NATIONAL NEWS
Fort 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 pregnant woman who was preparing to return home, 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....
After immigrant killed in NY, others tell of abuse
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (AP) -- The high school buddies who trolled the streets looking for Hispanics to attack called it "beaner hopping."...
Fort Hood, community mourn shooting victims
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A chaplain exhorted hundreds of mourners gathered at a candlelight vigil to not give up hope as Fort Hood and its surrounding community looked to each other for comfort after an Army psychiatrist allegedly went on a deadly shooting spree at the military base....
NY town marks year since immigrant fatally stabbed
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (AP) -- The family of an Ecuadorean man slain on a Long Island street will be among those participating in a candlelight vigil and memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the killing....
Police: Fla. shooting suspect was angry at company
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Employees at an engineering firm recognized their former co-worker when he drew a handgun from under his shirt, police said, and shot his first victim dead in the reception area. He then walked into the office and unloaded several more rounds, wounding five other employees at the company that fired him two years ago....
Computers, records seized at ACORN offices in La.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- 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....
Stepfather convicted in death of 'Baby Grace'
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- Two years after the remains of a toddler who came to be known as "Baby Grace" were dumped in Galveston Bay, the child's stepfather was convicted of capital murder in her beating death....
Court upholds removal of man after Nazi salute
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that Santa Cruz City Council members did not violate a man's rights when they ordered him removed from a council meeting after he made a one-armed Nazi salute....
Sea lions killed, but Columbia salmon toll rises
Killing or removing 25 California sea lions over the past two years has not reduced the toll on salmon at the base of Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River....
Pa. governor: Philly transit strike could end soon
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A tentative contract agreement has been reached that could end the public transit strike that has idled Philadelphia's subways, buses and trolleys for four days, Gov. Ed Rendell said late Friday....
UN urges Karzai to fight corruption
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council joined calls Friday on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to fight corruption, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling the country's political situation "delicate" following deeply flawed elections....
But for heroes, bloodbath could have been worse
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- Pfc. Marquest Smith, on his way to Afghanistan in January, was completing routine paperwork about a bee-sting allergy when the sounds erupted....
WORLD NEWS
British Treasury chief urges climate agreement
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- British Treasury chief Alistair Darling has urged the world's top finance officials to reach an agreement on bearing the cost of fighting climate change before a UN summit on global warming next month....
Unique homecoming to Vietnam for US commander
DANANG, Vietnam (AP) -- On the day his side lost the Vietnam War, Hung Ba Le fled his homeland at the age of 5 in a fishing trawler crammed with 400 refugees. Thirty-four years later, he made an unlikely homecoming - as the commander of a U.S. Navy destroyer....
US official: Troop increase under new Afghan plan
BRUSSELS (AP) -- A top Pentagon official says President Obama's new plan for Afghanistan will certainly involve an increase in the number of international troops....
Afghan gov't says UN representative out of line
KABUL (AP) -- Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the top U.N. official in the country overstepped his authority by giving instructions on how to rid the government of corruption and warlords....
Pakistan's fashionistas defy Taliban
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Some women strode the catwalk in vicious spiked bracelets and body armor. Others had their heads covered, burqa-style, but with her shoulders - and tattoos - exposed. Male models wore long, Islamic robes as well as shorts and sequined T-shirts....
Pakistan: 11 militants killed in strongholds
PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani soldiers killed at least 11 militants during overnight gunbattles in three Taliban strongholds, intelligence officials said Saturday....
Venezuelans struggling with water shortages
FILAS DE MARICHES, Venezuela (AP) -- While a drought has put Caracas under widespread water rationing for the first time in years, for Venezuelans in this hillside slum it's just more of the same....
China offers Africa more trade, investment
BEIJING (AP) -- China is offering to abolish import duties on some commodities from Africa and make sure Chinese exports to the continent are safe as part of a package to boost already thriving economic ties, China's commerce minister said in an article published Saturday....
Tens of thousands of homes flooded in Mexico
VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (AP) -- A week of torrential rain has flooded the homes of more than 200,000 people along Mexico's Gulf coast, officials said Friday. Residents in some towns complained that no help had arrived....
Thaksin on a mission to humiliate Thai government
BANGKOK (AP) -- Thailand's fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has spent much of the past three years roaming the globe, shopping for diamonds in Africa, golfing at Asian resorts - and humiliating the government from a distance....
UN urges Karzai to fight corruption
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council joined calls Friday on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to fight corruption, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling the country's political situation "delicate" following deeply flawed elections....
Abbas' move reflects deep Palestinian despair
JERUSALEM (AP) -- 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....
