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House debates healthcare bill

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- As the U.S. House of Representatives debated the healthcare bill Saturday, President Obama came to the Capitol to help win over doubters.

Democratic House leaders hope to win approval for the 1,900-page, $1 trillion bill by the end of the day, The Washington Post reported. Since all Republicans are expected to vote against the bill, passage depends on keeping enough wavering Democrats in the fold.

Obama got to the Capitol just before noon, about three hours after the debate began.

Democrats agreed late Friday to allow members of the party who oppose abortion to offer an amendment that would effectively block federal funds from being used for the procedure. The amendment would ban the "public option" plan from covering abortions and bar anyone getting a subsidy for insurance from buying a private plan that pays for them.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which supports the rest of the bill, lobbied fiercely on the abortion issue. Republicans and a handful of Democrats say the bill is too expensive

"Today is the showdown on a government takeover over healthcare," said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La..

The Democrats have 258 seats in the House and need at least 218 votes to pass the bill.

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Afghans: 7 soldiers killed by NATO strike

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A NATO air strike killed seven Afghan security force members searching for two missing U.S. soldiers, officials said Saturday.

A spokesman for NATO confirmed the deaths, first reported by the Afghan Defense Ministry, The New York Times reported. The spokesman said the operation Friday in Badghis province also wounded five U.S. and 15 Afghan soldiers, two Afghan police officers and an Afghan civilian who was part of the mission, which arrived in the area Thursday.

NATO is investigating whether its air support was responsible for the deaths and injuries.

A Taliban commander gave his own version of events, the Times said. Maulvi Ghulam Farouk says the missing soldiers were attacked by the Taliban when they went to pick up supplies from an air drop.

"On Friday, they came with Afghan forces, looking again for their dead soldiers. It was afternoon when they came, and there was fighting for half an hour or maybe even one hour," Farouk said. "Then the aircraft came. And when the aircraft came, we Taliban dispersed and they bombed where the Afghans and their NATO soldiers had been fighting. There were many casualties."

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Ground broken for Flight 93 memorial

SHANKSVILLE, Pa., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Ground was broken Saturday for a memorial to the passengers of United Flight 93 who crashed it in western Pennsylvania to foil hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar promised the memorial would be completed by the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that also toppled the World Trade Center twin towers in New York and damaged the Pentagon in Washington.

"On behalf of a grateful nation, we say to the men and women of Flight 93 who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, to prevent terrorists from attacking our nation's capital 'We will never forget you,'" Salazar

said. "This national memorial will always stand to honor you and to remind future generations that you fought and were victorious over the forces of evil."

The plane, flying from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, was one of four planes hijacked in 2001. The 40 passengers, who knew from cell phone conversations, that hijackers had flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, decided to retake the plane or bring it down.

Investigators believe the hijackers intended to aim the plane at the Capitol or White House.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., also attended the ceremony.

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Barbour: Elections showed peoples' concern

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Saturday the recent elections reflected U.S. citizens' concern with the direction the U.S. government is headed.

The Republican governor, providing the party's response to President Barack Obama's weekly address to the nation, applauded the election of Republican candidates to governorships in Virginia and New Jersey this week, saying the wins reflect concerns about Democrats' political goals.

"The results made clear the American people don't like where the Democrats are trying to take our country," he said.

Tuesday's elections ended with gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell winning in Virginia, while fellow Republican Chris Christie defeated New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat.

Barbour said U.S. voters have failed to see positive results from the surge in federal spending Democratic President Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress have marshaled through this year to combat the financial markets crisis and ongoing recession.

"Americans think economic growth and job creation are priorities 1, 2, 3 and 4. Despite all the trillions of dollars in spending by this administration and Congress, voters see little progress on jobs," the Mississippi official said.