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  Salvation Army's iconic kettles now credit ready

  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — There could be less jingle in the Salvation's Army's hallmark red kettles this season. The charity is testing kettles that take debit and credit cards.

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  Americans searching for cheaper Thanksgiving trips

  The Miles family is changing it up this year in the annual American race to make it to the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of booking plane tickets, they opted to take the 1,100-mile trip by train.

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  Gay marriage momentum stalls in liberal NY, NJ

  The state-to-state march to legalize gay marriage across the left-leaning Northeast lost some of its momentum this month.

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  Shuttle Atlantis leaves space station, headed home

  Atlantis and its seven astronauts have left the International Space Station.

• Authorities: Hanged Ky. census worker killed self

  When an eastern Kentucky census worker was found naked, bound with duct tape and hanging from a tree with "fed" scrawled on his chest, suspicion fell on the hardscrabble Appalachian area where bad news seems like a way of life.

• Honolulu police posting DUI mug shots on Internet

  Mug shots of drunken driving suspects are landing on the Honolulu Police Department's Web site, creating a virtual wall of shame long before suspects get their day in court.

• Firefighters make progress against Calif. wildfire

  Firefighters say they are making good progress against a wind-driven wildfire burning in Southern California.

• 3 airlines fined in Minnesota tarmac stranding

  The government is imposing fines for the first time against airlines for stranding passengers on an airport tarmac, the Transportation Department said Tuesday.

• Doctor's help sought in failed Ohio execution try

  As an Ohio execution team tried to find a vein during an unsuccessful lethal injection attempt, prison staff sought help from a doctor — a move generally discouraged by ethical and professional medical rules — federal court papers show.

• Off-reservation Indian gambling raises concerns

  An Indian tribe wants to build a grand, $1.5 billion, Las Vegas-style casino resort on a swath of land overlooking San Francisco Bay — a spot more than 100 miles from its tribal lands.

• Schumer Faults Adidas for Overseas Production

  The New York senator said he might ask N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern to intervene to try and keep production of much of the league’s official jerseys in the United States.

• National Briefing | Midwest: Ohio: Doctor’s Help Was Sought During Failed Execution Attempt

  As an execution team tried to find a vein during an effort at lethal injection, prison staff members sought help from a doctor — a move generally discouraged by ethical and professional medical rules.

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  Obama May Add 30,000 Troops in Afghanistan

  President Obama’s aides signaled that he would send as many as 30,000 additional American troops, but the total number remained in flux.

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  Modern Flourishes as Obamas Host State Dinner

  At their first State Dinner, President Obama and his wife, Michelle, made sure to infuse the glittering gala with distinctive touches.

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  Chicago News Cooperative: Police Struggle to Navigate New Gang Landscape

  A year after the Chicago Police Department cracked down on gangs, its efforts crashed into reality when a 17-year-old was shot and killed in front of a memorial for a slain friend.

• Chicago News Cooperative: At Work in Washington, at Home in Manny’s Deli

  The senior adviser to President Obama maintains a rumpled modesty and his Chicago roots, despite doing the world’s business.

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  Chicago News Co-operative: Chicago Bears’ New Identity Is Unrecognizable

  Coach Lovie Smith’s stoicism once was firm, quiet leadership when the Bears were winning, but now it smacks of cluelessness.

• Chicago News Cooperative: The Pulse: Mayor’s Former Foe Puts On Friendly Face

  Bensenville, the suburban enclave near O’Hare International Airport, has made peace with airport expansion; cabbies, however, haven’t embraced credit cards.

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  After a Humbling Spiral, Kerry Returns to Form

  After some painful losses — the 2004 election, Ted Kennedy’s death — Senator John Kerry is in a position of influence again.

• Official Charged With Closing Guantánamo Quits

  Phillip Carter resigned last Friday because of “personal issues,” a Pentagon official said.

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• Animal welfare groups put cooperation to work

  Animal welfare groups are regularly partnering on a range of projects, from saving animals in natural disasters to rescuing puppy-mill ...

• Traveling I-95? Log on before leaving

  Before heading out to Grandma's, drivers on Interstate 95 and other East Coast highways can get up-to-the-minute speed and congestion ...

• Website offers traffic reports for drivers traveling Interstate-95

  Before heading out to Grandma's, drivers on Interstate 95 and other East Coast highways can get up-to-the-minute speed and congestion ...

• The spirit of this season: Be thankful, spend less

  Sometime in the 1980s, when he was living on the street, the kid who later became the seminal rapper KRS-One stopped at the ...

• Reno cops seek 2-hour nap for bars

  Reno bills itself as the "Biggest Little City in the World," a place that never sleeps, but residents in ear shot of some of ...

