FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen says she doesn't know how many flights are being affected or when the problem will be resolved.

RDU spokeswoman says only a handful of flights at RDU have been affected and airline customers should call their airline to find out flight status updates.

An AirTran Airways spokesman says Thursday there's no danger to flights in the air, and flights are still taking off and landing.

However, spokesman Christopher White says flight plans are having to be inputted manually because of a malfunction with the automated system.

As a result, there are delays and cancellations.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport, has been particularly affected.

AirTran has canceled 22 flights and dozens more flights have been delayed as of 8 a.m. EST. Delta Air Lines also has suffered.

Initial maneuvering on the Senate floor was expected later in the week on the measure, bitterly opposed by Republicans eager to deny President Barack Obama a victory on his top domestic priority.

Officials have said the measure would require most Americans to carry health insurance and would mandate large companies to provide coverage to their workers, as well as ban insurance company practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.

As rank-and-file Democrats gathered to learn details of the measure, a senior Democratic leadership aide said the Congressional Budget Office had estimated it would spread coverage to 31 million Americans who currently lack it while still reducing federal deficits by a total of $127 billion over 10 years.

The aide also cited a CBO estimate that the bill would achieve cuts of $1 trillion over a decade in projected health care costs. The estimate of 94 percent coverage was less than the 96 percent estimated for legislation the House passed earlier this month, but no precise comparisons were possible without as-yet-unreleased CBO documentation.

The aide spoke on condition of anonymity, saying rank-and-file senators had not yet learned of the details.

Aides have said previously much of the bill would be financed by cuts in projected Medicare payments. Reid has also had under consideration higher payroll taxes for upper wage earners, but there was no word on whether he had decided to incorporate that provision into the measure he crafted.

At its core, the bill would set up new insurance marketplaces - called exchanges - primarily for those who now have a hard time getting or keeping coverage. Subsidies would be available to help defray the cost of coverage for people with lower incomes.

Reid announced two weeks ago it would also include an option for consumers to purchase government-sold insurance, with states permitted to drop out of the system.

Reid did not speak with reporters before stepping into the closed-door caucus, although he was expected at a news conference later in the evening.

In a sign of the challenge confronting him, the Nevada Democrat met earlier in the day with Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, moderates within his party who have expressed reservations about the bill.

"He is walking through the particulars with them," said Reid's spokesman, Jim Manley. "We need 60 votes to get this bill to the floor."

Nelson later issued a statement strongly suggesting he would vote with fellow Democrats on an initial showdown expected within days. Landrieu said, "I'm not going to be for anything that doesn't drive down costs over time."

Lincoln, the only one of the three who faces re-election next year, told reporters, "We'll wait and see."

With the support of two independents, Democrats have 60 seats, the precise number needed to choke off any Republican delaying tactics. None of the 40 Republicans is expected to defect on the first test vote, expected by weekend.

Ahead lie weeks - if not more - of unpredictable maneuvering on the Senate floor, where Reid and his allies will seek to incorporate changes sought by Democrats and repel attempts by Republicans to defeat the legislation and inflict a significant political defeat on the president.

Reid was releasing his legislation more than a week after the House approved its version of the health care bill on a near party-line vote of 220-215.

According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, that House bill, with a price tag of about $1.2 trillion, would result in coverage for tens of millions of uninsured, and provide 96 percent of the eligible population with insurance.

Two Senate committees approved different versions of a health care bill earlier in the year, and while Reid has said he would produce a blend of the two proposals, in fact he had a virtual free hand to come up with a plan that could command the 60 votes needed to pass.

Anticipating a major struggle, the White House deputized Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to join Vice President Joe Biden in trying to clear the way for the bill's approval over the next several weeks.

Salazar, a former Colorado senator, is viewed as a bridge to moderate Democrats who are far outnumbered by liberals inside the Democratic caucus.

Daschle was Obama's first choice for secretary of health and human services, a position from which he was to try and oversee the administration's drive to enact health care legislation. He withdrew his nomination when it was disclosed he had not paid more than $120,000 in federal taxes over several years.

___

Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Erica Werner contributed to this report.

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U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey told a news conference Thursday at the Texas base that additional charges may also be filed against Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

Hasan is suspected of killing 12 soldiers and one civilian in last Thursday's shooting spree at Fort Hood. He was shot and wounded by two police officers at the base, and remains in recovery at an Army hospital in San Antonio. His attorney says he was read the charges at the hospital.

Richard Heene will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, his attorney David Lane said. Mayumi Heene - a Japanese citizen who could have been deported if convicted of more serious charges - will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor, he said.

