House panel votes to speed up credit card rules
3:09
The House Financial Services Committee has voted to speed up the enactment of tough new credit card rules from mid-February of next year to Dec. 1 of this year. President Barack Obama has already signed legislation...
Romer: Impact of stimulus will level off next year
2:07
The government's economic stimulus spending has already had its biggest impact and probably won't contribute to significant growth next year, a top White House adviser said Thursday. Christina Romer, the chair of...
Gates to seek Afghan aid without talking troops
1:52
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he will prod NATO allies this week for more economic and security aid to Afghanistan while trying to sidestep the simmering international debate over sending more troops...
Experts: Swine flu exacerbates pork industry woes
1:26
The pork industry is facing one of its worst struggles in memory and an unwanted link to the so-called swine flu is exacerbating problems, experts told Congress on Thursday. "Over the past 24 months, pork producers...
House health bill to address antitrust
1:21
Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she'll include a measure removing health insurers' federal antitrust exemption in sweeping health care legislation pending in the House. Pelosi's announcement Thursday came a day after Senate...
Report: US needs rebate for Baghdad embassy work
12:35
The State Department's internal watchdog called Thursday for officials to demand a rebate of more than $132 million from a company that built the massive new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to make up for shoddy work. In a...
Deal on Medicare payments boosts House health bill
12:10
House Democrats have reached a deal on Medicare payments that will secure critical support from heartland and Pacific Coast lawmakers for President Barack Obama's goal of revamping health care. The agreement announced...
Former union official to head mine safety agency
12:02
The Senate has confirmed former United Mine Workers union official Joseph Main to head the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. The chamber confirmed Main by unanimous consent on Wednesday evening to run the...
US urging China, Japan to buy less oil from Iran
11:13
The Obama administration is urging China, Japan and other countries to scale down their Iranian petroleum purchases to put pressure on Iran while the U.S. and others consider toughening economic sanctions on the regime....
Hatch urges Obama to investigate college's BCS
10:19
A senator whose undefeated home state school was bypassed for the college football national championship last season urged President Barack Obama on Wednesday to ask the Justice Department to investigate the Bowl...
US defense secretary says NKorea still a threat
7:37
The U.S. defense secretary said Thursday that North Korea continues to pose a grave threat to international peace and pledged to protect South Korea with Washington's full military might, including its nuclear weapons. ...
US signals Afghan coalition government is possible
2:30
The United States built pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday, signaling that a troop increase could hinge on a successful runoff election and that the Obama administration would be receptive to a...
Education chief calls for teacher prep overhaul
11:20
The Obama administration is calling for an overhaul of college programs that prepare teachers, saying they are cash cows that do a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the classroom. Education Secretary Arne Duncan...
Kidman: Hollywood probably contributes to violence
10:48
Nicole Kidman conceded Wednesday that Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects. The Oscar-winning actress said she is not interested in those kinds of...
Cheney: Stop the 'dithering' as troops face danger
10:28
Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Barack Obama to "do what it takes to win." "Make no mistake....
Dems go after antitrust exemption for insurers
9:34
Democrats launched a drive at both ends of the Capitol on Wednesday to strip the insurance industry of its decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws, part of an increasingly bare-knuckled struggle over landmark...
Kerry becomes all-around adviser to Obama
9:07
He's not president, a Cabinet member or ambassador, but Sen. John Kerry has ascended to the unofficial role of President Barack Obama's global adviser on key issues that could reshape the nation's image around the...
Education chief calls for teacher prep overhaul
9:00
The Obama administration is calling for an overhaul of college programs that prepare teachers, saying they are cash cows that do a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the classroom. Education Secretary Arne Duncan...
Recalls: off-road utility vehicles
8:32
The following recalls have been announced: _ About 3,900 off-road utility vehicles, made in the U.S. by Bad Boy Enterprises LLC, of Natchez, Miss., because they can accelerate without warning, posing a risk of injury...
THE INFLUENCE GAME: Firms resist new health rules
8:23
Despite promises by President Barack Obama, more than 70 million Americans who have health insurance through their jobs could be open to higher costs or denials of some coverage under a leading overhaul plan making its...
Clinton cites nuke worry; panel fears bio attack
8:20
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday warned of dire consequences from the spread of nuclear weapons, while a special U.S. panel asserted that the more worrisome and urgent threat is terrorists...
Quotes from the AP's interview with Kerry
8:05
Quotes from The Associated Press interview with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., on Wednesday, a few hours after he returned from Afghanistan, where he helped persuade President Hamid...
US health care tab would grow under overhaul
7:55
The nation's medical costs will keep spiraling upward even faster than they are now under Democratic legislation pending in the House, a report from government economic experts concluded Wednesday. Republicans said the...
Obama: Men still 'obtuse' on sharing family duties
7:34
President Barack Obama says his family is like a lot of others _ in which the men "need to be knocked across the head every once in a while" in order to see imbalances between the time moms and dads put into raising...
Obama hits campaign trail for NJ Gov Jon Corzine
7:27
President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged New Jersey to keep Democrat Jon Corzine as governor, calling him an honorable man who puts the people's interests first. "That's the kind of governor that Jon Corzine has been....
