PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - March 12

March 12 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Sen. Barack Obama won the Mississippi primary, the last Democratic primary for six weeks before what is expected to be a closely fought race in Pennsylvania April 22.

* The Dow industrials surged 416.66 points, or 3.6 percent, to 12156.81 in the biggest one-day gain in five years. The rally came as the Federal Reserve unveiled a $200 billion lending program for banks and bond dealers aimed at taking difficult-to-trade securities temporarily off their books.

* New York governor Eliot Spitzer resisted mounting calls for his resignation. Lawyers for the New York governor, who allegedly hired a prostitute and arranged for her to travel to Washington, tried to work out a deal to avoid criminal charges. The charges could include violating the Mann Act, which bars transporting people across state lines for prostitution.

* Oil and gasoline prices are again at new highs. But many in the U.S. refining industry are focusing on prices for another key liquid: diesel.

* Lenders that avoided blunders on subprime loans are taking a hit from soaring losses on home-equity loans. Struggling mortgage lenders are seeing a rebound in business as they originate loans backed by the FHA, a government mortgage agency.

* Japan's Upper House of Parliament voted down the government's proposal to name Toshiro Muto as the next governor of the Bank of Japan, making a leadership vacancy at the central bank more likely just a week before the current chief retires.

* Relatives of five U.S. missionaries slain in the 1990s by Colombian rebels filed a federal lawsuit against Chiquita Brands International Inc (CQB.N) on Tuesday that accuses the banana company of contributing to their deaths by secretly financing the rebel group.

* Medical devices that control the human heart may need safeguards to protect against remote-control hacking that could deliver electrical shocks to patients, researchers said.

* American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (AXL.N) and the United Auto Workers are scheduled to resume talks on Thursday aimed at resolving a 13-day-old strike that is emerging as a key test of strength for the union.

* Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N), trying to contain fallout from a controversy over maintenance lapses, placed three employees on administrative leave and pledged to fix any deficiencies in its internal controls.

* Intel Corp (INTC.O) executives and lawyers appeared before European Commission officials in an effort to fend off antitrust action by the European regulator, which suspects the chip giant of anticompetitive practices.