Prosecutors have agreed to allow both to serve probation sentences, Lane said. The Oct. 15 event raised questions about whether the couple were fit parents, and social workers were contacted. Lane didn't address whether the pleas would include monitoring of the couple, and prosecutors did not immediately return a phone message Thursday morning. Mayumi Heene's attorney, Lee Christian, also did not return a call.

The most serious of the charges recommended by Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden would have carried a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

Keeping the family together was a main factor in reaching the deal, Lane said.

"Upon reviewing the evidence, arguably, Mayumi could have possibly ended up being deported and Richard could have proceeded to trial and had a good chance at an acquittal," Lane said.
"This, however, would have put the family at grave risk of seeing a loving, caring, compassionate wife and mother ripped from the family and deported. That was not an acceptable risk, thus these pleas."

Richard and Mayumi Heene's frantic calls to authorities, saying they feared their son Falcon might be aboard a homemade balloon that had escaped from their suburban Fort Collins back yard, triggered a frenzied response before the balloon landed in a dusty farm field without the boy inside. The Heenes said they found Falcon at home - hiding, they said.

Relief soon turned to suspicion. During a live interview on CNN hours after the balloon chase, Falcon looked to his father and said, "You had said that we did this for a show."

The Heenes had twice appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," and former business partners said Richard Heene wanted a show of his own called "The Science Detectives" or "The Psyience Detectives."

On Oct. 17, deputies questioned both parents separately. Richard Heene, 48, adamantly denied the saga was a publicity stunt. But Mayumi Heene, 45, admitted the incident was a hoax, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Lane said Mayumi Heene's statements likely couldn't have been used against her husband because of marital privilege, which can keep a person's spouse from testifying against him or her.

"Unfortunately, the prosecutors insisted upon a package deal where Richard would have to fall on his sword and take a felony plea despite the fact that he made no incriminating statements to law enforcement and Mayumi's statements could not be used against him," Lane said in a statement.

In a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama spoke directly to veterans and families of the fallen, saying there's no tribute or praise that can match "the magnitude of your service and your sacrifice."

Obama pledged to do right by all veterans and their families, saying: "America will not let you down."

After his comments, the president and first lady Michelle Obama visited the section of the cemetery where fallen troops from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried. The Obamas surprised family members there and spent some time talking to them.

Earlier, Obama placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Obama's first Veterans Day as president comes as he nears a decision on a revamped war strategy in Afghanistan. It's expected to include sending thousands more troops into the war zone.

The U.S. Marshal's Service said Tuesday that 55-year-old Bobby Rea Irwin was arrested Monday night at his home. A warrant for Irwin's arrest was issued in 1992 in Maricopa County in Arizona, alleging he had violated probation.

The Marshal's Service said Irwin was on probation for a 1989 conviction for manslaughter.

Authorities say Irwin changed his name, married and worked in the computer industry. Irwin was arrested after authorities in Phoenix passed on information about his new identity.

He's being held at the Wake County Jail pending extradition hearings. Neither the jail nor the Marshal's Service had information on whether Irwin had an attorney.

"No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor," Obama told the crowd on a steamy Texas afternoon. "And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice - in this world and the next."

He did not name Maj. Nidal Hasan, the military psychiatrist accused of the killings.

As for the victims and the soldiers who rushed to help them, Obama said, "We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes." He spoke at a memorial service before a crowd estimated at 15,000 on this enormous Army post.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama began an afternoon of consolation by meeting privately with family members of those killed last week and with those wounded in the attack and their families. Obama used his public remarks to put a human face on those who perished, victims ranging in age from 19 to 62. He also used his platform to speak indirectly to questions about whether the alleged shooter had ties to extremist Islamic ideology.

Thousands upon thousands of people, many of them soldiers dressed in camouflage, gathered to pay their respects and hear the president. The shooting killed 12 soldiers and 1 civilian, injured 29 others and left a nation stunned and searching for answers.

Below the stage where Obama spoke was a somber tribute to the fallen - 13 pairs of combat boots, each with an inverted rifle topped with a helmet. A picture of each person rested below the boots. After the ceremony, Obama walked solemnly along the row of boots, placing a commander in chief's coin next to each victim's photo in tribute.

Then soldiers and loved ones traced the same path to remember those lost and give a final salute, one woman nearly collapsing with grief.

Even as Obama honored the dead, there was government finger-pointing over what had been known about Hasan and whether he should have been investigated further.

