Wikipedia made the most noticeable stride against proposed legislation that would block entire websites to stop online sharing and unauthorized use of Hollywood productions when it went dark Wednesday. For 24 hours, the public could not access the online encyclopedia.

Like Wikipedia, other online giants are afraid Congress will side with Hollywood. The two main acts are the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House of Representatives and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate. Supporters of the bills say they are aimed at protecting jobs in the movie and music industries. Companies like Yahoo and Google, however, see it as an attack on a free and open Internet.

Housman not seeking third term

Rep. Brent Housman, joining a trio of fellow western Kentucky lawmakers, will not seek re-election this year.

The Paducah Republican has represented the 3rd District of the state House of Representatives, covering the bulk of Paducah, for four years. He announced Wednesday that he won’t seek a third term in order to spend more time at home with his family. Housman said the drive to Frankfort is close to 600 miles round trip and he determined that he is set to spend 90 nights there attending sessions and meetings this year.

Housman said he has no plan to seek another office, but he will keep his options open.

Giffords resigns

Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords cited her recovery as the reason she chose to resign from her position.

After being shot in the head at point-blank range last year at a public event, Giffords slowly recovered from her injuries. She has given a few public comments about the extent of her recovery throughout the year, and she decided to tell her constituents about her resignation by video put on Youtube and her Facebook page.

For now, Giffords will not run again. Two campaigns have sprung up since the announcement.

‘Underworld’ slays the box office

LOS ANGELES — Kate Beckinsale returned to the “Underworld” as the vampire warrior Selene and helped propel the fourth film in the franchise, “Underworld Awakening,” to a first-place debut with $25.3 million. Last week’s No. 1 movie, the thriller “Contraband,” fell to third place with just over $12 million.

This is the fourth film in the vampire action saga. Beckinsale starred in the first two movies as the warrior Selene, then bowed out of part three but returned for this latest installment. “Underworld Awakening” was shown for the first time in 3-D as well as on IMAX screens, where it made $3.8 million. That’s 15 percent of the film’s weekend gross, which is a record for an IMAX digital-only run.