WASHINGTON (AP) - In a show of unity, Senate Democrats sealed a 60-vote majority needed to advance health care legislation Saturday ahead of an evening showdown with Republicans eager to doom the bill and inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama. Two final holdouts, Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, announced in speeches a few hours apart on the Senate floor they would vote to clear the way for what is expected to be a bruising, full-scale health care debate after Thanksgiving.
GENEVA (AP) - Scientists are preparing the world's largest atom smasher to explore the depths of matter after successfully restarting the $10 billion machine following more than a year of repairs. When the machine is fully operational, its magnets will control the beams of protons and send them in opposite directions through two parallel tubes the size of fire hoses.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - After offering a home in his church to disaffected Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI assured the archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that he is still committed to seeking closer relations between Catholics and Anglicans. Archbishop Rowan Williams said he came away convinced there was no "dawn raid" on his church by Rome, telling Vatican Radio he wishes "every blessing" for those who want to become Catholics.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's eight-day trip to Asia produced no tangible wins for the United States, though he is citing talks with Asian allies that he says could help create thousands of job and open new markets for American goods in the future. Citing progress on a trip that took him from Tokyo to Seoul, Obama noted that "Asia is a region where we now buy more goods and do more trade with than any other place in the world - commerce that supports millions of jobs back home."
WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year from 2008, according to a report from the AAA auto club. The group, which surveyed 1,350 households, said there will be about 33.2 million people traveling by car this year - a 2.1 percent increase from last year.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday. Expectant father Randolph Bresnik and Michael Foreman were so far ahead despite their late start and interrupted sleep the night before - false fire and decompression alarms jolted them awake - that their commander handed them extra work.
Hackers leak e-mails, stoke climate debate LONDON (AP) - Computer hackers have broken into a server at a well-respected climate change research center in Britain and posted hundreds of private e-mails and documents online - stoking debate over whether some scientists have overstated the case for man-made climate change. The University of East Anglia, in eastern England, said in a statement Saturday that the hackers had entered the server and stolen data at its Climatic Research Unit, a leading global research center on climate change. The university said police are investigating the theft of the information, but could not confirm if all the materials posted online are genuine.
Every afternoon, seven days a week, Ed Epley has a 5 p.m. appointment with the war. He pulls a protest sign from his maroon 1961 Volkswagen van - he has 30 to 40 stashed inside - and joins a one-hour peace vigil at the Benton County courthouse in Corvallis, Ore. Epley has been doing this, day in and day out, since the U.S. launched its first air strikes on Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001.
NEW YORK (AP) - A collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the rhinestone-studded glove he wore when he unveiled the moonwalk in 1983, is being sold at auction. The glove and other Jackson items are part of a music memorabilia auction being held by Julien's Auctions at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square on Saturday.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Tate Forcier threw four interceptions and fumbled in his end zone, and No. 9 Ohio State took advantage to beat Michigan 21-10 Saturday for its sixth straight win in the series. The Buckeyes (10-2, 7-1) clinched an outright Big Ten championship and will play in the Rose Bowl with a five-game winning streak.