U.S. officials said a Pentagon worker on a terrorism task force had looked into Hasan's background months ago and had concluded he did not merit further investigation. Two officials said the group had been notified of communications between Hasan and a radical Islamic imam overseas and the information had been turned over to a Defense Criminal Investigative Service employee assigned to the task force. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

The revelation provided fresh evidence the military had been keeping an eye on the Army psychiatrist before the shooting rampage.

One soldier who attended the memorial said the mood at Fort Hood was turning from sadness to anger as soldiers learned more about Hasan's background.

"A lot of folks are angry because they feel this could have been prevented," said Spc. Brian Hill, a 25-year-old soldier from Nashville, Tennessee, who was injured in Iraq and walks with a cane. "Somebody should have been paying attention."

Obama remembered the slain not as shooting victims but as husbands and fathers, immigrants and scholars, optimists and veterans of the war in Iraq. He cited one woman who was pregnant when she was gunned down.

The president spoke to loved ones left behind, saying: "Here is what you must also know: Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation."

"Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - that is their legacy," he said.

He named and described each victim, including Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill, a physician's assistant back at work just weeks after having a heart attack; Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, who spoke little English when he arrived in the United States from Mexico but earned a Ph. D and helped combat units cope with the stress of deployment; Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, an Eagle Scout who signed up "to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service - defuse bombs."

Later, the president and first lady went to a military hospital to meet with those still recovering from wounds incurred during the attack.

The ceremony unfolded in a field at the headquarters of the massive post, cordoned off with walls of steel shipping containers. Many soldiers in the crowd listened intently to Obama's speech, standing stoically, some with heads bowed.

Sheila Wormuth, whose husband is stationed at Fort Hood, came with her 3-year-old daughter to show their support. While her husband wasn't at the shooting site, she said, "what happens to my husband's brothers and sisters happens to us."

It was Obama's moment to take on the job of consoler-in-chief, a role that can help to shape a presidency at a time of national tragedy.

The president has tried to strike a balanced tone: He has promised a full investigation of the Fort Hood shootings but has said little about it as investigators search for a motive. He said Tuesday it was "hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy."

It wasn't even two weeks ago that Obama stood in the dark of night at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, honoring the remains of 18 troops killed in Afghanistan. Now he led the mourning for 13 men and women who were working in the one place, as Obama put it, that "our soldiers ought to feel most safe."

When Obama returns to Washington, the cost of war will still be with him.

His agenda Wednesday: another war council meeting on Afghanistan, and laying a Veterans Day wreath at Arlington National Cemetery.

___

Associated Press writers Angela K. Brown and Jeff Carlton at Fort Hood contributed to this report.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the recall includes nine models of Chinese-made single and double umbrella Maclaren strollers, which have been sold around the country since 1999.

The fingertip amputations occurred when children placed their fingers in the hinge mechanism of the recalled strollers.

The recall includes the following stroller models: Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

Prices for the strollers ranged from $100 to $360.

The company is offering free repair kits to fix the stroller problem. Details are available at http://www.cpsc.gov.

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that Philip Morris, Lorillard and R.J. Reynolds tobacco companies could stop making payments to those growers through a 1999 agreement. The agreement says the companies could reduce their payments when Congress agreed to a buyout for quota owners in 2004.

The justices ruled the states entered the agreement knowing the payments would end as a result of a quota buyout.

Maryland's Department of Agriculture says farmers in that state and in Pennsylvania would have received $22 million had a trial court ruling been upheld.

Jason Rodriguez, 40, surrendered to police about three hours later, after officers saw him through the window of his mother's home and asked him to come outside, Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said.

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She said investigators did not know why Rodriguez targeted the engineering firm where he once worked.

"This is a tragedy no doubt about it, especially on the heels of the tragedy in Fort Hood that is on our minds," she said. "I'm just glad we don't have any more fatalities or any more injuries than we currently have."

People streamed out of the 16-story Legion Place office building around lunchtime and some told local television stations they had barricaded themselves inside their offices while the gunman was on the loose.

Mike Bernof, a spokesman for Reynolds Smith & Hill, the transportation engineering consulting firm where Rodriguez was an engineer, told CNN Rodriguez was released in June 2007 for performance issues. He could not say what those issues were. The firm performs transportation engineering work for the Florida Department of Transportation.

Gerry Gilgo, who works on the floor where the shooting occurred, told The Associated Press she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for lunch.

"She yelled, 'There are gunshots! There are gunshots! Get back in your office,"' Gilgo said.