• Witnesses say reservist was a Fort Hood hero

  Three weeks after 13 people were shot and killed at Fort Hood, Texas, new details are emerging about an Army Reserve captain ...

• Easy air travel shaping up for Thanksgiving

  Moderate weather and a drop in flights is shaping up to make flying during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend relatively hitch-free ...

• Pet Talk: Tale of half-frozen cat named Icee will warm the heart

  You might imagine that a little shelter already filled to the rafters with discarded dogs and cats wouldn't exactly launch itself ...

• South Carolina lawmakers weigh Sanford impeachment

  South Carolina legislators upset with Gov. Mark Sanford's summer disappearance to see his lover in Argentina have begun debating ...

• Pet Talk: Tale of half-frozen cat named Icee will warm the heart

  You might imagine that a little shelter already filled to the rafters with discarded dogs and cats wouldn't exactly launch itself ...

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• Atom smasher records first particle collisions

  GENEVA -- The world's largest atom smasher made a leap forward Monday by circulating beams of protons in opposite directions at the same time and causing the first particle collisions in the $10 billon machine, organizers said.

• Planet Panel

  Excerpts from comments by The Post's panel of experts on climate change.

• Nation Digest: Filmmaker Tyler Perry donates $1 million to NAACP

  Filmmaker Tyler Perry has donated $1 million to the NAACP, the largest gift from an individual to the civil rights organization. The gift, which will be distributed over the next four years, was madeto commemorate the NAACP's 100th anniversary.

• Criticized economic development official leaving Loudoun job

  Loudoun County's economic development director announced his resignation Monday amid growing criticism from business leaders and county officials over his steadfast emphasis on rural quality-of-life ssues over corporate relocations.

• Appointments

  Audio Video Systems of Chantilly named Michele Ferreira vice president of sales and marketing, and Barry Goldin vice president of operations.

• Thousands of strange creatures found deep in ocean

  NEW ORLEANS -- The creatures living in the depths of the ocean are as weird and outlandish as the creations in a Dr. Seuss book: tentacled transparent sea cucumbers, primitive "dumbos" that flap ear-ike fins, and tubeworms that feed on oil deposits.

• Post to close national bureaus, send reporters afield from D.C.

  The Washington Post, in a significant retrenchment, is closing its remaining U.S. bureaus outside the capital area.

• Politics & The Nation

  Obama welcomes Singh, hails India's 'leadership role' in Asia A3

• CORRECTIONS

  -- A Nov. 23 KidsPost calendar listing said that Catholics celebrate Advent starting Nov. 29. Advent is celebrated by most Christians.

• Iran says uranium swap would have to occur on its soil

  TEHRAN -- Iran would be willing to give up some of its stock of low-enriched uranium in exchange for fuel for a medical reactor, as long as the swap takes place on its own soil, Iranian officials tol local media Tuesday.

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  Terrorism probe casts scrutiny on Minneapolis' Somali immigrant enclave

  Little Mogadishu residents talk of a lack of identity and a life of poverty and racism. And they disagree over their former neighbors who are accused of plotting jihad in Somalia. Barely a block fro the Mississippi River sits a neighborhood Mark Twain could not have imagined.

• Talk of war surtax for Afghanistan expenses heats up

  The suggestion bouncing around Capitol Hill points to the fiscal anxieties President Obama faces if he asks Congress to write another big-ticket item into the budget. As President Obama is preparing to announce a troop increase and new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, several powerful House co...

• 2012 Republican campaign underway in nation's bookstores

  Mike Huckabee, like Sarah Palin, is pitching his books and persona to potential voters. Romney and Pawlenty take a more traditional tack, focusing on strengthening ties with the GOP establishment. Team Huck rolls into the bookstore like a NASCAR pit crew, red shirts adorned with the corporate logo...

• Ban lifted for green-card applicants with HIV

  A two-decade-old rule kept those with the virus out of the U.S. Now such immigrants will be able to visit the country and apply for legal status. A stamp in Heidemarie Kremer's passport reveals her ealth status as HIV-positive.

• Vaccine-maker tries to assure patients H1N1 doses are safe

  Sanofi Pasteur opens its factory doors to reveal the creation process. Officials at the Pennsylvania company say the shots are made the same way seasonal flu vaccines have been made for decades. Foret the chicken.

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  New HIV infections in decline

  There were about 17% fewer new infections worldwide in 2008, compared with 2001, but fewer than half of those infected began treatment, a World Health Organization and UNAIDS report says. The estimated number of new HIV infections each year has declined about 17% since 2001, but for every five peo...

• Obama says he'll announce Afghan plan after Thanksgiving

  The president says his strategy will include military, diplomatic and civilian initiatives designed to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan. Aides say the announcement could come as early as Tuesday. President Obama says he will deliver a plan to "finish the job" in Afghanistan directly to the American...

