No guarantees on Senate health bill's public plan

WASHINGTON (AP) - The focus of the health overhaul debate now shifts to whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can persuade a handful of moderate senators to get behind his new proposal for a government-sponsored insurance plan. That's no sure bet. Even Reid, D-Nev., didn't claim to have the 60 votes needed to pass his proposal when he ended weeks of speculation by announcing that the Senate version of sweeping health care legislation would include a provision for the government to sell health insurance in competition with private insurers.

Gov't may say recession over but not job losses

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's about to become official: The recession is over — but not the pain. The government will release figures this week expected to show that the economy has awakened from its deepest slump since the 1930s and is in the early stages of a recovery. But the following week, the government will issue another set of figures expected to show unemployment continuing to rise toward and possibly above a clearly recessionary 10 percent.

Al-Qaida linked group claims Baghdad attacks

BAGHDAD (AP) - An al-Qaida linked group claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad that killed at least 155 people as Iraq's political leadership on Tuesday stepped up efforts to agree on new voting guidelines ahead of January elections. The militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement posted on the Internet late Monday that its "martyrs ... targeted the dens of infidelity."

Long-term care insurance program gains in House

WASHINGTON (AP) - House health care legislation expected within days is likely to include a new long-term care insurance program to help seniors and disabled people stay out of nursing homes, senior Democrats say. The voluntary program would begin to close a gap in the social safety net overlooked in the broader health care debate, but it must overcome objections from insurance companies that sell long-term care coverage and from fiscal conservatives.

New safety worry: Laptops, devices in the cockpit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Northwest Airlines pilots who flew 150 miles past their destination because they were focused on laptop computers instead of cockpit displays may have opened a new avenue of concern for safety regulators — distracting personal electronic devices on the flight deck. The pilots of Northwest flight 188 told the National Transportation Safety Board that they were so engrossed in a complicated new crew-scheduling program on their laptops — a cockpit violation of airline policy that could cost them their licenses — that they lost track of time and place for more than an hour until they were brought back to alertness by a flight attendant on an intercom.

Police: Pakistan army officer, mother attacked

ISLAMABAD (AP) - A gun attack on a senior army officer and his mother caused no casualties but rattled Pakistan's capital Tuesday, just days after a similar strike killed a military official and signaled Islamist militants are turning more to assassination tactics. Armed extremists in Pakistan have staged several assaults in recent weeks against security forces and other targets, apparently to retaliate for the army's offensive in their stronghold of South Waziristan, a tribal region along the Afghan border.

Study: Amtrak loss comes to $32 per passenger

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. taxpayers spent about $32 subsidizing the cost of the typical Amtrak passenger in 2008, about four times the rail operator's estimate, according to a private study. Amtrak operates a nationwide rail network, serving more than 500 destinations in 46 states. Forty-one of Amtrak's 44 routes lost money in 2008, said the study by Subsidyscope, an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Bad weather could interfere with NASA test flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's newest rocket is on the verge of blasting off on a test flight. The Ares I-X rocket is set to lift off Tuesday morning. But forecasters say there's a 60 percent chance that rain and clouds could delay the experimental flight.

Joke's on Bill Cosby as Seinfeld, Rock pay tribute

WASHINGTON (AP) - Someone had to hold Bill Cosby back to keep him from crawling over a balcony and joining fellow comedians on stage as the stars lined up to pay tribute to his life's work. When the lights went out for the start of the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Cosby filled the dark silence Monday night. "Hellooo?" he called out at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. And once again, he had his audience laughing.

No bingo for DC: Eagles roll, beat Redskins 27-17

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Sherm Lewis might want to go back to bingo. Or, better yet, he might want to apply for a job as the Philadelphia Eagles' play caller - it's a much easier job with someone such as DeSean Jackson on your side. Jackson scored on a 67-yard reverse and caught a 57-yard touchdown pass in the first half, and the Eagles converted three turnovers into points Monday night in a 27-17 win over the Washington Redskins.

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