Will Halpern, an attorney on the building's 17th floor, was among the last group to be evacuated. He said the lobby was filled with about 20 officers in SWAT gear, carrying assault weapons, ready to search.

Interstate 4 was closed in both directions through downtown and nearby schools were locked down until the gunman was caught.

Rows of ambulances lined up outside the building as police snipers took up positions around the building and officers on foot and horseback searched the area.

Wanda Barbour told The Star-News of Wilmington that she knew Sgt. Kimberly Munley was involved when she heard a female officer at Fort Hood had shot and wounded Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

"When they said a female officer, a little part of me just knew," Barbour told the newspaper. "She is a very great person with a great spirit."

Officials say 34-year-old Munley, who was wounded, ended the crisis. She was recovering Friday in stable condition.

"We're just so grateful and thankful to the Lord that she's safe," Barbour said. "Our hearts just ache for the loss of others, too, and hers, too. She's still upset about that."

Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon. Cone said Munley shot the gunman several times despite being shot herself.

"She happened to encounter the gunman. In an exchange of gunfire, she was wounded but managed to wound him four times," Cone said. "It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer."

Munley is the daughter of Dennis Barbour, a former mayor of Carolina Beach. The coastal town is about 15 miles south of Wilmington.

Wrightsville Beach Police Chief John Carey said Munley, who worked for the force from 2000 to 2002 before moving away from the area, was a petite officer who worked well with others.

"She was a very personable officer. She got along good with everyone," he said. "She wasn't afraid of anything."

Carey said Munley joined the force in March 2000 as a reserve officer. She later became a permanent employee in fall of that year.

"She was a good shot," Carey said of Munley's shooting and training. "Her abilities and the training that she got here hopefully had a lot to do with preparing her for that situation."

Carey said several of his officers, who have kept in touch with Munley over the years, spoke with her earlier Friday. He said she's still recovering from her wounds, which include a shot to her thigh. But he said everyone on the force is proud.

"I think everybody here is," he said. "We're just thankful she was able to intervene."

Authorities said the 39-year-old Hasan went on a shooting spree Thursday that left 13 people dead at the Texas post. He was among 30 people wounded and remained hospitalized on a ventilator on Friday. All but two of the injured were still hospitalized, and all were in stable condition.

Wanda Barbour told the newspaper she and her husband are heading to Texas.

A message left by The Associated Press at the Barbour home was not immediately returned.

Dave Spencer, principal at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, N.C., said he knew Munley as a student athlete who was involved in several academic and community service-oriented clubs before graduating in 1993.

"She was just a very well-rounded student athlete," Spencer said of Munley's participation in volleyball and softball. "She's the type of kid that stands out, even 16, 17 years later."

Spencer said the school will briefly honor Munley during a football match against a rival team Friday night.

"Anyone is going to be surprised when they know someone who takes such a heroic step," he said. "But if you remember the kind of young person she was, you could easily understand it."

WECT: NC Native Credited With Stopping Ft. Hood Shooter 

Investigators examined Hasan's computer, his home and his garbage Friday to learn what motivated the suspect, who lay in a coma, shot four times in the frantic bloodletting. Hospital officials said some of the wounded had extremely serious injuries and might not survive.

The 39-year-old Army psychiatrist emerged as a study in contradictions: a polite man who stewed with discontent, a counselor who needed to be counseled himself, a professional healer now suspected of cutting down the fellow soldiers he was sworn to help.

Relatives said he felt harassed because of his Muslim faith but did not embrace extremism. Others were not so sure. A recent classmate said Hasan once gave a jarring presentation to students in which he argued the war on terrorism was a war against Islam, and "made himself a lightning rod for things" when he felt his religious beliefs were challenged.

Investigators were trying to piece together how and why Hasan allegedly gunned down his comrades in the worst case of violence on a military base in the U.S. The rampage unfolded at a center where some 300 unarmed soldiers were lined up for vaccines and eye tests.

Soldiers reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" - before opening fire Thursday, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the post commander. He said officials had not confirmed Hasan made the comment.

Hasan's family said in a statement Friday that his alleged actions were deplorable and don't reflect how the family was reared.

"Our family is filled with grief for the victims and their families involved in yesterday's tragedy," said Nader Hasan, a cousin who lives in northern Virginia. "We are mortified with what has unfolded and there is no justification, whatsoever, for what happened. We are all asking why this happened, and the answer is that we simply do not know."

The 30 wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas. W. Roy Smythe, chairman of surgery at Scott and White Memorial Hospital, said several patients were still at "significant risk" of losing their lives. Army briefers told lawmakers in Washington eight other people were treated at a hospital for stress and trauma.

