A daily roundup of the biggest headlines in Bay Area and national news.

Obama to Make First Appointment as Justice Retires

Justice David H. Souter, appointed in 1990 by George H. W. Bush, plans to retire at the end of the term in June, giving President Obama his first  opening for an appointment to the Supreme Court, The New York Times reported.

Biden’s Take on Swine Flu

According to the Los Angeles Times, officials are doing some damage control after Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday on a morning talk show that he was telling his family members to avoid planes, trains and other enclosed spaces while the Obama administration has been trying to downplay causes for alarm.

Charges Against American Israel Public Affairs Committee Employees May Be Dropped

Prosecutors asked a judge to drop espionage-related charges against two former lobbyists of a pro-Israel lobbying group, citing a series of court decisions that made it unlikely their case would succeed. Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman were charged in 2005 with conspiring to obtain classified information and pass it to the Israeli government and journalists, according to The Washington Post.