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  Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle

  A bruising debate on health care awaits the Senate after Thanksgiving now that the historic legislation has cleared a key hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.

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  Police identify gunman in deadly Saipan rampage

  The gunman who killed four people and wounded nine in a shooting rampage on the Pacific island of Saipan was identified Sunday as a Chinese national who was believed employed at the shooting range where the deaths occurred.

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  More Americans expected to travel for Thanksgiving

  The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year from 2008, according to a report from the AAA auto club.

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  Fort Hood suspect ordered held until court-martial

  The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood will be confined until his military trial, initially staying in a hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds, his attorney said Saturday.

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  Biden says Senate handed Obama a big victory

  Vice President Joe Biden told Iowa Democrats on Saturday that the Senate handed the president a big victory with its decision to move forward with debate on sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system.

• 5 Long Beach students arrested in alleged groping

  Authorities say five male students have been arrested on suspicion of sexual battery after two ninth-grade girls were attacked at a Long Beach high school.

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  Jackson moonwalk glove sells for $350K in NYC

  The shimmering, white glove Michael Jackson wore when he premiered his trademark moonwalk dance in 1983 was auctioned off for $350,000 — plus tax — on Saturday.

• 3-alarm Atlantic City boardwalk fire under control

  Officials say a three-alarm fire on the boardwalk in Atlantic City has been declared under control.

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  A bad month in Afghanistan rippled across the US

  Every afternoon, seven days a week, Ed Epley has a 5 p.m. appointment with the war.

• Police: Man fatally stabbed over NYC subway seat

  A subway passenger was stabbed to death in front of horrified riders in a dispute with another man over a seat in the car early Saturday morning in midtown Manhattan, police said.

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  Job Woes Exacting a Toll on Family Life

  The recession’s damage often extends to children, who absorb more than their parents are fully aware of.

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  At Fort Hood, Witness Credits Second Officer

  A witness disputed the Army’s initial version of how a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Tex., was brought to an end.

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  Obama Salutes Fallen Americans on Veterans Day

  President Obama hailed the sacrifice and determination of the nation’s military on Wednesday as he delivered a Veterans Day tribute at Arlington National Cemetery.

• U.S. Envoy Urges Caution on Forces for Afghanistan

  The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, who once served as the top U.S. military commander there, expressed reservations about deploying additional troops, senior officials said.

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  Gene D. Cohen, Geriatric Psychiatrist, Dies at 65

  Dr. Cohen was a pioneer in the field of geriatric psychiatry who helped shift the emphasis in gerontological research from the problems of people as they age to their potential.

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  Thomas J. O’Malley, Who Helped Launch Glenn Into Orbit, Dies at 94

  Mr. O’Malley was the aviation engineer who pushed the button that launched the rocket that carried John Glenn into orbit in 1962.

• After Criticism, the Administration Is Praised for Final Rules on Education Grants

  The Obama administration is being praised by teachers unions for adding flexibility to its Race to the Top grant program, though it still retains politically volatile elements.

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  U.S. Plans Raw Warm-Water Oyster Ban

  At issue is how far the federal government should go to save the lives of 15 people each year who die from eating contaminated raw oysters.

• Thieves in Milwaukee Show a Patriotic Side, Declining to Rob Army Reservist

  Four men in stocking caps were in the middle of robbing a college student on Tuesday morning when they saw his military I.D. and returned his money.

• Senator Faces G.O.P. Rebuke Back Home

  The executive committee of the Charleston County Republican Party censured Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina for his positions on a host of hot-button issues.

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• 'Balloon boy' parents to plead guilty

  The attorney for the Colorado father who reported his son floated away in a helium balloon says his client and the boy's mother ...

• Parents of 'balloon boy' plead guilty

  The attorney for the Colorado father who reported his son floated away in a helium balloon says his client and the boy's mother ...

• Powerful storm blasting East Coast with rain, wind

  Relentless rain swept along much of the Atlantic seaboard Thursday, triggering coastal flood warnings and watches from North ...

• Rhode Island boy's wheelchair stolen

  A Providence mother is asking for the person who stole her 4-year-old special need son's wheelchair to return it no questions ...

• Remains of 10th person ID'd from Cleveland house

  Authorities in Cleveland have identified a 10th woman whose remains were discovered at the home of an accused serial killer.

• Ga. police: Pilot tried to hit them with plane

  Police say a pilot tried to hit officers with his plane at a small Georgia airport.

• Ore. woman killed by husband filed for divorce

  A woman in the state of Oregon had filed for divorce just a week before her estranged husband opened fire at the suburban Portland ...

• Army tracks alleged killer's rise through ranks

  The accused killer of 13 people at Fort Hood last week was promoted to major this year in part because the Army uses a different ...