The dead included a pregnant woman who was preparing to return home, a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Army Chief of Staff George Casey said he asked bases around the country to assess their security. He also said he was worried about a backlash against the thousands of Muslim soldiers serving dutifully in uniform.

Hasan was due to be deployed to Afghanistan to help soldiers with combat stress, a task he'd done stateside with returning soldiers, the Army said. Army spokeswoman Col. Cathy Abbott was uncertain when Hasan was to leave but he was in the preparation stage of deployment, which can take months.

In any event, the major was saying goodbyes and dispensing belongings to neighbors.

Jose Padilla, the owner of Hasan's apartment complex, said Hasan gave him notice two weeks ago that he was moving out this week.

Earlier this week, Hasan asked Padilla his native language. When Padilla said it was Spanish, Hasan immediately went up to his apartment to get him a Spanish-language Quran. Padilla said Hasan also refused to reclaim his deposit and last month's rent, surrendering $400 that the major said should go to someone who needed it.

"I cannot comprehend that the enemy was among us," Padilla said, as he teared up. "I feel a little guilt that I was basically giving housing to someone who is going to do so much destruction."

Neighbor Patricia Villa said Hasan came to her apartment the day of the shooting, and before, to give her vegetables, an air mattress, T-shirts, a Quran and offer her $60 to clean his Killeen, Texas, apartment after he left.

Jacqueline Harris, 44, who lives with her boyfriend, Willie Bell, in the apartment next door to Hasan, said he called Thursday at 5 a.m. and left a message.

"He just wanted to thank Willie for being a good friend and thank him for being there for him," Harris said. "That was it. We thought it was just a nice message to leave."

Bell said Hasan offered a farewell, saying, "Nice knowing you, old friend. I'm going to miss you."

According to a Killeen police report in August, an Army employee was charged with scratching Hasan's car, causing $1,000 in damage. Apartment manager John Thompson said the man charged was a soldier back from Iraq, who objected to Hasan's faith and ripped a bumper sticker off the major's car that said: "Allah is Love."

Kim Rosenthal, another neighbor, said Hasan didn't seem too upset by his scratched vehicle, even though it was damaged so badly that he got a new one. "He said it was Ramadan and that he had to forgive people," Rosenthal said. "He forgave him and moved on."

Hasan appeared less forgiving to Dr. Val Finnell when they were classmates in a 2007-08 master's public health program at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.

He said that at a class presentation by public health students, at which topics like dry cleaning chemicals and house mold were discussed, Hasan talked about U.S. military actions as a war on Islam. Hasan made clear he was a "vociferous opponent" of U.S. wars in Muslim countries, Finnell said.

"He made himself a lightning rod for things," Finnell said. "No one picked on him because he was a Muslim."

Law enforcement officials said they are trying to confirm if Hasan wrote Internet postings that include his name about suicide bombings and other threats, equating suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the life of fellow soldiers.

Hasan is the Arlington, Va.-born son of Palestinian parents who ran a restaurant and bar in Roanoke, Va., from 1987 to 1995 and owned a small grocery store in that city.

His relatives in the West Bank said they had heard from family members that Hasan felt mistreated in the Army as a Muslim.

"He told (them) that as a Muslim committed to his prayers he was discriminated against and not treated as is fitting for an officer and American," said Mohammed Malik Hasan, 24, a cousin. "He hired a lawyer to get him a discharge."

Mohammed Hasan said outside his home in Ramallah that he heard about the shooting from a relative. "I was surprised, honestly, because the guy and his brothers are so calm, and he, as I know, loves his work."

Nidal Hasan is the eldest of three brothers. One brother, Annas, lives in Ramallah with a wife and daughter, and practices law. The youngest brother, Eyad, lives in Virginia.

"We don't mix with them a lot," Mohammed said. "Nidal like to stay alone, he was very calm. He minded his own business."

Hasan graduated from medical school at the Uniformed Services University in 2003, said Sharon K. Willis, speaking for the school.

He then entered a psychiatry residency program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which he completed in 2007. He returned to the university for the disaster and military psychiatry fellowship in 2007.

The first phase of that fellowship is earning a master of public health degree, which he completed in 2008. He completed the fellowship program in June.

A month later, Hasan reported for duty at Fort Hood.

___

Blackledge reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Lara Jakes, Lolita C. Baldor, Cal Woodward, Devlin Barrett, Brett Zongker and Jessica Gresko in Washington; Sue Lindsey in Roanoke, Va.; April Castro and Jeff Carlton in Killeen, Texas; Dalia Nammari in Ramallah, West Bank; and AP's News Research Center in New York contributed to this report.

