The death toll from the shooting rampage at Fort Hood has risen to 13. The suspect in the killings, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, remains hospitalized on a ventilator with gunshot wounds. Witnesses allege that Hasan shouted "God is Great" in Arabic when he opened fire on fellow soldiers. Relatives say the 39-year-old Army psychiatrist fought his scheduled deployment to Iraq later this month.

The unemployment rate has surpassed 10% for the first time since 1983, hitting 10.2%. The Labor Department says nearly 16 million people can't find jobs even though the recession has apparently ended. President Obama is scheduled to sign a bill today extending unemployment benefits.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown warns Afghanistan's government today to take action against corruption, saying he would not risk more British lives there unless it reforms. Brown says success in Afghanistan is vital to Britain's security — but declares that if the Afghan government does not mend its ways it will forfeit the world's support.

Also in the news ...

--Milwaukee police arrest a man accused of stealing a truck carrying 900 doses of swine flu vaccine.

-- Obesity blamed for more than 100,000 cases of cancer in the U.S. each year.

Trolling the websites: The BBC reports that two NATO soldiers are missing in western Afghanistan. Slate examines the return of the deficit hawks. NPR says Colorado plans to lower its minimum wage next year.

Then there're the papers: The Killeen Daily Herald, right, the Texas paper serving the Fort Hood area, says a SWAT team converged on the suspects Killeen apartment not long after the shooting. The Chicago Tribune reports that "staggeringly high unemployment among black middle class wipes out a generation of wealth." Florida Today reports on critics who blasted NASA for plans to zap monkeys with radiation in a Mars-related test. The New York Times says a series of U.S. government reviews raises serious questions about speeding up training of Afghan troops and sending more into the fight.

(Posted by Doug Stanglin)