AP Top News at 2:29 p.m. EST

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Published: November 7, 2009
Modified: November 8, 2009 at 2:01 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama summoned Democrats to "answer the call of history" Saturday as the House pushed toward a vote on a landmark health care bill holding out the promise of coverage for tens of millions who lack it. After months of struggle capped by a final wrenching compromise over abortion, Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted, "we will pass health care reform," and likened the events to the creation of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later.

Suspect told 'There's something wrong with you'

Officer describes firefight that downed Hasan

KILLEEN, Texas (AP) — One of two police officers who confronted the alleged Fort Hood killer says he shot Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan before kicking the man's weapon away, handcuffing him and ending the nation's worst killing spree on a military base. Sgt. Mark Todd joined Sgt. Kimberly Munley, hailed as a hero for her actions, in a firefight with Hasan that lasted less than a minute. Todd was not wounded, but the exchange left Munley injured and Hasan critically wounded.

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.

Alleged Ohio serial killer rare among mass killers

Navy ship built with WTC steel goes into service

NEW YORK (AP) — The USS New York, built with steel from the rubble of the World Trade Center, was put into service Saturday both as a symbol of healing and strength. "No matter how many times you attack us, we always come back," Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said at the amphibious assault ship's commissioning. "America always comes back. That's what this ship represents."

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.

Jobless: 10 percent is tougher than it used to be

Police: LA celebrity burglaries led by 19-year-old

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 19-year-old woman was the driving force behind a youthful burglary ring that preyed on Hollywood's rich and famous, often brazenly walking into unlocked homes to make off with cash, jewels and family heirlooms, authorities said. A suspect turned informant, Nicholas Prugo, told Los Angeles police detectives that Rachel Jungeon Lee spearheaded the break-ins, motivated by a desire to own the designer clothes and jewelry of such celebrities as Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, according to a Las Vegas police search warrant obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No. 8 Iowa finally ran out of time. Dan Persa threw a touchdown pass and Marshall Thomas recovered a fumble for another score, and Northwestern snapped the Hawkeyes' 13-game winning streak with a 17-10 victory Saturday.