As part of the government's efforts to encourage people to spend money to help revive the economy, the House voted 403-12 Thursday to expand a popular tax credit for homebuyers. The bill, which also extends unemployment benefits and expands a tax break for money-losing businesses, now goes to President Barack Obama, who plans to sign it Friday.

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package. But with that housing program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the House voted to extend it into the spring - and to expand it to many people who already own homes.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible, subject to income limits, for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers - or people who haven't owned homes in the previous three years - could get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign purchase agreements before May 1 and close before July 1.

"It's huge. I think it's going to have a big impact," said Patti Ketcham, who owns a real estate firm in Tallahassee, Fla. "I hope I'm right. Golly, I hope I'm right."

Like housing markets across the country, Tallahassee's has been depressed since even before the nation's economy plunged into recession. There was no huge boom and bust like there was in many coastal areas, Ketcham said, "but ask anybody trying to sell a house and they'll tell you it's been no fun."

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

Real estate agents say the first-time homebuyers' tax credit that's already in effect has boosted sales, much in the same way the Cash for Clunkers program increased auto sales last summer by paying car buyers as much as $4,500 for exchanging their old gas guzzlers for new, more fuel efficient models.

The agents hope the expanded housing credit will help stabilize housing markets during typically slow sales months in the winter. Today, many would-be buyers are still worried that home values could drop further, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

"Once the consumer fear factor disappears, then housing can move into a sustainable recovery," Yun said. "I think we will be there by the middle of next year."

Yun said the tax credit has helped to increase demand and reduce inventory, enabling sellers to get higher prices than they would have otherwise.

About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers had qualified for the credit through August. The Realtors estimate that 350,000 of those buyers would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

The real estate industry, including Realtors, home builders and mortgage bankers, have lobbied hard for the expanded tax credit. Lawmakers said the program will not be extended again.

Critics say the tax credit is poorly targeted because the vast majority of people receiving it would have bought homes anyway.

"Essentially we're giving money to people for doing nothing different," said Ted Gayer, co-director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

But Susan Marvin, who owns Marvin Windows and Doors in Warroad, Minn., near the Canadian border, said the economic benefits can be broad. She said, "If people are buying a home, they are far more likely to replace products or upgrade products."

Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes.

The credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for others.

Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a payment. Taxpayers who want immediate refunds can amend their tax returns for 2008 to claim the credit.

Also on Thursday, the government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae announced a new program that could allow thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure to have the option of renting their homes for a time from the company.

But the effort is likely to affect a relatively small number of people in comparison to the number of homes being repossessed.

The homebuyers tax credit is one of two tax breaks totaling more than $21 billion that were included in a bill extending unemployment benefits for those without jobs for more than a year. The other tax break would allow money-losing companies to use current losses to offset taxable profits earned in the previous five years.

That break would help industries that have suffered big losses in the recession, including retailers, homebuilders and newspapers.

Expanding the tax credit for money-losing companies is projected to cost $10.4 billion.

The tax breaks would be paid for largely by delaying a tax break for multinational companies that pay foreign taxes. It was passed in 2004 and originally was to have taken effect this year, but would now be delayed until 2018.

The bill is H.R. 3548.

The Fed said economic activity has "continued to pick up" and that the housing market also has grown stronger, a key ingredient to a sustained recovery.

But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues warned that rising joblessness and hard-to-get-credit for many people and companies could restrain the rebound in the months ahead.

Against that backdrop, the Fed kept the target range for its bank lending rate at zero to 0.25 percent. And it made no major changes to a program to help drive down mortgage rates.

Commercial banks' prime lending rate, used to peg rates on home equity loans, certain credit cards and other consumer loans, will stay at about 3.25 percent, the lowest in decades.

Still, some credit card rates have risen over the last several months. Part of that reflects rate bump-ups by lenders in response to escalating defaults on credit card loans. Lenders also pushed through increases before a new law clamping down on sudden rate hikes for credit card customers takes effect early next year.

The average rate nationwide on a variable-rate credit card is 11.5 percent, according to Bankrate.com. Lenders charge more and credit card customers pay rates higher than the prime because the debt they run up is more risky.

In normal times, the Fed controls only short-term rates. But after the financial crisis erupted the Fed began buying longer-term Treasuries, keeping those rates lower than they'd otherwise be.

