// a href = ./ //

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Republicans have questioned Chuck Hagel's truthfulness and they've challenged his patriotism. Now they're threatening to delay his nomination to be President Barack Obama's defense secretary unless the White House gives them more information about what Obama was doing on the night of the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has set the stage for a full Senate vote on Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska and twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran. Reid filed a motion Wednesday to limit debate and force a vote, which is expected to be held Friday.

Democrats hold a 55-45 edge in the Senate, but they need the support of five Republicans to clear the way for an up-or-down vote.

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been arrested in the shooting death of his girlfriend, police and the woman's talent agent said Thursday.

Capacity Relations talent management firm said 29 year old model Reeva Steenkamp was the victim of the shooting.

Police spokeswoman Lt. Col. Katlego Mogale told The Associated Press that officers received a call around 3 a.m. saying there had been a shooting at the 26-year-old double-amputee runner's home in a gated housing complex in the capital, Pretoria. A 9 mm pistol was recovered and a murder case opened against Pistorius, who is to appear in court later Thursday.

South African media speculated that Pistorius may have mistaken the young woman for an intruder.

Steenkamp tweeted her excitement about Valentine's Day hours before the shooting.

HOUSTON (AP) - After days stranded in the Gulf of Mexico in conditions some have described as dismal, most passengers aboard the disabled Carnival Triumph can look forward to a two-hour bus ride after they reach land.

The company announced its plan late Wednesday as the Triumph was being towed to a port in Mobile, Ala., with more than 4,000 people on board, some of whom have complained to relatives of uncomfortable and unsanitary conditions. The company has disputed the accounts.

The Triumph is expected to arrive this afternoon, but passengers' stay will be short. Carnival says passengers can board buses to Galveston, Texas, or Houston, or spend the night in New Orleans. Those staying in New Orleans will be flown Friday to Houston. Carnival said it will cover the transportation costs.