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Democrats are working to line up votes for a roll call scheduled for 8 p.m.tonight. The vote will determine whether debate can go forward on the 2,074-page bill to dramatically remake the U.S. health care system. Full story »

Astronaut Randolph Bresnik embarked on the first spacewalk of his career, while back on Earth his wife, Rebecca, was on the verge of giving birth to their second child. Full story »

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.  Full story »

A crucial first vote on President Barack Obama's ambitious health care overhaul in the Senate looms as a test of Democratic unity and the president's own prestige.  Full story »

Police said the driver was a 67-year-old woman who was picking up a student at Forest Hills Middle School. Her identity has not been released by police, who questioned her and planned a routine drug and alcohol test.  Full story »

The sounds of bomb blasts and machine-gun fire penetrated the thin walls of trailers at Camp Lejeune where Marines were being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to some of those being treated and their psychiatrist. Full story »

Court documents filed Friday say that federal prosecutors want to drop charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused in a 2007 shooting that killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad. Full story »

Prosecutors say Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and his wife, Gwendolyn, worked for 30 years as clandestine agents for Cuba, passing along classified defense information that Walter Myers obtained on the job. The Myerses agreed to forfeit a 37-foot sailing yacht, a vehicle and their bank accounts to pay for a $1.7 million judgment.  Full story »

Sen. Roland Burris, Democrat of Illinois, has been admonished by the Senate ethics committee for his public comments about his controversial appointment to the seat previously held by President Barack Obama. Full story »

With roughly a quarter of the stimulus money out the door after nine months, the accumulation of hard data and real-life experience has allowed more-dispassionate analysts to reach a consensus that the stimulus package, messy as it is, is working.  Full story »

Flu activity is coming down in all regions of the country, but health officials are reluctant to say the disease has peaked. Full story »

Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a Democrat who hopes to become Ohio's next U.S. senator, asked supporters to urge Sen. George Voinovich to stick around Washington for this weekend's health-care vote. But Voinovich, a Republican, is gone, noting that his vote would be no anyway and the only thing that counts this weekend is whether Democrats can muster the 60 nods they need. Full story »

A wavering centrist Democrat said Friday he'd stand with Senate Democratic leaders on a crucial weekend test vote on their sweeping health care bill amid indications other moderates would fall in line. Full story »

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday it shows courage for readers to carry her book in public, as she returned as a best-selling author to the southwest Ohio region where she made her debut as a national candidate. Full story »

Congressional Democrats who hoped to pass climate-change legislation this year face a harder task as the clock on 2009 winds down. They'll try again next year, but any action poses a potential midterm election problem for anyone whose vote can be characterized as supporting higher electricity costs. Full story »