The west side of Killeen, Texas is like countless other places in America's heartland, freshly carved out of prairie pastures with wide streets in bucolic neighborhoods like "Sunflower Estates" and "Bridgewood." But on a glorious cloudless fall day, the flags at the home sales center nearby are at half mast in honor of the 13 fallen at Ft. Hood, victims of a gunman whose deadly attack was stopped thanks to a petite, long-haired blonde mom from the neigborhood. ...

Swine flu vaccines are rolling out this month -- finally. Health-care workers in Indiana and Tennessee were the first to get the nose-spray version, while New Yorkers clamoring for the H1N1 vaccine finally had their chance too. However, the onslaught of information about H1N1 -- be it playground rumors, employer signs telling you to cover your cough, memos from your kids' school, or scary-sounding news reports -- is making it pretty hard to figure out what you should be doing ...

Three Iranians have been tentatively sentenced to death in connection with post-election protest activities, according to semi-official state media. The three -- who were identified only by initials -- were accused of contacts with opposition groups, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Saturday. The death sentences can be appealed, ISNA reported, quoting Bashiri Rad, director of public relations of the Tehran judiciary. No other information was released about the three defendants or the charges they faced. The Iranian ...

An influential adviser to the U.S. commander in Afghanistan declared Friday that anything less than 25,000 extra international troops in the country would not be enough to win. David Kilcullen, who also advised U.S. commanders in Iraq, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour the window of opportunity to turn around the war is closing. Kilcullen's comments came as President Barack Obama, only hours after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, again met with his top advisers to discuss strategy and troop levels ...

The arrest of a local imam for allegedly lying to the FBI about tipping off a suspected terrorist sent shock waves through the Afghan community in New York. Ahmad Wais Afzali, a prominent imam in Queens who runs an Islamic burial service for the Muslim community, has maintained his innocence in the case. He's charged in connection with a terror probe that revolves around 24-year-old Najibullah Zazi. Prosecutors said Zazi received explosives training with the intent to bomb a high ...

Israel has warned a terrorist group was planning attacks on Israeli and Western tourists in India, and advised its citizens against traveling to certain parts of that country. The warning from Israel's Counter Terrorism Bureau suggested Israelis avoid crowded tourist hubs that are not secured by armed guards, according to Yigal Palmor, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman. The bureau also advised Israelis not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, and to avoid Chabad houses, or Jewish ...

An outbreak of flu at Washington State University showed few signs of slowing down as more students continued to report symptoms suspected of being from the H1N1 virus, school officials said Wednesday. About 2,500 students have come down with possible cases of H1N1 since classes began August 24, said James Tinney, WSU director of media relations. He added, "It takes about three to four days to get over the virus, so many of the people who have had it ...

More than 1,100 people worldwide have died from swine flu since it emerged in Mexico and the U.S. in April, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization. As of July 31, the total number of victims killed by the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, stood at 1,154 -- an increase of 338 since WHO's previous update on July 27. The virus has spread around the world with unprecedented speed, spreading as widely in six weeks ...

The number of abortions performed in China each year tops 13 million, with inadequate knowledge of contraception playing a major role in the annual tally, state-run media reported. "Sex education needs to be strengthened, with universities and our society giving more guidance," Li Ying, a professor at Peking University, told China Daily. Research from the National Population and Family Planning Commission's technology research center shows nearly half of the women who had abortions had not used any form of contraception, ...

North Korea fired a pair of short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Saturday. Kristen Diane Parker, who worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver, has admitted to secretly injecting herself in a bathroom and using unclean syringes as replacements for patients, investigators said. She had hepatitis C, which she believes she contracted through using heroin and sharing dirty needles while she lived in New Jersey in 2008, authorities said. She was a surgical ...