NATIONAL STORIES

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Independent health advisers begin monitoring safety of the swine flu vaccine on Monday, an extra step the government promised in this year's unprecedented program to watch for possible side effects.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A trio of better-than-expected economic reports are boosting hopes for the fledgling economic recovery.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The new Navy assault ship USS New York, built with World Trade Center steel, has arrived in its namesake city with a 21-gun salute near the site of the 2001 terrorist attack.

KABUL (AP) -- The chief officer on Afghanistan's election commission says Saturday's presidential runoff has been canceled.
MOUNT AIRY, N.C. (AP) -- Authorities say four men have been shot and killed at a northwestern North Carolina store and that they are looking for a suspect who may be armed with an assault rifle.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the U.S. banking system is "dramatically more stable" because of the government bailout.

FORT HOOD, Texas (NBC) -- The investigation is intensifying at Fort Hood, Texas, and so are the emotions at the nation's largest military post.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Police in Orlando say a gunman has been apprehended after killing one person and injuring five others at a downtown office building where he was let go two years ago.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Only about a third of adults who have tried to get a swine flu vaccine have been able to get it, according to a new national poll released Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says new figures showing national unemployment has hit the double-digit mark are regretful and says he's working hard to restore the struggling economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats acknowledged they don't yet have the votes to pass a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system, and signaled they may push back the vote until Sunday or early next week.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wal-Mart is upping the ante heading into the holiday season, trimming the online preorder prices of some upcoming DVDs following last month's price cut on books.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- The top commander at Fort Hood is crediting a civilian police officer for stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at the Texas post.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- The city of Boulder plans to discuss whether to implement a four-month freeze on applications for marijuana dispensaries.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the United States.

NEW YORK (NBC) -- There's fresh anger over the shortage of H1N1 vaccines after reports several Wall Street firms have already received doses, ahead of many hospitals.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NBC) -- California's corrections secretary apologized Wednesday for mistakes made in Phillip Garrido's parole supervision, while the state police union deflected blame.

MIAMI (AP) -- Ida has reached hurricane force as it nears Nicaragua's mainland.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's retailers are reporting mixed sales results for October.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Three workers at a major North Carolina hospital are gone after failing to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- State health officials said nine Indiana residents died last week from swine flu, a surge that's nearly doubled the state's swine flu fatalities to 19 since June.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Attorneys for John Allen Muhammad have released a May 2008 letter in which the mastermind of the 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area proclaims his innocence.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The City of Vancouver has handed over the athlete's village to Olympic officials with 100 days to go before the games begin.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the recession apparently over, the Federal Reserve held a key interest rate at a record low and again pledged to keep it there for an "extended period" to foster the fragile economic recovery.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Authorities say more remains have been discovered at the Cleveland home of a convicted rapist, raising to at least 10 the number of bodies that have been found there.

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Co. says its October sales rose 4.7 percent over the same month last year, a sign that the U.S. auto market was starting a slow recovery from its yearlong slump.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's Election Day 2009. Two states are electing governors in what could be seen as a very early test of President Barack Obama's political influence.