World/Nation
• U.S. troops killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - Five American troops with a special operations unit were killed by a U.S. airstrike called in to help them after they were ambushed by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, in one of the deadliest friendly fire incidents in nearly 14 years of war, officials said Tuesday.
The deaths were a fresh reminder that the conflict is nowhere near over for some U.S. troops, who will keep fighting for at least two more years.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said the five American troops were killed Monday "during a security operation in southern Afghanistan."
• House votes for speedier care at VA hospitals
WASHINGTON - United in response to a national uproar, Congress is suddenly moving quickly to address military veterans' long waits for care at VA hospitals.
The House unanimously approved legislation Tuesday to make it easier for patients enduring lengthy delays for initial visits to get VA-paid treatment from local doctors instead. The Senate was poised to vote on a similar bill within 48 hours, said Democratic leader Harry Reid.
The legislation comes close on the heels of a Veterans Affairs Department audit showing that more than 57,000 new applicants for care have had to wait at least three months for initial appointments and an additional 64,000 newly enrolled vets who requested appointments never got them.
"I cannot state it strongly enough - this is a national disgrace," said Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chief author of the House legislation.
Miller made his comments minutes before the House completed the first of two votes on its measure. Lawmakers approved the bill 421-0, then re-voted a little over an hour later, making sure no one was left out on the politically important vote, with five more in favor and no one against. Miller sheepishly admitted the reason for the second vote: He was in his office and missed the first tally.
• Teen gunman kills 14-year-old at Oregon school
TROUTDALE, Ore. - A teen gunman armed with a rifle shot and killed a 14-year-old student Tuesday and injured a teacher before he likely killed himself at a high school in a quiet Columbia River town in Oregon, authorities said.
After the shooting stopped, police spotted the suspect slumped on a toilet in a bathroom at Reynolds High School. Officers used a robot with a camera to investigate and discovered the suspect was dead and that he had likely killed himself, Troutdale police spokesman Sgt. Carey Kaer said.
His victim was identified as freshman Emilio Hoffman, who was "loved by all," police Chief Scott Anderson said at a Tuesday news conference. He said Hoffman was found in the boys' locker room.
- The Associated Press