This is good news for borrowers with auto loans, some student loans, 15- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and some adjustable-rate mortgages. But it hurts savers and people dependent on fixed incomes who would normally be enjoying higher yields.

The Fed stuck with its pledge to keep rates at "exceptionally low" levels for "an extended period." Many economists predict that means the Fed will leave rates where they are into part of next year to help give the recovery traction.

The central bank hopes that low rates will entice American consumers and businesses to boost spending, which would give the recovery more traction.

The Fed has now entered into a new phase -- managing the recovery rather than fighting the worst recession and financial crisis to hit the U.S. since the Great Depression.

At some point when the recovery is more firmly rooted, the Fed is likely to start signaling that higher rates are coming. Most analysts don't think the Fed would begin to boost rates until the spring or the summer. One of the clues about eventually rate hikes would be the Fed changing or dropping its pledge to hold rates at super-low levels for an "extended period."

Though it didn't change a program to help drive down mortgage rates, the central bank did say it will trim its purchases of debt from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $175 billion, from $200 billion, because the supply of that debt has declined.

At its previous meeting in late September, the Fed agreed to slow the pace of a $1.25 trillion program to buy mortgage securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, wrapping up the purchases by the end of March instead of at year-end. So far, the Fed has bought $776 billion of the mortgage securities.

Its efforts to lower mortgage rates are paying off. Rates on 30-year loans averaged 5.03 percent, Freddie Mac reported last week, down from 6.46 percent last year.

Even though the Fed will slow its purchases of mortgage securities, rates for home loans should remain low -- in the 5 percent range -- as long as the purchases continue, analysts say.

Another key program to drive down a range of interest rates on loans taken out by consumers and small businesses ended in October. The Fed at its August meeting had decided to slow down that effort and wrap up purchases of $300 billion worth of government debt, a month later than previously scheduled.

Police in Mount Airy, N.C., said Marcos Chavez Gonzalez was arrested early Monday morning at a motel in Henry County, about 50 miles northeast of Mount Airy near the state line.

Police communications director Sharon Burchette said authorities received information about Gonzalez's whereabouts around 2:30 a.m. He was arrested without incident.

Gonzalez was wanted in the slayings of four men who were shot late Sunday in the parking lot of Woods TV in Mount Airy.

Police have said they don't believe the shootings were random and that the men were at the store for a reason. Details haven't been released.

Twenty-eight people may have become ill after eating beef produced by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, N.Y., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. All but three of the suspected infections are in the northeastern U.S. and 18 are in New England, said CDC spokeswoman Lola Scott Russell.

Fairbank Farms recalled almost 546,000 pounds of fresh ground beef that had been distributed in September to stores from North Carolina to Maine. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recall notice, dated Saturday, said the possibly tainted meat had been sold in numerous ways, from meatloaf and meatball mix to hamburger patties.

One of the deaths was an adult from Albany County, N.Y., who had several underlying health conditions, according to the state Health Department. The other fatality was previously reported by New Hampshire, where health officials said a patient died of complications.

The CDC did not specify the states where people were hospitalized. Kidney failure is found in the most severe cases of E. coli. In less serious cases, the potentially deadly bacterium can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration.

Some of the ground beef was sold at Trader Joe's, Price Chopper, Lancaster, Wild Harvest, Shaw's, BJ's, Ford Brothers and Giant stores in packages that carried the number "EST. 492" on the label. Those products were packaged Sept. 15-16 and may have been labeled with a sell-by date from Sept. 19 through Sept. 28, meaning they're no longer being sold as fresh product in supermarkets, Fairbank Farms said.

The rest of the ground beef, packaged in wholesale-sized containers under the Fairbank Farms name, was distributed to stores in Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. That meat was likely repackaged for sale and would likely have differing package and sell-by dates.

The USDA was urging customers with concerns to contact the stores where they bought the meat.

Ron Allen, Fairbank's CEO, urged consumers to check their freezers for the recalled ground beef.

Companies subject to such recalls are allowed to cook tainted meat to kill the bacteria and then use it in other products, a common practice in the food industry.

That won't happen in this case, the company said.

"At the end of the day, this product ... is going in the garbage," said company spokeswoman Agi Schafer.

Located in the southwestern corner of New York a few miles from the Pennsylvania line, Fairbank Farms has had two other voluntary recalls over the last two years, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

In September 2007, the company recalled 884 pounds of ground beef products because they may have been contaminated with E. coli, the agency said. And in May 2008, it recalled 22,481 pounds of ground beef products that may have contained pieces of plastic.

