Obama hails climate breakthrough
2:06
President Barack Obama calls the climate agreement reached in Copenhagen a breakthrough for action, but says more must be done to actually achieve significant reductions in global warming pollution. "This breakthrough...
Suspected al-Qaida leader in Yemen escapes raid
7:23
A military strike on al-Qaida's network in Yemen killed the deputy commander of the terrorist network's cell in Abyan province, the Yemeni government said. Embassy spokesman Mohammed Albasha identified the dead man as...
Adm. Mullen tours Iraqi market
2:30
The top US military officer toured a bustling market on the outskirts of Baghdad on Saturday that is returning to normal as violence ebbs in Iraq. Prosaic complaints such as a lack of parking have replaced fears of...
Feds: Arrests in Africa link al-Qaida and drugs
9:13
Three accused al-Qaida associates taken to New York on Friday are charged with plotting to ferry drugs through the Sahara desert to raise money for terror attacks _ evidence of what prosecutors say is a dangerous,...
Possible Senate opponent to Reid worth millions
8:06
A potential challenger of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is disclosing stock holdings valued at more than $50 million, revealing that she has serious resources available for a political campaign. Sue Lowden is one...
Republican Snowe still courted on health care
6:42
Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe rated a full two hours of President Barack Obama's time the day before he left for climate talks in Copenhagen this week _ more than any of her colleagues can claim _ as Democrats try to...
Pregnant soldiers could face court-martial
5:27
A U.S. Army general in northern Iraq has added pregnancy to the list of reasons a soldier under his command could be court-martialed. The new policy, outlined last month by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo and released Friday...
Wrap-up bill clears Senate hurdle
4:14
The Senate headed for a Saturday morning vote on a package that funds the Pentagon and keeps other key programs, including benefits for the unemployed and highway spending, from expiring. It's the third straight weekend...
Cash gifts, liquid lunch_the case for impeachment
3:34
It's not the lifestyle of a typical federal judge: Five or six vodka cocktails during lunch; gambling with borrowed money; bankruptcy under a phony name, and cash, trips or home repairs from lawyers and a bail bondsman...
Liberal MoveOn.org opposes Senate health care bill
3:13
The liberal group MoveOn.org is opposing the Senate health care bill and urging Democrats to block it. In a letter to members Friday, MoveOn.org complained that the legislation has no government-run insurance option...
US on watch for Iranian meddling in Iraq voting
3:13
The top U.S. military officer quizzed Iraqi leaders Friday about the influence and motives of next-door Iran as national elections approach, but made no promises when his hosts asked for surveillance equipment and other...
700,000 packages of Vicks cold medicine recalled
3:11
Procter & Gamble Co. is recalling about 700,000 packages of Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu 24-Count Bonus Pack Liquicaps. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday the cold and flu medicine contains...
Lack of basics slows effort to build Afghan forces
2:40
A lack of basic infrastructure in Afghanistan is slowing the U.S. effort to build up the Afghan security forces, a government watchdog said Friday. Outside of larger cities such as Kabul and Kandahar, buildings for...
Franken shuts down Lieberman on Senate floor
2:15
Democratic Sen. Al Franken took the unusual step Thursday of shutting down Sen. Joe Lieberman on the Senate floor. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, currently is the target of liberal wrath over his opposition to a...
Fla. gov: No reason to refuse lawyer's donations
1:58
Florida's governor says he saw no reason to investigate a South Florida lawyer charged with operating a $1 billion Ponzi scheme or refuse his political contributions. Gov. Charlie Crist said Thursday he initially...
DOD to make voting easier for service members
1:55
The Department of Defense says it's making improvements to make it easier for service members and their families to register to vote when they move to a new base. Under a policy change, service members are to be...
Health care issues: How the US system evolved
10:17
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: Why is the United States the only wealthy industrialized nation that does not have universal health coverage? THE POLITICS: Health insurance in the United...
AP Interview: SC senator stumps for climate change
9:27
Sen. Lindsey Graham makes an unlikely champion for action on climate change. The South Carolina Republican has joined forces with Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to...
Senator places hold on bill over custody battle
3:43
A New Jersey senator plans to hold up a trade bill that would benefit Brazil because of a long-running battle over a 9-year-old boy. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey placed a hold on a bill that would allow Brazil...
Adm. Mullen says hacked drones caused no damage
3:24
The top U.S. military officer said recent computer hacking of information from U.S. drones caused no significant military damage. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that hackers obtained...
Pentagon: Insurgents intercepted drone spy videos
1:52
Insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan have intercepted live video feeds from Predator drones, a key weapon in a Pentagon spy system that serves as the military's eyes in the sky for surveillance and intelligence...
11 baby deaths now linked to Simplicity cribs
12:41
Despite several recalls and warnings, the number of reported baby deaths linked to defective Simplicity cribs has risen to 11. The most recent death occurred in September when a 7-month-old child from Princeton, Ky.,...
Highlights of Senate wrap-up legislation
12:09
Highlights of the Senate's year-end wrap-up legislation: DEFENSE SPENDING _$626 billion for the Pentagon for the budget year that began Oct. 1, including $128 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...
Obama, Medvedev to meet on nuclear weapons talks
11:28
Negotiations with Russia to replace an expired Cold War-era arms control treaty have bogged down and now appear unlikely to be concluded by the end of the year as the White House had hoped. As the two sides seek a...
AP Interview: SC senator stumps for climate change
6:42
Sen. Lindsey Graham makes an unlikely champion for action on climate change. The South Carolina Republican has joined forces with Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to...
