FIRST LOOK: One in four U.S. counties is dying

The Lookout

Welcome to First Look, our daily round-up of early bird news:

• A long-promised--and long-delayed program for political reform in Libya furnishes the background for the deadly protests there. (The New Yorker)

• The government paid a compulsive gambler millions of dollars to "decode" secret messages in Al Jazeera broadcasts he claimed pointed to terror plots. (NYT)

• Labor unions are launching a big ad campaign in Wisconsin as GOP Gov. Scott Walker digs in on proposed legislation to end collective bargaining for most state employees. (YouTube)

• The fight over collective bargaining has spread to Ohio and Indiana. (WSJ)

• One in four U.S. counties had more deaths than births over the past 10 years. (AP)

• Democrats are objecting to GOP-proposed cuts to border security in the budget. (NYT)

• The University of Arizona is starting a "civility institute" backed by former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. (Reuters)

Have something you'd like to see in our daily First Look post? Email me.