PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 14

May 14 (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.

* With the death toll from China's earthquake passing 12,000, the disaster is throwing a harsh spotlight on the gap between the nation's rich and poor. The quake inflicted the most damage on relatively poor, rural areas, which have less stringent building regulations.

* Hillary Clinton trounced Barack Obama in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary, as expected. But her negligible payback in convention delegates illustrates why her rival and her party are turning away from her candidacy to begin the fight against Republican John McCain.

* Carl Icahn has purchased roughly 50 million Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares and is leaning toward launching a proxy contest at the Internet giant. The activist investor has no assurance that Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will reconsider a Yahoo purchase.

* A growing number of economists are less pessimistic about a recession. Retail sales, excluding autos, were surprisingly firm in April, as consumer spending and the U.S. economy continue to grow. Federal Reserve officials said the economy could remain sluggish for some time, however, with financial markets still under strain.

* As part of a widening probe, the U.S. has charged a former UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) banker and a Liechtenstein consultant with helping clients avoid taxes by opening secret bank accounts, destroying documents, using Swiss credit cards and filing false tax returns.

* A consultant to Sen. John McCain hired a public-relations firm last year to burnish the U.S. image of a Ukrainian political party backed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to documents filed with the Justice Department.

* The International Energy Agency on Tuesday revised downward its forecast for global oil-demand growth this year for the second month in a row. The agency pointed to slumping demand in the U.S. and Europe and signs of increased strain in Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, which still subsidize fuel prices.

* House Democrats are proposing a surtax on high-income earners -- valued at more than $50 billion over 10 years -- as a way to fund an expansion of education benefits for veterans.

* Thailand's military and United Nations agencies are trying to open a land route to deliver assistance to cyclone victims in Myanmar, as the danger of disease threatens to worsen the suffering and increase the death toll.