Nation and World

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than 2 years ago, authorities said, killing one person and injuring five others.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) – 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 at Fort Hood, Texas, dead.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Amid intense lobbying by the Obama administration, House Democratic leaders struggled Friday for the final votes needed to pass sweeping health care legislation, working to ease concerns among Hispanic holdouts and abortion foes.

WASHINGTON – At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration.

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) – A jury convicted a Florida man Friday of murdering his former son-in-law, rejecting the man’s defense that he was too fat to have run up and down a flight of stairs to commit the crime and make a quick getaway.

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Esther Heymann was overflowing with grief for her stepdaughter. Standing in a blustery snow, overlooking the empty field where Flight 93 had crashed a couple of years earlier, she couldn’t stop crying.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 — and is likely to go higher.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than two years ago, authorities said, killing one person and injuring five others.

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that pigs in a commercial herd in Indiana have tested positive for swine flu, making it the first time the virus has been found in such hogs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot a U.S. airport by 150 miles (240 kilometers) are appealing their license revocations with the National Transportation Safety Board.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled Senate on Thursday turned back a GOP-led effort to bar Sept. 11 terrorists from being prosecuted in civilian federal courts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army psychiatrist suspected of carrying a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, had come to the attention of authorities six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Some ache for revenge, others simply for justice. There is frustration, too, and defiance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials at a prison hospital say chronic medical problems are complicating a psychiatric evaluation for the 89-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a guard at Washington's Holocaust museum.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — 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 people and left 31 wounded, Army officials said.

The Senate health care committee chairman said Tuesday the panel is investigating how health insurers price the coverage they sell to small businesses, which have struggled for years with soaring premiums.

NEW YORK – Voters nervous about the economy and fed up with the political establishment dominated the off-year elections, sending a strong message to President Barack Obama, who won the White House as a change agent but has himself become the face of political power and incumbency.

WASHINGTON (AP) – In a blow to the White House, the Senate’s top Democrat signaled Tuesday that Congress may 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 (AP) — A major economic relief bill that extends benefits to the jobless and expands a first-time home buyer tax credit took a step forward Monday in the Senate.

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — In the face of Arab criticism of the administration's recalibrated Mideast peace tack, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton moderated her praise Monday for Israel's offer to restrain building settlements in Palestinian areas.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for the fledgling economic recovery got a boost Monday from better-than-expected news on manufacturing, construction and contracts to buy homes.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — 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.

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama launched a mentoring program Monday to give local high school girls access to women at the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama greeted Hamid Karzai's election victory with as much admonishment as praise on Monday, pointedly advising America's partner in war he must make more serious efforts to end corruption in Afghanistan's government and prepare his nation to ultimately defend itself.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Schools are doing a better job of identifying students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches, but some states are much better than others, the Agriculture Department says in a report to Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the prospect of double-digit unemployment looms, President Barack Obama on Monday sought to set expectations for the nation, saying job losses will likely roll on "for weeks and months to come" because hiring always lags behind in an economic rebound.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taxpayers are unlikely to recover their full investment in General Motors or Chrysler, government investigators said Monday in the latest review to cast doubts that the government will recoup the $80 billion it poured into the two automakers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congresswoman said Monday that people have more to fear from Democratic health care legislation than from terrorists.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexico has extradited 11 fugitives, accused of crimes including murder, sex offenses, drug trafficking and money laundering, to face trial in the United States, the Justice Department said Sunday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — This city's most popular neighborhoods are night owls, streets that come alive when the restaurants and pubs set the mood and light their candles. But try parking in these hot spots: no fun.

NEW YORK (AP) — How badly does Michael Bloomberg want a third term as mayor of New York? The billionaire is spending $35,000 an hour out of his own pocket and could burn through more than $100 million on what is already the most expensive self-financed campaign in American history.

CHICAGO (AP) — For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don't come to work, you don't get paid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After struggling for months to avert bankruptcy, lender CIT Group has filed for Chapter 11 protection in an attempt to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of mid-sized and small businesses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many communities hit hardest by job losses, those built around dying factories and mills, have been slowest to see relief from President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, underscoring how hard it is for Washington policymakers to create lasting work in areas that need it most.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Obama administration officials pledged Sunday to work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, despite continuing doubts about his credibility that could have been eased had he won a runoff election against his top challenger, who dropped out citing concerns of fraud.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Saturday doled out presidential M&Ms and dried fruit mixes to more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters, marking their Halloween at a White House event partly aimed at honoring military families.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. workers have overwhelmingly rejected contract changes that would have allowed the automaker to cut labor costs, leaving Ford at a disadvantage to its Detroit rivals as it continues its struggle to return to profitability.