SEOUL, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency high-level meeting Tuesday after clashes between South and North Korean ships now seen as accidental.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The White House said Monday a report that President Barack Obama has decided to send a large number of troops to Afghanistan "is absolutely false."

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- South and North Korean ships exchanged brief but heavy fire Tuesday off their west coast with Seoul claiming "considerable" damage to the North's vessel.

TOKYO, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The Japanese Cabinet Tuesday authorized $5 billion in aid to Afghanistan during the next five years, the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said.

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A North Korean vessel was damaged when South and North Korean naval forces clashed Tuesday off their west coast, a South Korean defense official said.

MIAMI, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Ida was closing in on the U.S. Gulf Coast Monday night and forecasters said the storm would probably make landfall during the night.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama reaffirmed America's "strong commitment to Israel's security" in a meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the White House said.

BURBANK, Calif., Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The chief of the Burbank, Calif., Police Department, which is the subject of an FBI investigation, said Monday he is stepping down.

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FORT HOOD, Texas, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The FBI said Monday the man accused of the Fort Hood, Texas, massacre came to its attention in December 2008 but was not suspected of "terrorist activities."

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The White House Monday announced the implementation of an initiative designed to transform the federal government into a model employer of U.S. veterans.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama has decided to send a large number of troops to Afghanistan and keep a large force there for the long term, CBS News reported Monday.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Congress should change language in a healthcare reform bill passed by the House that restricts abortion coverage.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Republicans thinking about a run at the U.S. presidency in 2012 might find the going tough as the field is filling up with established hopefuls, analysts say.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Almost 5,000 Americans die each year on streets engineered for fast cars that make little or no provision for pedestrians or bicyclers, a lobbying group said.