National & World Politics

Invoking the memory of Edward M. Kennedy, Democrats united Saturday night to push historic health care legislation past a key Senate hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama. There was not a vote to spare.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., left, accompanied by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., right, lifts copy of the Democratic health care reform bill, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. - AP Photo - Manuel Balce Ceneta

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., left, accompanied by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., right, lifts copy of the Democratic health care reform bill, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. - AP Photo - Manuel Balce Ceneta

The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee.

FILE - In this March 1, 2003 file picture, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan. The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee. - AP Photo - File

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2009 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee. - AP Photo - Alex Brandon, File

The 60-39 roll call Saturday by which the Senate voted to advance a measure overhauling health care to a full debate.

The Senate voted 60-39 Saturday to clear the way for consideration of historic legislation to overhaul the nation's health-care system, but reluctant Democratic moderates sent strong signals that the bill has an uncertain future.

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.

President Barack Obama exits Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. - AP Photo - Cliff Owen

US President Barack Obama, center, walks to Air Force One with Gen. Walter Sharp, right, and US Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens , left, during his departure from Osan Air Base in South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. - AP Photo - Pablo Martinez Monsivais

President Barack Obama and his family spent a low-key night out at the home of a senior White House adviser after a whirlwind week spent on a presidential trip to Asia.

WASHINGTON - The government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between the alleged Fort Hood gunman and a radical Muslim cleric, and a key senator says there could be more communications that might have tipped off law enforcement or military officials.

file - This Oct. 2008 file photo by Muhammad ud-Deen shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. The imam, who communicated with the Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, said he did not pressure Hasan to harm Americans, The Washington Post reported Monday, Nov 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File) MANDATORY CREDIT NO SALES - AP -

(EDITORS: Update expected after final Senate vote this evening.)

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.

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., right, accompanied by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., gestures during a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. - AP Photo - Manuel Balce Ceneta

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., center, accompanied by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., right, and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., speaks during a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. - AP Photo - Manuel Balce Ceneta

The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents Friday.

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2009, file photo Blackwater Worldwide security guard Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., right, and his attorney Thomas Connolly leave federal court in Washington after pleading not guilty to manslaughter charges. In court documents Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, prosecutors said they have asked that the case against Slatten, one of the Blackwater Worldwide contractors charged in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, be dropped. - AP Photo - Jose Luis Magana, File

WASHINGTON - The government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between the alleged Fort Hood gunman and a radical Muslim cleric, and a key senator says there could be more communications that might have tipped off law enforcement or military officials.

A U.S. Army honor guard carrie the body of Pvt. Francheska Velez at the Mt. Olive Cemetery Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 in Chicago. Velez, 21, Velez, who was pregnant, was among 13 people killed when a fellow soldier allegedly opened fire at Fort Hood earlier this month. - AP Photo - Charles Rex Arbogast

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, gestures during a news conference at the Pentagon, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, to discuss the Fort Hood shootings. - AP Photo - Kevin Wolf

Military prosecutors said Friday they plan to seek new charges against the alleged mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

A retired State Department employee will spend life in prison without parole after he and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to serving as covert agents for Cuba for three decades.

The Federal Aviation Administration is blaming an equipment outage this week for delaying 819 flights.

A retired State Department employee and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to charges that they have been spying for Cuba for decades.

A retired State Department worker and his wife accused of a decades-long plot to spy for Cuba pleaded guilty Friday in a deal that will leave him behind bars for the rest of his life but gives her a chance at freedom in six years.

The Senate is poised to approve on Saturday the start of a historic debate over health care legislation aimed at making coverage easier, less expensive to obtain and harder to lose.

The Senate ethics committee on Friday admonished Democratic Sen. Roland Burris for misleading investigators about his maneuvering to get Barack Obama's old Senate seat from the governor who was ousted for trying to sell it.

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2009 file photo Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill. is seen during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, the Senate ethics committee admonished Burris for making "inconsistent, misleading or incomplete" statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the seat once held by Barack Obama. The committee didn't recommend any punishment. - AP Photo - Alex Brandon, File

Suitably opaque, Section 2006 takes up only a few dozen lines in a sweeping health care bill that runs to 2,074 pages and mentions neither Sen. Mary Landrieu nor her state of Louisiana.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., with Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, left, and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., leaves a news conference on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 in Washington. - AP Photo - Manuel Balce Ceneta

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks, on health care reform as vice president Joe Biden is seen on the television behind him, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. - AP Photo - Alex Brandon

The Army says there will be an outside review of how body armor for its soldiers is tested.