U.S. National News

HARTFORD, Conn. - A memorial to honor a Sept. 11 victim from a small northwestern Connecticut town has been halted by the unexpected conflict arising from his father's insistence it say his son was murdered by "Muslim terrorists."

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.

WASHINGTON - Democrats maneuvered a massive overhaul of the nation's health care system toward a make-or-break vote in the House on Saturday, getting a last-minute appeal from President Barack Obama to pass his top domestic priority.

McLEAN, Va. - It galled her to do it, but Sarah Dillon was desperate for answers, so she wrote letters to convicted snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo: If you murdered my son, please confess, she wrote.

PHILADELPHIA - A national spokesman for the Philadelphia transit system's largest union says reports of a tentative agreement were "premature" and the negotiations aimed at ending a five-day strike continue.

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. - With the word's "let's roll," U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and relatives of United Flight 93 victims have turned shovels of dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony for a permanent national memorial at the western Pennsylvania crash site.

NEW YORK - Students and university officials started getting e-mails last year in which a prominent Judaic studies scholar seemed to make a startling confession: He had committed plagiarism.

LAS VEGAS - 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.

TEMPLE, Texas - Texas governor Rick Perry has visited with wounded victims from the Fort Hood shooting.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Suspected swine flu is sweeping a traditional Eskimo whaling village on a remote Alaska island — prompting an urgent medical mission to deliver help.

MIAMI - Tropical storm warnings were issued Saturday for parts of Mexico and Cuba as Ida rapidly gained strength over Caribbean waters, and the storm could start affecting the U.S. Gulf Coast by Tuesday.

As word spread that a gunman had opened fire at Fort Hood leaving a trail of carnage, a chilling realization swept across the U.S. Muslim community: He has an Islamic name.

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - The high school buddies who trolled the streets looking for Hispanics to attack called it "beaner hopping."

BALTIMORE - The accusations that Mayor Sheila Dixon used holiday gift cards for the needy during personal shopping sprees may sound like a minor embarrassment at worst, a small-time case of a politician enjoying the perks of power.

MIAMI - Ida has become a tropical storm again, with top winds of 45 mph (72 kph), as it swirls in the Caribbean on a track that could bring it to the U.S. Gulf Coast next week.