Health care vote may slip

Washington -- Amid intense lobbying by the Obama administration, House Democratic leaders struggled Friday for the final votes needed to pass sweeping health care legislation, offering fresh concessions to abortion opponents and working to ease concerns among Hispanic holdouts. - 11/07/2009

1 killed, 5 wounded in Orlando office shooting

Orlando, Fla. -- A man so broke that he said he didn't have the money to visit his son 30 minutes away opened fire Friday at the engineering firm that fired him two years ago, killing one person and wounding five, authorities said. - 11/07/2009

Civilian officer emerges as hero for shooting the suspect

A civilian police officer was credited Friday with halting the deadly rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, by shooting the alleged gunman four times despite being wounded herself during the exchange. - 11/07/2009

• Heroics cut down on Fort Hood casualties
• Fort Hood massacre suspect a study in contrasts

Abbas' move reflects despair

Jerusalem -- By saying he wants to step down as president, Mahmoud Abbas has highlighted a deep Palestinian despair rooted in decades of failed peace initiatives and fruitless violence. - 11/07/2009

Fort Hood massacre suspect a study in contrasts

Fort Hood, Texas -- As if going off to war, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan cleaned out his apartment, gave leftover frozen broccoli to one neighbor and called another to thank him for his friendship -- common courtesies and routines of the departing soldier. Instead, authorities say, he went on the killing spree that left 13 people dead at Fort Hood, Texas. - 11/07/2009

• Civilian officer emerges as hero for shooting the suspect

Suspected serial killer seemed to be harmless

Cleveland -- The man who lived in the house of rotting corpses never gave people a reason to wonder what he was really doing behind closed doors. - 11/07/2009

Sinkhole threatens Carlsbad, N.M.

Carlsbad, N.M. -- The bright yellow signs on U.S. 285 are the first indication that things aren't right in Carlsbad. "US 285 south subject to sinkhole 1,000 feet ahead," motorists are warned. - 11/07/2009

ACORN offices raided in New Orleans

New Orleans -- State investigators raided ACORN offices on Friday, taking away computer hard drives and documents as part of a probe into alleged embezzlement and tax fraud when the organization's national headquarters was based in New Orleans. - 11/07/2009

Climate deal now up to world leaders

Barcelona, Spain -- After two years of tough U.N. climate talks often pitting the world's rich against the poor, negotiators said Friday a new global agreement now rides on industrial nations pledging profound emissions cuts next month in Copenhagen. - 11/07/2009

UK leader demands Afghan reforms in wake of deaths

London -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Washington's closest ally in Afghanistan, toughened his tone Friday with this harsh message for the Afghan leadership: Clean up your act -- for real this time -- or risk a cutoff of support. - 11/07/2009

Nation/World briefs

Swine flu vaccine hard to find for about 40 percent of parents; Exhaust cone falls off jet onto N.Y. home's lawn; Spain refuses to free Somali pirates; France hunts for security driver in big bank heist - 11/07/2009

Today's Talkers

Woman aces driver's exam... on 950th try

Seoul, South Korea -- A woman in South Korea who tried to pass the written exam for a driver's license with near-daily attempts since April 2005 has finally succeeded on her 950th time. - 11/07/2009

Suspect in Orlando office shooting had money woes

Orlando, Fla. -- A man who was so deep in debt that he did not have the money to visit his son 30 minutes away opened fire Friday at the engineering firm that fired him two years ago, killing one person and wounding five, authorities said. - 11/06/2009

• Live CNN video from Orlando

Neighbor: Fort Hood suspect emptied his apartment

An Army psychiatrist suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood cleaned out his apartment in the days before the rampage that left 13 people dead, a neighbor said Friday. - 11/06/2009

• Local, national Muslim leaders condemn Fort Hood violence
• Highly trained sergeant brought down Fort Hood gunman

U.N. reassigns Afghan staff

Kabul, Afghanistan -- The United Nations is sending about 600 foreign staff out of the country or into secure compounds because of the deadly Taliban attack on U.N. workers, warning the Afghan government Thursday that international support will wane unless it cracks down on corruption fueling the insurgency. - 11/06/2009

Local, national Muslim leaders condemn Fort Hood violence

Within minutes of the public identification of the alleged shooter in the Thursday massacre at Fort Hood, local and national Muslim and Arab-American civil rights groups and other organizations mobilized to denounce the violence. - 11/06/2009

• Neighbor: Fort Hood suspect emptied his apartment
• Details emerge about Fort Hood suspect
• Highly trained sergeant brought down Fort Hood gunman

Salmonella victims upset no prosecutions yet

Atlanta -- At the height of the nationwide salmonella outbreak nearly a year ago, FBI agents raided two peanut plants and carried away boxes of evidence. FDA inspectors found roaches, mold and a leaky roof. Then, Congress revealed e-mails from the peanut company's top executive that seemed to suggest the pursuit of profits over ensuring public safety. - 11/06/2009

Protesters: Kill health care plan

Washington -- Chanting "Kill the bill," thousands of conservatives rallied at the Capitol on Thursday against the Democrats' health care overhaul plan, labeling it a government takeover of the nation's medical system. - 11/06/2009

Dems advance climate bill without Senate GOP

Washington -- Senate Democrats sidestepped a Republican boycott Thursday, pushing a climate bill out of committee in an early step on a long and contentious road to passage. - 11/06/2009

13 dead in Fort Hood shooting

Military officials were starting Friday to piece together what may have pushed an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress to turn on his comrades in a shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 30 in Texas. - 11/06/2009

• Highly trained sergeant brought down Fort Hood gunman

• Interactive timeline: Mass shootings in the past decade
• Photos: Deadly rampage at Fort Hood

Nation/World briefs

Northwest pilots appeal revocation of licenses; Wash. state voters OK gay partnership measure; Iraqi Parliament fails to OK election law - 11/06/2009

Details emerge about Fort Hood suspect

Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, suspect in the assault that killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, and hurt 30, argued with fellow soldiers who supported U.S. war policy, say those who know him professionally and personally. - 11/06/2009

• Local, national Muslim leaders condemn Fort Hood violence
• Highly trained sergeant brought down Fort Hood gunman

Worldwide sting turns up millions in smuggled cash

Washington -- A crackdown in more than 80 countries turned up $3.5 million hidden in carry-on and checked bags as people smuggled illicit money across international borders. - 11/06/2009

Fort Hood victims had different reasons for enlisting

The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, included a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Here is a look at some of the victims: - 11/06/2009

• Highly trained sergeant brought down Fort Hood gunman