House health care overhaul faces Senate stone wall
WASHINGTON (AP) — The glow from a health care triumph faded quickly for President Barack Obama on Sunday as Democrats realized the bill they fought so hard to pass in the House has nowhere to go in the Senate. Speaking from the Rose Garden about 14 hours after the late Saturday vote, Obama urged senators to be like runners on a relay team and "take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people."
Obama calls new election law a milestone for Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama hailed the Iraqi parliament's passage Sunday of a much-delayed election law, declaring it a milestone as the Iraqi people take charge of their future. In a Rose Garden statement, Obama said the development would facilitate national elections in January, as required by the constitution, and ease fears of a delay in withdrawing American combat forces by September.
GOP officials say Dems put agenda ahead of country
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats just don't get the election message from voters and are pushing a liberal, big government agenda at their party's peril, Republican officials said Sunday as they predicted a political price after the majority's victory on health care. Voters are "tired of the borrowing, the spending, the bailouts, the takeovers," said Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 House GOP leader, pointing to GOP victories in gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey last week.
Senator: Senate will investigate Army shootings
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee says he plans to begin a congressional investigation of the shootings at Fort Hood. An Army major, Nidal Malik Hasan (nih-DAHL' mah-LEEK' hah-SAHN'), is suspected of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others at the Army post in Texas.
Clinton: Berlin Wall festivities not just a party
BERLIN (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Europeans and Americans on Sunday to see the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall as a call to action against new global threats. On the eve of celebrations marking 20 years since the collapse of the wall that divided East and West Berlin, Clinton said the hard work that went into ending the Cold War must be channeled to meet fresh challenges, including the fights against extremism and climate change.
Obama confronts an Asia reshaped by China's rise
BEIJING (AP) — Days after coming to power in September, Japan's new prime minister broached forming a new East Asian trading bloc with rival China — one that would exclude the United States. Some in Washington took it as a snub from the nation that has been America's rock in Asia for decades. Even more, Tokyo's new rhetoric underscored how China's rapid rise to power is challenging Washington's once-dominant sway in the region.
Casey says war in Afghanistan needs more US troops
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army's chief of staff says he believes more troops are needed in Afghanistan. But Gen. George Casey isn't saying exactly how many more should be sent into the war. Casey says more troops would help cut into the Taliban's successes while U.S. forces continue training Afghan security forces.
Casey: Shootings leading to a hard look at Army
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army's chief of staff says the Army is taking a hard look at itself to make certain that something like the Fort Hood rampage doesn't happen again. The shootings left 13 dead and 29 wounded. The alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan (nih-DAHL' mah-LEEK' hah-SAHN'), was wounded by civilian police.
Alleged shooter tied to mosque of 9/11 hijackers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The family of the alleged Fort Hood shooter held his mother's funeral at the same Virginia mosque that two Sept. 11 hijackers attended in 2001, at a time when a radical imam preached there. Whether the Fort Hood shooter associated with the hijackers is something the FBI will probably look into, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Obama will meet Netanyahu at White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Sunday that President Barack Obama would be meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister's trip to Washington to address Jewish groups, ending days of uncertainty. Netanyahu was to arrive in the U.S. capital Sunday night for a speaking engagement at the three-day 2009 General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America. He will meet with Obama on Monday evening.
