney said President Barack Obama's focus is making sure that women employed by Catholic church-affiliated employers like hospitals, colleges or charities are able to get contraception. At the same time, Carney said Obama wants to respect religious beliefs and convictions.

Catholic leaders have condemned the regulation put out by the Department of Health and Human Services.

David Axelrod tells MSNBC Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acted on the Institute of Medicine's recommendation, and that she exempted the churches themselves. He says administration officials "certainly don't want to abridge anyone's religious freedom."

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