U.S. National News

LAS VEGAS - A 19-year-old woman was the driving force behind a youthful burglary ring that preyed on Hollywood's rich and famous, often brazenly walking into unlocked homes to make off with cash, jewels and family heirlooms, authorities said.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Suspected swine flu is sweeping a traditional Eskimo whaling village on a remote Alaska island — prompting an urgent medical mission to deliver help.

MIAMI - Tropical storm warnings were issued Saturday for parts of Mexico and Cuba as Ida rapidly gained strength over Caribbean waters, and the storm could start affecting the U.S. Gulf Coast by Tuesday.

As word spread that a gunman had opened fire at Fort Hood leaving a trail of carnage, a chilling realization swept across the U.S. Muslim community: He has an Islamic name.

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - The high school buddies who trolled the streets looking for Hispanics to attack called it "beaner hopping."

The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, 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. Here is a look at some of the victims.

BALTIMORE - The accusations that Mayor Sheila Dixon used holiday gift cards for the needy during personal shopping sprees may sound like a minor embarrassment at worst, a small-time case of a politician enjoying the perks of power.

PHILADELPHIA - Members of Philadelphia's largest transit union and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority are set to vote on a contract to end the strike that has idled buses, subways and trolleys for five days.

MIAMI - Ida has become a tropical storm again, with top winds of 45 mph (72 kph), as it swirls in the Caribbean on a track that could bring it to the U.S. Gulf Coast next week.

FORT HOOD, Texas - Pfc. Marquest Smith, on his way to Afghanistan in January, was completing routine paperwork about a bee-sting allergy when the sounds erupted.

GALVESTON, Texas - Two years after the remains of a toddler who came to be known as "Baby Grace" were dumped in Galveston Bay, the child's stepfather was convicted of capital murder in her beating death.

NEW ORLEANS - State investigators raided ACORN offices on Friday, taking away computer hard drives and documents as part of a probe into alleged embezzlement and tax fraud when the organization's national headquarters was based in New Orleans.

JERUSALEM - Hamas militants in Gaza have successfully test-fired an Iranian rocket able to reach Israel's largest urban center, the country's military intelligence chief said Tuesday.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - A federal appeals court has ruled that Santa Cruz City Council members did not violate a man's rights when they ordered him removed from a council meeting after he made a one-armed Nazi salute.

DICKINSON, N.D. - Authorities say preliminary autopsy results show drowning as the cause of death for three North Dakota college softball players found dead inside a sport utility vehicle that sunk in a rural farm pond.