House Dems unveil health bill, cheered on by Obama
WASHINGTON (AP) - Cheered by President Barack Obama, House Democrats rolled out landmark legislation Thursday to extend health care to tens of millions who lack coverage, impose sweeping new restrictions on the insurance industry and create a government-run option to compete with private insurers. But even as party leaders pointed toward a vote next week, there were fresh questions that went to the heart of their ambitious drive to remake the nation's health care system.
Ethics panel starts probes of 2 Dems; gets hacked
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House ethics committee announced Thursday it is investigating two California Democratic lawmakers, but its embarrassed leaders then had to explain that other members - named in a confidential memo that a hacker posted online - may have committed no wrongdoing. The committee said it is investigating whether Rep. Maxine Waters used her influence to help a bank in which her husband owned stock, and whether the couple benefited as a result. Separately, the panel is investigating whether Rep. Laura Richardson failed to disclose required information on her financial disclosure forms and received special treatment from a lender.
Clinton scolds Pakistan over inaction on al-Qaida
ISLAMABAD (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton chided Pakistani officials Thursday for failing to press the hunt for al-Qaida inside their borders, suggesting they know where the terror leaders are hiding. American officials have long said that al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden and senior lieutenants of the network accused in the Sept. 11 attacks operate out of the rugged terrain along the border with Afghanistan.
Police seek shooter who wounded 2 at LA synagogue
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A gunman escaped after wounding two men in the parking garage of a Los Angeles synagogue Thursday, frightening worshippers who heard gunshots and screams before the bleeding victims stumbled in during morning services. Police briefly held a teenager who matched a vague description of the attacker. But they released the 17-year-old a short time later and continued their hunt for the assailant.
Teixeira, Matsui and Burnett help Yanks tie Series
NEW YORK (AP) - Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui shook the New York Yankees from their lumber slumber and sent the World Series to Philadelphia all tied up. Teixeira and Matsui hit solo homers off familiar foe Pedro Martinez, backing a sharp performance by A.J. Burnett and giving the Yankees a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 on Thursday night.
STIMULUS WATCH: Stimulus jobs overstated in report
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is promising that new figures being released Friday will be a more accurate showing of progress in President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan. It aggressively defended an earlier, faulty count that overstated by thousands the jobs created or saved so far. Ed DeSeve, serving as Obama's stimulus overseer, said the administration has been working for weeks to correct mistakes in early counts that identified more than 30,000 jobs paid for with stimulus money. He said a new stimulus report Friday should correct many mistakes an Associated Press review found that showed the earlier report overstated thousands of stimulus jobs.
It's alive! End-of-life counseling in health bill
WASHINGTON (AP) - It's alive. The Medicare end-of-life planning provision that 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said was tantamount to "death panels" for seniors is staying in the latest Democratic health care bill unveiled Thursday. The provision allows Medicare to pay for voluntary counseling to help beneficiaries deal with the complex and painful decisions families face when a loved one is approaching death.
Getting enough sleep? They aren't in West Virginia
ATLANTA (AP) - Sleepless in Seattle? Hardly. West Virginia is where people are really staying awake, according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness. West Virginians' lack of sleep was about double the national rate, perhaps a side effect of health problems such as obesity, experts said. Nearly 1 in 5 West Virginians said they did not get a single good night's sleep in the previous month. The national average was about 1 in 10, according to a federal health survey conducted last year and released Thursday.
Big snowstorm wallops Colorado, Wyoming
DENVER (AP) - An early blast of winter walloped some western states with deep snow and slowly pushed into Nebraska and Kansas Thursday, bringing blizzard conditions to the eastern plains and causing treacherous roads, closed schools and hundreds of canceled flights. The fall storm spread 3 feet of snow and left much higher drifts across parts of northern Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, before its leading edge hit neighboring states just to the east.
Manager: Dennis Hopper has prostate cancer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dennis Hopper has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is canceling all travel plans to focus on treatment, his manager said Thursday. The 73-year-old actor and artist is being treated through a "special program" at the University of Southern California, said Sam Maydew.