• Alcohol tests catch 11 pilots a year

  Nearly a dozen U.S. commercial pilots a year test positive for alcohol while attempting to fly, according to federal aviation ...

• 'Political downsizing' is latest weapon for voters

  Joe Killian rose at a taxpayers' forum one night to bemoan the chronically high cost of government in western New York. "Nothing's ...

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• U.S. envoy resists troop increase, cites Karzai as problem

  The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai's governmentdemonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the.

• U.S. envoy resists troop increase, cites Karzai as problem

  The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai's governmentdemonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the.

• Some Democrats to fight abortion amendment in health bill

  President Obama and Senate Democrats sought on Sunday to generate momentum from the House's passage of health-care legislation, even as a new hurdle emerged: profound dismay among abortion-rights suporters over antiabortion provisions inserted into the House bill.

• Army psychiatrists ordered Hasan to attend lecture series on Islam

  Army psychiatrists at Walter Reed Army Medical Center who supervised Maj. Nidal M. Hasan's work as a psychiatric fellow tried to turn his growing preoccupation with religion and war into something prductive by ordering him to attend a university lecture series on Islam, the Middle East and.

• Afghan war, Fort Hood shooting weighing on President Obama

  War and tragedy are putting President Obama through the most wrenching period of his young administration. Visibly thinner, admittedly skipping meals, he is learning every day the challenges of a warime presidency.

• Initially waved off, Hispanic advocates jump into health debate

  After trying to carefully balance their interests in health-care reform and immigration, the nation's Hispanic lawmakers and largest advocacy groups are scrambling to develop a strategy to counter wht they see as efforts to shortchange immigrants in health bills on Capitol Hill.

• Honduras accord is on verge of collapse

  Less than two weeks after U.S. diplomats announced a historic agreement to reverse a coup in Honduras, the accord is in danger of collapse and both Honduran officials and U.S. lawmakers are blaming Aerican missteps for some of the failure.

• Potomac Conservancy blames chemical runoff for intersex fish

  Pollutants that mimic natural hormones have created a "toxic stew" in the Potomac River, altering the sexual development and the immune systems of fish, a local nonprofit group warned in a report Wedesday.

• Hasan did not formally ask to leave military, Army official says

  The Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people last week at Fort Hood, Tex., did not formally seek to leave the military as a conscientious objector or for any other reason, an Army official said.

• U.S. citizen sues over treatment in 'rendition'

  An American who was captured by Kenyan forces in January 2007 filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington on Tuesday, arguing that FBI agents allegedly involved in his interrogation and transfer o other countries violated his constitutional rights.

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• Mexican American former anti-drug chief's reputation on trial

  Richard Padilla Cramer is accused of selling out to drug lords, helping them unmask informants and set up smuggling deals. Family and former colleagues say he's the last person they'd suspect. Aroun here, the grim joke goes, most people work for the government or the mafias.

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  Senate healthcare vote clears the way for formal debate to begin

  Democrats overcome a GOP filibuster with a 60-39 vote in a key procedural move on the $848-billion healthcare legislation. Debate is likely to run through the end of the year. Without a vote to spare, Democrats pushed their healthcare legislation over its first obstacle on the Senate floor Saturda...

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  The Russian Tea Room caters to new clientele: kids

  The famous restaurant now offers PBJ and pigs in blankets alongside its usual caviar. Reaching out is helping it stay afloat in hard times. There on the left is the plush booth where Dustin Hoffman's character shocked his -- or would that be her? -- agent into ordering a double shot of vodka in th...

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  Fox News rolls wrong video of Palin crowds

  Executives are reportedly considering 'serious disciplinary action' against someone in the control room. Also: a sour note on Obama's tweets; Huckabee defends Obama. A few weeks ago, Fox News had th White House on the defensive.

• New York's Russian Tea Room caters to new clientele: kids

  The famous restaurant now offers PBJ and pigs in blankets alongside its usual caviar. It's one of the ways it hopes to stay afloat where others have failed in the recession. There on the left is the plush booth where Dustin Hoffman's character shocked his -- or would that be her? -- agent into ord...

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  An anomaly in judging at Carson science fair

  Professors and researchers had to wow tough critics -- fourth-graders from Foster and Carver elementary schools in Compton. The 200 judges at the biomedical science fair surveyed the exhibits, pursig their lips.

• A climate change dust-up

  One side sees hacked e-mail as a sign of a 'Warmist Conspiracy.' The other says it's being taken out of context. Analysts don't expect it to have much effect on the Senate greenhouse gas bill. Is it a "Warmist Conspiracy," or a case of an e-mail being "taken completely out of context"?

