Reid sets markers for historic health care debate
WASHINGTON (AP) - Setting up a historic year-end health care debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled long-awaited legislation Wednesday night to extend coverage to all but 6 percent of eligible Americans and bar private industry from denying insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions. The Democrat's $849 billion measure is designed to remake the nation's health care system, relying on cuts in future Medicare spending to cover costs - as well as on higher payroll taxes for the well-to-do and a new levy on patients undergoing elective cosmetic surgery.
AP source: Ex-official to head Fort Hood review
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tapped a former senior defense official to lead a broad Pentagon review of the circumstances surrounding the Fort Hood shootings, The Associated Press has learned. Gates will announce Thursday that it will be a single, coordinated review, and will call for a quick, short-term report, followed by a longer, more extensive study, according to an administration official.
Obama, Holder predict conviction in 9/11 case
WASHINGTON (AP) - From opposite ends of the globe, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder firmly rejected criticism Wednesday of the planned New York trial of the professed Sept. 11 mastermind and predicted Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be exposed as a murderous coward, convicted and executed. "Failure is not an option," Holder declared.
Obama welcomed in South Korea as trip nears end
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Treated to friendly roadside crowds and an elaborate welcome, President Barack Obama sped into the last round of his diplomacy tour in Asia on Thursday, a visit in South Korea. Obama joined President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House, South Korea's version of the White House, where the U.S. leader took in spectacular views of the hills of Seoul on a chilly, gray morning. Obama stood on red-carpeted steps and looked out on military regiments in colorful garb and flagwaving children.
Troubled Afghan president readies inaugural speech
KABUL (AP) — Under intense pressure to fix his corrupt government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to strike a balance in his second inaugural speech Thursday: answer international demands for reform while appeasing political allies who returned him to power. Karzai begins a second term facing an increasingly violent insurgency, an administration crippled by corruption, high unemployment and an impoverished population frustrated by eight years of war and few, if any, improvements to their daily lives.
Judge: Corps' negligence caused Katrina flooding
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina, a decision that could make the federal government vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval sided with six residents and one business who argued the Army Corps' shoddy oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish. He said, however, the corps couldn't be held liable for the flooding of eastern New Orleans, where two of the plaintiffs lived.
Police: Mo. teen dug grave anticipating murder
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Blessed with a Friday off school, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante dug two holes in the ground to be used as a grave, authorities said. For the next week, she attended classes, all the while plotting the right time for a murder, they said. That time arrived the evening of Oct. 21, when Bustamante strangled 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten without provocation, cut the girl's throat and stabbed her, prosecutors said. Why?
Warrant in Mo. case: Cops find porn, incest mags
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — Authorities investigating six family members accused in a series of sexual assaults involving young relatives dating back to the 1980s seized booklets and magazines depicting incest from a family home. The search warrant issued last week after the arrest of Burrell E. Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, said investigators seized several items from Mohler's home, including four computer towers, several pornographic magazines and books, several DVDs, and cameras.
Nicole Richie is hospitalized for pneumonia
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Nicole Richie has been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital and is being treated for pneumonia. Her representative says she's doing well. Publicist Nicole Perna said Wednesday the 28-year-old actress checked herself into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Selig: Baseball will tighten playoff schedule
CHICAGO (AP) - Baseball plans to cut down on off days during the postseason next year. Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday he's working on tightening up the 2010 playoff schedule so there will be fewer gaps between games. Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia criticized the current format after the Yankees and Angels played only eight times in 20 days going into Game 6 of the AL championship series.
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