• These turkeys won't be gobbled up

  Two Butterball birds will be pardoned by President Obama after weeks of pampering and grooming. And his declaration will get them one step closer to a ride in Disneyland's Thanksgiving parade. Last month, Walter "Gator" Pelletier, chairman of the National Turkey Federation and an executive at Butt...

• Census worker's death was suicide, not anti-government violence, police say

  William Sparkman was found dead in the Kentucky woods with a rope around his neck and 'Fed' written on his chest. A Census Bureau worker found dead in rural Kentucky -- a death that sparked fear of nti-government violence in some quarters -- committed suicide, authorities said Tuesday.

• Airlines fined $175,000 for stranding passengers on plane

  The 47 people on board a Continental Express flight were not allowed to leave the aircraft for nearly six hours while it was parked in Rochester, Minn., due to confusion over TSA rules. Federal fines totaling $175,000 were levied Tuesday against the three airlines that stranded dozens of passenger...

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• Afghan Surge Targets Taliban Bastion

  Military commanders say they will devote most of the 20,000 to 40,000 fresh troops expected from the U.S. to secure Afghanistan's south.

• Obama, Singh Pledge Cooperation

  Obama and India's Singh pledged to expand ties on issues ranging from counterterrorism to global warming.

• Probe in Fort Hood Intensifies

  Military investigations into the Fort Hood shooting intensified, with the arrival of two former top officials leading a Pentagon probe into what could have been done to prevent the shootings.

• Church Fights for Assets, Legitimacy

  When members of St. Luke's of the Mountains Church voted to leave the Episcopal Church, they never meant they wanted to leave their church. But last month, they got an eviction notice.

• Somali Case Hints at Radicalization

  Counterterrorism officials investigating the recruitment of ethnic Somalis in the U.S. for jihad in Somalia say the case echoes the type of homegrown radicalization that threatens parts of Europe.

• An Old-School Social Network

  For 52 years, a group of influential men have met to discuss their hopes and ambitions.

• U.S. Mulls New Panel to Tackle Deficit

  The White House is considering a bipartisan commission to tackle the nation's deficit, as it seeks to show resolve on a problem that threatens its broader agenda.

• Thanksgiving Pie Fights at Mommie Helen's

  On Thanksgiving, the customers waiting in line for Dorothy Pryor Rose's famous pies can turn hostile. This year, the bakery has hired a security guard to keep the peace -- and deter pastry scalping.

• U.S. Policy on Soldier Suicide Challenged

  The family of a soldier who killed himself in Baghdad is mounting a lobbying effort to overturn the longstanding policy preventing the president from sending condolence letters to families of troops ho have committed suicide.

• Home Prices Post Monthly Gains

  U.S. home prices logged their fifth monthly increase in September, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home-price indexes, though prices are still lower from a year earlier.

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  Obama Weighs the Cost of an Afghanistan Military Surge

  Skeptical Democrats demand a war tax as Afghanistan's declining security situation raises the financial burden of the U.S. in expanding its commitment there

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  The 00's: A Decade from Hell

  Bookended by 9/11 and a financial wipeout, the first 10 years of the century will likely go down as the most dispiriting decade Americans have lived through since World War II. Can the next one be better?

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  Gay Rights: How a California Judge Is Challenging Obama

  A powerful judge has ordered the Executive Branch to stop interfering with his decision to allow a court employee to get health coverage for her wife

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  Helicopter Parents: The Backlash Against Overparenting

  Overparenting got way out of control in the past generation. But now a band of rebels is trying to restore some balance and sanity to family life and help bring all those anxious helicopter parents down for a soft landing

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  Leon Panetta Defends CIA Against DNI, Wins Over Doubters

  Lately, Panetta has eased CIA staffer doubts, winning kudos for defending the agency's turf from Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair

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  CIA Chief Panetta Winning Over Doubters at the Agency

  So many CIA veterans were particularly not happy over the summer when they felt that Panetta had failed to protect the Agency from the political backlash over its Bush-era detention and interrogationpractices.

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  Are Minorities Getting Enough Out of the Stimulus?

  Federal and state governments are missing a great opportunity to use the stimulus to aid the poor and minority communities hardest hit by the Great Recession

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  Tuition Hikes: Protests in California and Elsewhere

  A combination of budget crises and the recession spark protests in GoldenState. But the problem plagues other public universities too

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  Guantanamo Bay: Inside Obama's Plan to Close the Center

  White House plans for terror suspects currently in detention are likely to outrage liberals and conservatives

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  Army Corps of Engineers Faulted in Katrina Destruction

  There can be something thrilling about accountability, so it was nice to see a federal judge declare the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers directly responsible for the destruction of most of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina

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