• North Carolina state trooper gets in hat trouble

  He lost his hat one blustery night and applied for a new one. But then it turned up -- and he was fired for lying. If you're a state trooper, losing your hat can get you in trouble. Lying about how ou lost your hat, however, can get you fired.

• Explaining cost savings in the Senate bill

  Readers ask about the details of Medicare savings, plus a cosmetic-surgery tax and limits on abortion coverage. Some reader questions about the healthcare legislation in Congress:

• Married in Texas? Check again, a political challenger says

  A candidate for state attorney general blames the incumbent for faulty wording in a 2005 amendment to ban gay marriage, saying it puts all Texas unions in doubt. Texans, are you really married?

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• Vote Moves Health Debate Forward

  Democrats and independents closed ranks voting 60-39 to move forward with debate on landmark legislation that would overhaul the nation's health system and extend health insurance to 31 million Amerians.

• Senate Votes to Move Health Debate Forward

  Democrats and independents closed ranks voting 60-39 to move forward with debate on landmark legislation that would overhaul the nation's health system and extend health insurance to 31 million Amerians.

• Democrats Poised to Win Key Health Vote

  Democrats Lincoln and Landrieu said they would vote to move forward with debate on health-care legislation, providing what appeared to be the 60 votes the Democrats need to overcome a Republican filiuster and bring the bill to the Senate floor for debate.

• Senators Back Key Health-Care Vote

  Democrats Lincoln and Landrieu said they would vote to move forward with debate on health-care legislation, providing what appeared to be the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to the Senate floor fordebate.

• Senator Backs Key Health-Care Vote

  Democrat Landrieu said she would vote to move forward with debate on health-care legislation, as the chamber moved toward an evening vote on whether to bring the bill to the floor. The support of at east one other centrist Democrat remained in doubt.

• Senate Weighs Key Health-Care Vote

  Debate resumed Saturday in the Senate over health-care legislation, as the chamber moved toward an evening vote on whether to bring the bill to the floor. An influential centrist Senate Democrat said Friday he would vote to move forward, but the support of at least two other centrist Democrats rema...

• Obama Seeks to Boost U.S. Exports

  U.S. President Barack Obama, fresh from his first presidential trip to Asia, called for the U.S. to increase exports to that region, saying even small gains would help put many unemployed Americans bck on the job.

• Democrats Get Key Vote on Health Bill

  Sen. Nelson said he will vote to advance the Senate health-care bill in a crucial procedural vote, the first of three Democratic holdouts to back the measure.

• Swine Flu Seen as Cresting

  The current wave of swine flu may have peaked in the U.S., but the illness remains widespread and the threat of another wave remains as officials in Norway reported a mutation of the virus.

• California's Newsom Faces Headwinds

  Gavin Newsom, the telegenic San Francisco mayor, said he is planning to remain in public service for his career despite a string of recent political setbacks.

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  10 Best College Presidents

  Ohio State's Gee and nine other dynamos

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  The Fort Hood Killer: Terrified ... or Terrorist?

  When an Army major turns mass murderer on America's largest military base, it fuels the worst fear of terrorism experts: Are lone wolves who don't need an al-Qaeda training camp the new threat to homeland security?

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  The Senate's Turn: Can the Democrats Close the Health Care Deal?

  Now that the House has passed its health care bill with a vote of 220 to 215, Democrats on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue feel an even greater sense of urgency

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  2-Min. Bio: Departing CNN Anchor Lou Dobbs

  CNN anchor Lou Dobbs announced he was departing as host of his CNN show, Lou Dobbs Tonight, effective Nov. 11

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  Fort Hood Massacre Highlights Homegrown-Jihadist Trend

  No global organizational network is required for online extremists to forge a deadly weapon out of Western Muslim anger at the U.S.'s wars abroad

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  Fort Hood Highlights a Threat of Homegrown Jihad

  No global organizational network is required for online extremists to forge a deadly weapon out of Western Muslim anger at America's wars abroad

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  Could FBI Have Stopped Nidal Hasan, Fort Hood Shooter?

  Claims that contact betwen Major Nidal Hassan and a radical cleric in Yemen ought to have triggered alarms are overblown, according to officials familiar with the case

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  FBI Fights Claims It Dropped the Ball on Hasan

  Claims that contact betwen Maj. Nidal Hassan and a radical cleric in Yemen ought to have triggered alarms are overblown, according to officials familiar with the case

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  A Brief History of: Unknown Soldiers

  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, one of the enduring emblems of Veterans' Day, remains a symbol of the ultimate cost of war

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  Obama's Fort Hood Speech and Television Culture

  Televised speeches now come larded in so much analysis, before and after, that it becomes almost impossible to connect with them in a genuine, visceral way

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