NATIONAL BRIEFS

NEBRASKA: Kerrey running, after all

Former Sen. Bob Kerrey said Wednesday he will seek the Democratic nomination for the Nebraska seat he once held, reversing course just weeks after publicly rejecting a run. Earlier this month, Kerrey opted out of the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, saying that was best for him and his family. "It just felt wrong," Kerrey, 68, said Wednesday during a telephone call to declare his candidacy. "I wasn't happy with the decision." The turnaround by the 1992 presidential candidate and former Nebraska governor comes one day before the state's candidate filing deadline. With Republican Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe's announcement Tuesday that she will not seek re-election, it gives new hope to Democrats desperate to stop Republicans from netting four Senate seats this fall and regaining control of the chamber.

NEW JERSEY: Another classmate testifies

A student gave some of the most damaging testimony yet Wednesday in a former classmate's trial for allegedly using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man. Lokesh Ojha described helping Dharun Ravi adjust his webcam for a clear view of his roommate's bed. A day later, roommate Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. Ravi is charged with 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, a hate crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. There's a chance that prosecutors on Thursday will call the man students said was kissing Clementi in the streaming video. He's been identified in court papers only by his initials, M.B.

IOWA: House backs gun-rights bills

The Iowa House approved two gun-rights measures Wednesday that prompted Democrats to stage a walkout, stalling action for six hours earlier in the day. One bill would allow people to use deadly force to protect themselves and the other called for writing gun rights protections into the Iowa Constitution. Both measures were approved largely along party lines in the GOP-led chamber. The Iowa rules are different from those in Wisconsin and Indiana, where similar Democrat walkouts stretched on for weeks.