Obama resists as liberals attack health care bill
5:49
The White House and its allies scrambled Thursday to quash a growing liberal assault on a much-compromised health care proposal, hoping to keep President Barack Obama's top domestic priority from being crushed between...
Senators urged to approve settling of Indian case
5:37
Payments of at least $1,500 each will go to the vast majority of American Indians participating in a long-running lawsuit against the federal government, and many will receive considerably more. It may not sound like...
Reliance on contractors sparks oversight concerns
5:15
The growing number of contractors in Afghanistan is outpacing the ability to oversee them, raising concerns that the waste and fraud that marred the U.S. mission in Iraq will be repeated, lawmakers said Thursday. Sen....
Franken shuts down Lieberman on Senate floor
4:52
Democratic Sen. Al Franken took the unusual step Thursday of shutting down Sen. Joe Lieberman on the Senate floor. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, currently is the target of liberal wrath over his opposition to a...
USDA outlines plan to send dairy farmers payments
4:11
Giving a boost to struggling dairy producers, the Agriculture Department said Thursday it plans to dole out one-time payments to farmers. The USDA's announcement of the new Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment...
Clinton urges passage of Senate health care bill
2:54
Former President Bill Clinton says failure to pass a health care bill now would be a "colossal blunder" for the Democratic Party and the nation's economy. In a statement, Clinton rebuffed calls from Howard Dean and...
Child's death prompts toy dart gun recall
2:45
A Los Angeles toy importer is recalling about 22,000 toy dart gun sets after an 8-year-old child's death. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says children can choke on the soft plastic darts included in the Action...
Nuclear deal seen as model to limit atomic arms
2:38
The U.S. and a key Persian Gulf ally put into force Thursday a landmark agreement on nuclear cooperation that Washington sees as a model for limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. The agreement, originally signed...
Judge: Gangs more deadly than some Gitmo detainees
2:27
The chief judge of the federal court in Washington told lawyers Thursday that domestic street gangs are more deadly than some Guantanamo Bay detainees who could face trial in U.S. courts. Judge Royce Lamberth was...
Ohio's Traficant contemplates return to Congress
2:22
Former Rep. James Traficant, who was recently released from prison after serving seven years for corruption, said Thursday that he is "proud of being an ex-con" and may try to return to Congress. Traficant, a Democrat...
2009 saw most federal hate crime cases since 2001
1:10
The Justice Department has brought more federal hate crimes cases this year than in any year since 2001, and an Obama administration official said Thursday he was "shocked" by the dropoff in prosecutions during the Bush...
GOP: Obama can't act on climate without Congress
1:07
Republican lawmakers are telling President Barack Obama that he needs Congress to deliver on any commitments he makes to reduce global warming gases. Seven GOP senators said at a news conference Thursday that any...
Guilty plea in leak case from ex-linguist for FBI
12:37
Prosecutors say a former linguist for the FBI has pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents to a blogger who posted the information online. Officials say 39-year-old Shamai Kedem Leibowitz of Silver Spring, Md.,...
AP-GfK Poll: Gains for Obama, not his Afghan plans
12:29
Budget deficits are in the stratosphere. Unemployment has hit 10 percent. The health care overhaul is incomplete. Still, Americans appear to like President Barack Obama and the way he's doing his job. The latest...
Health care issues: A single-payer system?
11:35
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: Should there be a government-run, single-payer national health care system? THE POLITICS: A government-run health care system is attractive to many Democrats,...
Obama prepares to leave for Copenhagen
5:54
After a day stacked with meetings, President Barack Obama will depart Thursday evening for the climate change summit in Copenhagen. He's scheduled to arrive Friday at the meeting, where questions of emissions targets...
How the AP-GfK poll on Obama was conducted
3:14
The Associated Press-GfK Poll on President Obama and the direction of the country was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media from Dec. 10-14. It is based on landline and cell phone telephone interviews with a...
Poll: Brown still leads in Calif. governor's race
12:23
Democrat Jerry Brown may still be the presumed front-runner in next year's California governor's race, but a new poll indicates he shouldn't take that position for granted. A survey released Wednesday by the Public...
Blacks urge more efforts to improve census count
9:42
Black groups on Wednesday urged the government to improve the count of African-Americans in next year's high-stakes census, saying they won't be satisfied with a tally that has historically overlooked millions in their...
Feds revising asylum detention policies
9:15
The Obama administration said Wednesday it will stop detaining asylum seekers who have a credible fear of persecution in their home countries. To be released into the U.S., the asylum seekers will have to establish the...
No ho, ho spirit at 'Harry Christmas' time
8:32
Ho, ho _ hold that holiday thought. Whatever seasonal spirit resides on Capitol Hill these days has been driven into the shadows by the churlish mood of lawmakers wrestling a last-minute work load and punting a whole...
Credit Suisse Group to pay $536M in Iran case
8:20
Credit Suisse Group has agreed to pay $536 million to settle a Justice Department probe and admit to violating U.S. economic sanctions by hiding the booming illegal business it was doing for Iranian banks. The Justice...
Highlights of House wrapup legislation
8:06
Highlights of the year-end wrapup legislation that passed the House Wednesday: DEFENSE SPENDING _$636 billion for the Pentagon for the budget year that began Oct. 1, including $128 billion for military operations in...
House Roll Call: How the House voted on jobs plan
7:59
The 217-212 roll call Wednesday by which the House passed a measure aimed at creating and saving jobs through public works spending and grants to state and local governments. A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the measure....
Pa. police chief accused of cover-up ordered held
7:55
A police chief ordered held without bail on charges he tried to cover up the fatal beating of a Mexican immigrant by white teenagers was named in a 2006 lawsuit that claimed police beat to death a Hispanic teenager,...