Blame game erupts over probe of Fort Hood suspect
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Finger-pointing erupted between federal agencies Tuesday over Fort Hood shooting suspect Nidal Hasan. Government officials said a Defense Department terrorism investigator looked into Hasan's contacts with a radical imam months ago, but a military official denied prior knowledge of the Army psychiatrist's contacts with any Muslim extremists....

Obama salutes Fort Hood victims, promises justice
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- Somberly reciting 13 names and 13 stories, President Barack Obama saluted the Americans killed at this Army post as heroes who died for their country - and promised a nation demanding answers that "the killer will be met with justice."...

AP-GfK Poll: Country in a funk
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The euphoria of 2008 is over: America is in a funk....

Conn. gov's departure gives Dems hope to take seat
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's decision not to seek re-election could create big political drama in a small state, where Democrats hope to reclaim the governor's mansion for the first time in nearly two decades while keeping embattled Sen. Christopher Dodd in office....

Jerry Brown again? Some Calif. Dems express unease
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Attorney General Jerry Brown has relied on a stealth fundraising campaign and his near universal name recognition to wipe out the field seven months ahead of California's Democratic primary for governor....

Bill Clinton urges Senate passage of health bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former President Bill Clinton urged Senate Democrats on Tuesday to pass health care legislation by year's end, pointedly telling skittish lawmakers that an imperfect bill is preferable to another failure like the one he and the party endured in 1994....

White House: Obama weighs 4 options in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is considering four options for realigning U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Tuesday, while military officials said the choices involve several ways the president could employ additional U.S. forces next year....

EPA: Toxic chemicals in freshwater fish widespread
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly half of lakes and reservoirs nationwide contain fish with potentially harmful levels of the toxic metal mercury, according to a federal study released Tuesday....

UN chief prods Senate to tackle climate change
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed the Senate Tuesday to take action on climate change, but key senators made it clear that a bill is unlikely to pass this year....

Senate Dems move to curb Fed's powers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats on Tuesday proposed stripping the Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers and creating instead three new federal agencies to police banks, protect consumers and dismantle failing institutions....