Body armor plates used by special operations forces in combat are being recalled after a manufacturing defect was found in what the military says is a small percentage of the Generation III ballistic armor plates.

US-Combat-Awards-Flap

The U.S. military's combat awards process is in disarray, and because of that official Department of Defense statistics do not accurately reflect the complete list of those who have been awarded combat medals for bravery in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to some members of Congress.

US-New-York-Utility-Bills

The Long Island Power Authority is assuring outraged customers that their latest electric bills with normal monthly charges are no mistake, despite some being in the dark for days or weeks after Superstorm Sandy.

US-Capitol-Christmas-Tree

The official Christmas tree of the U.S. Capitol arrived Monday and will be illuminated at a ceremony on December 4.

Florida-Roach-Eating-Death

A 32-year-old man who died after downing dozens of roaches and worms last month to win a python at a Florida reptile store choked to death, medical officials said Monday.

New-York-Confidential-Confetti

Authorities in Long Island are investigating how shredded confidential police documents ended up as confetti in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City, according to Nassau County Police.

MED-teens-emergency-contraception

The American Academy of Pediatrics is fighting teen pregnancy with revised recommendations on emergency contraception.

MED-medicaid-kaiser

It's flown under the radar, but perhaps the most dramatic element of Obamacare isn't changes to Medicare, or the requirement for millions to purchase insurance --- it's the planned expansion of Medicaid. That expansion would cover an additional 21.3 million people within the next decade, reducing the number of uninsured nearly by half, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, an organization specializing in health care policy. While that sounds like good news, the sheer size of the expansion has many people worried about cost. Since the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot be forced to participate, eight states have said they won't expand their current Medicaid programs, and several others have said they may follow suit. But the KFF report says those states may be making life unnecessarily hard for their poorest citizens.

POLITICS

POL-Fiscal-Cliff

Is it a slow leak that will grow into a cascade, or a minor drip easily plugged? More and more, conservative Republicans in Congress are breaking from a pledge they signed years earlier against any kind of tax increase or additional tax revenue. Facing the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and deep across-the-board spending cuts at the end of the year, the GOP legislators are signaling their willingness to cut a deal with President Barack Obama and Democrats that would include more money for the government.

POL-White-House-Meeting

Talks to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff are expected to pick up this week as Congress returns to work. But a promised second White House meeting on the crisis between President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders still has not been scheduled -- a possible sign that staff discussions over the Thanksgiving recess did not yield the progress leaders hoped.

POL-House-GOP-Bowles-Meeting

House Republican leaders will meet Wednesday with business leaders including Erskine Bowles, Republican aides on Capitol Hill said Monday, as congressional leaders work to avert a plunge off the so-called "fiscal cliff."

POL-CNN-Poll-Fiscal-Cliff

A new national poll suggests Americans understand that the "fiscal cliff" is no joking matter. Two-thirds of people questioned in a CNN/ORC International survey say that the U.S. would face a crisis or major problems if the country went off the "fiscal cliff" at the end of the year, and if that happened, Republicans in Congress would probably receive the greater share of the blame.

POL-Norquist-Pledge-Breakers

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist said Monday that his group, Americans for Tax Reform, would work to unseat Republicans who break their pledge to never vote for higher taxes.

POL-Poll-Optimism-Approval

A majority of Americans give President Barack Obama a thumbs up on the job he's doing in office, but according to a new national poll they are less optimistic about the country's future than they were four years ago when Obama won the White House for the first time.

POL-Illinois-Special-Election-Date

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said Monday that a special election will be held to fill the congressional seat vacated by former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who stepped down last week amid an ethics probe and ongoing health problems.