Nation and World

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats acknowledged they don't yet have the votes to pass a sweepingoverhaul of the nation's health care system, and signaled they may push back the vote until Sunday or early next week.

WASHINGTON – He prayed every day at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md., a devout Muslim who, despite asking to be discharged from the U.S. Army, according to his aunt, was on the eve of his first deployment to war. Thursday, authorities said Maj. Nidal M. Hasan shot and killed at least 12 people at Fort Hood, Texas.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) – An Army psychiatrist suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood cleaned out his apartment and left a phone message saying goodbye to a friend in the days before the rampage that left 13 people dead, neighbors said Friday.

OKLAHOMA CITY – A couple driving along a rural road at night crashed into an elephant that had escaped from a nearby circus.

WASHINGTON – Can’t pay the mortgage? You still might be able to stay in your home. Government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae is going to give borrowers on the verge of foreclosure the option of renting their homes for a year. The change announced Thursday could give a temporary break to thousands of homeowners, but critics question whether it will only add to the losses at the company.

CHIPLEY, Fla. – Investigators spent five days searching a rural area of dense vines and marshes for a missing infant, only to find her lying quietly in a 2-foot by 3-foot cedar box that had been shoved under her baby sitter’s bed. Clothing was packed around it to muffle any sounds and baking soda placed inside to mask the stench of dirty diapers.

WASHINGTON – President Obama and House Democrats scrambled Thursday to secure the votes to pass a historic health care overhaul initiative, working to ease disagreements with rank-and-file lawmakers over abortion and illegal immigrants.

WASHINGTON – President Obama assured American Indians on Thursday that they have a place in his White House and on his agenda, telling tribal leaders their marginalized community deserves more from its government.

WASHINGTON – Chanting “Kill the bill,” thousands of conservatives incensed over the Democrats’ health care overhaul protested at the Capitol on Thursday, arguing that the legislation amounts to a government takeover of the nation’s medical system.

WASHINGTON – Companies across the economy are finding ways to do more with fewer workers, dimming hopes that hiring will take off anytime soon.

FORT HOOD, Texas – A military mental health doctor facing deployment overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post on Thursday, setting off on a rampage that killed 12 other people and left 31 wounded. The violence was believed to be the worst mass shooting in history at a U.S. military base.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The second-ranking House Democrat predicted that historic health care legislation will be passed Saturday as the AARP, the nation's premier lobbying group for the elderly, announced it was signing on to the bill.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Ignoring a Republican boycott, Senate Democrats pushed a precedent-setting climate bill through a key committee Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO – Stunned and angry, national gay-rights leaders on Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads – and President Obama’s lack of engagement – for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.

WASHINGTON – What we learned from the off-year elections: The president’s influence is limited, independents rule, incumbents beware, issues trump ideology and, once more, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

WASHINGTON – The most common deals under the government’s $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press.

Dem health bill

WASHINGTON (AP) – The most common deals under the government's $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Financial Services Committee voted Wednesday to give U.S. government regulators more power and money to police major players in the stock market, four months after Bernard Madoff was sentenced for the biggest investment scam in history.

WASHINGTON – In a blow to the White House, the Senate’s top Democrat signaled Tuesday that Congress might fail to meet a year-end deadline for passing health care legislation, leaving the measure’s fate to the uncertainties of the 2010 election season.

WASHINGTON – Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year.

WASHINGTON (AP) – After months spent criticizing Democrats' health overhaul plans, House Republicans have produced a draft proposal of their own. It's much shorter and focuses on bringing down costs rather than extending coverage to nearly all Americans.

WASHINGTON (AP) – A leading government health figure says tests on millions of people who have received the H1N1 flu vaccine show that it's safe and effective.

The economic recovery is proceeding unevenly in its early stages, with areas hurt most by the housing slump lagging behind other regions, according to The Associated Press’ monthly analysis of economic stress in more than 3,100 U.S. counties.

CHICAGO – An international group of scientists has decoded the DNA of the domestic pig, research that one day might prove useful in finding new treatments for both pigs and people, and perhaps aid in efforts for a new swine flu vaccine for pigs.

ST. LOUIS – Midwestern flooding usually is associated with the spring or summer, so even officials at the National Weather Service are perplexed about the unusual fall flood that is causing rivers to spill over their banks in parts of Missouri and Illinois.

CHICAGO – Researchers studying antibiotics in pregnancy have found a surprising link between common drugs used to treat urinary infections and birth defects. Reassuringly, the most-used antibiotics in early pregnancy – penicillins – appear to be the safest.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Contaminated fresh ground beef caused a possible E. coli outbreak that killed two people and sent 16 others to hospitals, federal health officials said Monday.

CHICAGO – Household products maker The Clorox Co. said Monday it was changing how it makes its namesake bleach so it can stop transporting chlorine to U.S. factories by rail amid growing safety concerns and regulatory scrutiny.

WASHINGTON – The nightly attacks by two man-eating lions terrified railway workers and brought construction to a halt in one of east Africa’s most notorious onslaughts more than 100 years ago.

KABUL, Afghanistan – Hamid Karzai was declared the winner by default Monday in Afghanistan’s fraud-marred presidential election, increasing the pressure on President Obama to end his marathon deliberations at a time when a scaled-down version of his commander’s ambitious plans is gaining support.

DEARBORN, Mich. – One of the troubled Detroit Three automakers, Ford, is making money again and looking for better times in no more than two years.

CHICAGO – Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say.

CHICAGO – As Democratic leaders in Washington try to round up votes to pass health care reform legislation, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris on Monday stuck by his demand for a public option, calling any provision that would let states opt out not as strong.

WASHINGTON – For Republicans, an election win of any size today would be a blessing. But victories in Virginia, New Jersey or elsewhere won’t erase enormous obstacles the party faces heading into a 2010 midterm election year when control of Congress and statehouses from coast to coast will be up for grabs.

CHICAGO – For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid.

2 slain at Rockford Halloween party

KABUL – President Hamid Karzai was effectively handed a second five-year term Sunday when his only challenger dropped out of the race, and the Obama administration said it was prepared to work with the man it has previously criticized to combat corruption and confront the Taliban insurgency.

SYDNEY – An urgent search and rescue mission was under way today for about two dozen people missing after their boat sank in open seas far off Australia.