GOP senator says Obama showing Nixonian tendencies
7:14
The third-ranking Senate Republican said Wednesday the Obama administration appears to be launching a Richard Nixon-like political strategy of making an "enemies list" of people who disagree with the president. Sen....
Housing regs to add protections for gays
6:45
Federal housing officials said Wednesday they're developing regulations to ensure that gays and lesbians aren't denied access to federally subsidized housing based on their sexual orientation. The Housing and Urban...
House panel ensures state oversight of big banks
6:34
The House Financial Services Committee agreed Wednesday to ensure states can impose their own tough consumer protection laws against big banks, dealing a blow to a financial industry blamed for bringing down the U.S....
Insurance group lobbying up in recent months
5:59
The nation's health insurance companies have ramped up their lobbying as the battle over reshaping the health care system has escalated. America's Health Insurance Plans reported spending $2.4 million during July,...
Former task force head bullish on GM, Chrysler
5:37
The former head of the Obama administration's auto task force expressed optimism Wednesday that General Motors and Chrysler could rebound and help taxpayers recoup some of their multibillion-dollar investment in the...
Healthy recipes for kids from the White House
5:26
First lady Michelle Obama wants to make sure children have healthy choices when they get the munchies. As part of a "healthy kids fair" she hosted on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday, chefs demonstrated a...
Groves worried about cost overruns in 2010 census
5:20
The head of the Census Bureau on Wednesday expressed concern about cost overruns in preparations for next year's high-stakes count, saying he was taking steps to help prevent the expenses from ballooning further. ...
US gov't cuts ties to worker in Iraq bribery case
5:06
A State Department manager charged with taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks on contracts for Iraq reconstruction work is no longer employed by the government. Richard Lopez Razo was arrested in...
Obama refocuses bailout on small businesses
4:45
President Barack Obama unveiled plans Wednesday to refocus spending of the government's $700 billion financial bailout away from Wall Street's big financial institutions and toward small businesses on Main Street. ...
Congressman launches site to honor uninsured dead
4:39
The Florida congressman who said Republicans want the uninsured to "die quickly" if they get sick has set up a Web site where people can post names of loved ones who have died for lack of health coverage. Democratic...
Kerry says Obama's Afghan decision should wait
4:30
Sen. John Kerry says President Barack Obama should wait until after the new Afghanistan presidential election is conducted before making his decision for the war. Kerry met with Obama at the White House Wednesday, just...
McCain vows to hold up labor board nominee
4:25
Another Obama administration nominee is facing a GOP roadblock over his ties to labor unions. Arizona Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he would place a hold on the confirmation of union lawyer Craig Becker to join the...
Hula hooping it up for health, first lady swivels
4:20
First lady Michelle Obama hooped it up for health _ hula hooped, that is _ managing to get in an impressive 142 swivels before her hula hoop hit the ground. Jumping rope double dutch? Not so much. It was all for a good...
HHS secretary has minor skin cancer removed
3:53
The office of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (seh-BEEL'-yuhs) says she had a slow-growing form of skin cancer removed from her forehead Tuesday. The spot was a basal cell carcinoma, the most...
Senate blocks bill raising Medicare fees for MDs
3:00
The Senate has sidetracked legislation raising Medicare payments for doctors by $247 billion over the next decade. The 47-53 vote was 13 short of the 60 needed to advance the measure, and reflected bipartisan concern...
Karzai needed convincing twice on new election
1:58
Afghan President Hamid Karzai needed high-level American arm-twisting over several tense days _ and meals that included "gallons of tea" and endless platters of lamb _ before he finally agreed to a run-off vote in the...
CDC concedes vaccine production behind schedule
1:56
A top-ranking official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says production of a vaccine for swine flu virus is behind schedule and people should take precautionary steps to prevent its spread. Dr. Anne...
Top corruption prosecutor steps down
1:52
The head of the Justice Department's anti-corruption unit is stepping down after the office's botched trial of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. The public integrity unit has been under intense scrutiny since the...
A look at the Consumer Financial Protection Agency
1:37
A look at legislation by the House Financial Services Committee to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, or CFPA: _ The agency would oversee such common financial products as mortgages, credit cards, payday...
Government eyes off-road recreational vehicles
12:39
After scores of deaths, the federal government is taking a closer look at off-road recreational vehicles, known as ROVs. The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted Wednesday to write mandatory rules to regulate the...
US officials to travel to Myanmar for talks
11:39
The Obama administration said Wednesday that U.S. officials plan to travel to Myanmar in the next few weeks to talk with representatives from the military-run government, ethnic minority groups and the democratic...
Safety board issues wake-up call on sleep disorder
10:47
Safety investigators have sent government agencies a wake-up call about sleep apnea, a disorder that's showing up in a wide range of transportation accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that...
Group tries to blunt right wing on closing Gitmo
7:45
A group of retired generals and war veterans has launched a national campaign to rally support for White House plans to shutter the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. President Barack Obama pledged to close...
Admiral: US, China military relations thawing
7:35
Military relations between the United States and China have begun to thaw after a year of limited contact, the admiral in charge of the U.S. Pacific Command said Wednesday. Adm. Robert F. Willard said the U.S. is...
Finances of tax credit extension are questioned
6:39
Key congressional leaders want to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers beyond its scheduled end-of-November expiration despite complaints of fraud and Obama administration concerns about the costs. Housing...