House passes health care bill on close vote
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous. The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin a long-delayed debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.

Suspect told 'There's something wrong with you'
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - There was the classroom presentation that justified suicide bombings. Comments to colleagues about a climate of persecution faced by Muslims in the military. Conversations with a mosque leader that became incoherent. As a student, some who knew Nidal Malik Hasan said they saw clear signs the young Army psychiatrist - who authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 29 others wounded - had no place in the military. After arriving at Fort Hood, he was conflicted about what to tell fellow Muslim soldiers about the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, alarming an Islamic community leader from whom he sought counsel.

Ida grows into hurricane near Mexico's Carib coast
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) - Officials readied storm shelters along Mexico's Caribbean coast Saturday and told fishermen and tour operators to pull in their boats as Ida strengthened into a hurricane as it neared the resort city of Cancun. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ida's winds had picked up to 75 mph (120 kph), making it a Category 1 storm.

Afghan ministry: NATO strike kills Afghan forces
KABUL (AP) - U.S. and Afghan authorities investigated Saturday whether a botched NATO airstrike was to blame for the death of Afghan soldiers and police during a search for two American paratroopers missing in a Taliban-infested area of the country's west. The probe into a possible friendly fire incident further aggravates already strained relations between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the international community, which holds his enfeebled government partly responsible for rising instability.

Holiday airfares close to last year but climbing
If holiday travelers on the same plane compare what they paid to fly, they're likely to find quite a spread, depending on when they bought their tickets. Fares for travel around the holidays have been rising since late summer. Christmas fares are now running 4 percent below a year ago, and the gap is likely to disappear soon.

2010 elections: Democratic fears, Republican hopes
WASHINGTON (AP) - Oh, how the tables have turned. Nervous Democrats are on defense and emboldened Republicans sense opportunity heading into 2010 and the midterm elections. It was just three years ago that the GOP lost the House and Senate as well as governors' races in a cross-country Democratic wave.

High court to look at life in prison for juveniles
WASHINGTON (AP) - Joe Sullivan was sent away for life for raping an elderly woman and judged incorrigible though he was only 13 at the time of the attack. Terrance Graham, implicated in armed robberies when he was 16 and 17, was given a life sentence by a judge who told the teenager he threw his life away.

Hopper: All's 'good right now' despite cancer
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) - Prostate cancer couldn't keep Dennis Hopper away from the Breeders' Cup on Saturday. The 73-year-old actor and artist attended the Breeders' Cup in support of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, the official charity of the year-ending thoroughbred championships Saturday at Santa Anita Park in Southern California.

Collaros, No. 4 Cincy stay perfect with 47-45 win
CINCINNATI (AP) - Zach Collaros kept No. 4 Cincinnati unbeaten with the second-best passing performance in school history, one that will make it tough to send him back to the bench. The Bearcats' near-perfect replacement threw for 480 yards and a touchdown Saturday night, ran for two more scores and led a clinching touchdown drive in the closing minutes of a wild 47-45 victory over Connecticut that let Cincinnati match the best start in its history.

Zenyatta, a mare, wins Breeders' Cup Classic
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) - What a gal! Zenyatta overcame early trouble to beat the boys in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday, running her record to 14-0 in the most impressive effort of her career.