Symptoms of E. coli infections usually show up three to four days after a person eats contaminated food, although in some cases it can be as long as eight days. Officials said anyone having symptoms should immediately contact a doctor.

Russell, the CDC spokeswoman, said the E. coli strain involved in the recall, 0157:H7, infects about 70,000 Americans a year and kills 52.

After dropping for a few years, annual recalls of ground beef and other beef products contaminated with E. coli have rebounded, with at least a dozen recalls through October 2009, according to USDA data.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York wants federally mandated E. coli inspections of all ground beef.

"This is a stark reminder that food is still going straight to our kitchens and grocery stores without being properly tested to ensure its safety," Gillibrand said. "It's spreading too many diseases and costing too many lives. ... It's time to address the gaps in the inspection process."

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Associated Press writer Jessica M. Pasko contributed to this report from Albany, N.Y.

Two soldiers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg were killed in the Oct. 26 crash. They were 32-year-old Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger of San Diego, and 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop of Medford, N.Y.

The other five soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, near Savannah, Ga.

They were 36-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Michael P. Montgomery of Savannah; 40-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Niall Lyons of Spokane, Wash.; 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb of Terrell, Texas; 23-year-old Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez of Reno, Nev.; 26-year-old Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller of Little Chute, Wis.

The Dothan Eagle reports Tuesday that 37-year-old Webster Delenn Simmons of Rougemont, N.C., is being held on $120,000 bond.

Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes said Simmons was arrested Monday and charged with felony first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy.

Hughes said the 34-year-old victim and Simmons were at a local nightclub before the assault, which occurred inside Simmons' vehicle.

Detectives seized evidence including two pair of handcuffs, a ball gag, thick rope, an unknown power source with wires attached to a nail, along with a whip and flog.

Hughes said the victim was possibly drugged and woke up early Saturday morning, handcuffed and with a ball gag in her mouth.

Duke University Police Chief John Dailey said Simmons was suspended after the arrest.

In one of the insurgent assaults, seven Americans were killed while patrolling in armored vehicles, U.S. forces spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician said. He said an Afghan civilian died in the same attack. The eighth American was killed in a separate attack elsewhere in the south, also while patrolling in a military vehicle, he said.

The military issued a statement saying the deaths occurred during "multiple, complex" bomb strikes. It said several troops were wounded and evacuated to a nearby medical facility, but gave no other details.

Capt. Adam Weece, a spokesman for American forces in the south, said both attacks occurred in Kandahar province. In Washington, a U.S. defense official said at least one was followed by an intense firefight with insurgents who attacked after an initial bomb went off. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

The deaths bring to 55 the total number of American troops killed in October in Afghanistan. The previous high occurred in August, when 51 U.S. soldiers died and the troubled nation held the first round of its presidential elections amid a wave of Taliban insurgent attacks.

The deadliest month of the Iraq conflict for U.S. forces was November 2004, when 137 Americans were killed during the assault to clear insurgents from the city of Fallujah.

"A loss like this is extremely difficult for the families as well as for those who served alongside these brave service members," said Navy Capt. Jane Campbell, a military spokeswoman. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who mourn their loss."

The loss of life followed one of the worst days of the war for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since they launched air strikes in 2001 to oust the Taliban from power.

On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a separate crash the same day, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters collided over southern Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense announced the names of the four Marines that were killed in the two-helicopter collision: Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, 23, of Anchorage, Alaska; Capt. Eric A. Jones, 29, of Westchester, N.Y.; Capt. David Seth Mitchell, 30, of Loveland, Ohio.; Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen, 29, of North Attleboro, Mass.

NBC17 sister station WLWT in Ohio said Mitchell's family moved to North Carolina and have homes in Apex and Wilmington.

U.S. military officials insisted neither crash was the result of hostile fire, although the Taliban claimed they shot down a U.S. helicopter in the western province of Badghis. The U.S. did not say where in western Afghanistan its helicopter went down, and no other aircraft were reported missing.

Those casualties marked the Drug Enforcement Administration's first deaths since it began operations here in 2005. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium - the raw ingredient in heroin - and the illicit drug trade is a major source of funding for insurgent groups.

The Peoria, Ill.-based company has struggled with lower demand since the world economy deteriorated late last year. Lower prices for commodities such as iron ore, a key steel ingredient, have undercut orders for its giant mining trucks. A housing market slump has eaten into sales of other machines, such as bulldozers and excavators.

On Monday, Caterpillar said it had started notifying the 2,500 employees of the permanent layoffs, but would not provide a breakdown of their locations. It plans to offer them severance packages.