AP - Invoking the name of the late Edward M. Kennedy, Senate Democrats sealed a 60-vote majority needed to advance health care legislation Saturday ahead of an evening showdown with opposition Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.

AP - 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 - 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.

AP - 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.

Politico - Nancy Pelosi did it. Can Harry Reid?

AP - Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer Pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care — and to try to chip away support by women for President Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul.

AP - 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.

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.

AP - Sen. John McCain says he has no doubt that "political correctness" played a role in preventing concerns about the alleged Fort Hood gunman from reaching the right people.

AP - Iran will begin large-scale air defense war games Sunday aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack, a senior military commander said Saturday, reflecting the country's concern that Israel could make good on threats to strike militarily.

AP - Democrats seal 60-vote majority to advance health care bill; Landrieu, Lincoln to vote 'yes'

AFP - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care was on track to clear a key Senate hurdle Saturday, as the last wavering Democrats agreed to vote to formally open debate on the bill.

CQPolitics.com - Andrew Jackson would assuredly be pleased at the rising congressional distrust of the Federal Reserve. The populist president, who won re-election in 1832 on a platform of abolishing the Second Bank of the United States, was an early hater of power concentrated in huge financial institutions.

Politico - Sen. Blanche Lincoln is a yes for debating health reform, but a no for the public option, and she and fellow centrists are making clear they expect Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to scrap his current plan for a government-run insurance program.

Reuters - Iraq's parliament suspended efforts on Saturday to reach a deal on a law which is crucial for an election to take place in January and could affect the U.S. military' s plans for a partial withdrawal next year.

Reuters - President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans to show patience over the economy and argued that his just-concluded Asia trip was critical for U.S. exports, countering criticism he had returned empty-handed.

AFP - Supporters of Taiwan in the US Congress pushed for President Barack Obama to move toward selling arms to the island, a step that would likely set back warming US ties with China.

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

Reuters - President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped below 50 percent in a second major poll in an indication he is suffering from the long healthcare debate and weakness in the economy, Gallup said on Friday.

AP - 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.