WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio praised Iran’s release of five detained Americans on Sunday, but sharply criticized the deal the White House made to win their freedom saying it would lead to more Americans being taken “ho... More »
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday laid out a plan to help support the income of workers who lose their jobs and end up in lower paying positions, as part of a push to get unemployed Americans back to work. The proposal would offer experience... More »
Gifts of sex toys, glitter and nail polish are not what the armed protesters who seized a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon were expecting when they put out a public call for supplies to help get them through the winter. The occupiers, who took over buildings at ... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday hammered away at his closest challenger’s eligibility to be U.S. president, while the party’s Senate leader said the chamber will stay out of the fray involving Ted Cruz’s citizenship. Unde... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday will be more available to “cord cutters,” a nod to the changing television viewing habits of Americans, the White House said on Sunday. Cable and satellite providers have been grappling ... More »
WASHINGTON Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that she did not ask for classified information to be sent over a non-secure system while heading the State Department, responding to the latest development in an issue that has dogged... More »
WASHINGTON Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and a Syrian refugee who now lives in Michigan will be among 23 special guests at President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union speech, the White House said on Sunday. Inviting Americans whose stor... More »
WASHINGTON As Barack Obama prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the U.S. president and his aides have insisted he will not be content simply to run out the clock on foreign policy and is acting decisively to tackle crises ... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama will not publicly endorse a candidate before the 2016 Democratic primary election, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said on Sunday. “We’ll do exactly what has been done in the past,” McDonough said on NBC’s “Mee... More »
WASHINGTON The chief executive of a successful American exporter will have a prime spot on Tuesday night to watch President Barack Obama make the case in his final State of the Union address for a sweeping Asian trade deal he hopes will be part of his legacy. ... More »
The host of the Miss Universe pageant mistakenly announced the wrong winner on Sunday, who then had to give up the crown and hand it over to a 26-year-old actress and model from the Philippines. It was the first edition of the annual beauty show since it was t... More »
WASHINGTON Locked in budget talks in the twilight of his Senate career, Harry Reid saw an unexpected opening to bargain for his legislative wish list. It had become apparent to Senate Democratic Majority Leader Reid that lifting the longstanding ban on U.S. oi... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Sunday that Democrat Hillary Clinton was a “liar” for claiming that his proposal to ban entry of all foreign Muslims into the United States has aided Islamic State’s propaganda efforts. Spe... More »
MANCHESTER, N.H. U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton backed elements of President Barack Obama’s strategy to fight Islamic State militants in a debate on Saturday, drawing criticism from all sides for saying “we now finally are where we n... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump said separately on Sunday that the United States should not try to topple dictators such as Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, highlighting a skepticism over foreign wars that transcends party lines... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders apologized to front-runner Hillary Clinton at a debate on Saturday for a breach of Clinton voter files by a Sanders staffer that intensified tensions between the two camps. The Sanders campaign a... More »
MANCHESTER, N.H. Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton on Saturday said that as president she would probably still pick out the dinnerware and flowers for state occasions and send her husband, former president Bill Clinton, on special missions. When a... More »
MACAU Top Republican Party donor Sheldon Adelson said on Friday he met presidential candidate Donald Trump earlier this week and that the two American billionaires broached the issue at the heart of Adelson’s political agenda: support for Israel. While the meg... More »
WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate on Friday ratified reforms to boost the representation of emerging economies at the International Monetary Fund as part of a budget bill that will clear the way for new industrial powerhouses like China and India to have more clout a... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders regained access to crucial voter files on Friday after taking the Democratic National Committee to court and accusing party leaders of trying to undermine his White House bid and help rival Hilla... More »
SAN FRANCISCO The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing a criminal investigation of a May 2014 data breach at ride service Uber [UBER.UL], including an examination of whether any employees at competitor Lyft were involved in the episode, sources familiar with... More »
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it approved the $9.1 billion sale of U.S. regional cable company Suddenlink Communications to European telecoms group Altice NV. The Dutch firm announced in May its acquisition of a majority stake in Su... More »
WASHINGTON The Obama administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday of a $1.83-billion arms sale package for Taiwan, including two frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and other equipment, drawing an angry response from China. The ... More »
HAVANA U.S. President Barack Obama is welcome to visit Cuba but not to meddle in its internal affairs, a senior foreign ministry official said on Wednesday on the eve of the first anniversary of the two countries’ historic rapprochement. “The day that the pres... More »
U.S. and Cuban officials said on Wednesday they had made important headway in a months-long effort to restore scheduled flight service between the countries after half a century of confrontation. An agreement would pave the way for U.S. airlines to schedule fl... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. intelligence agencies can now reach almost all domestic phone records, far more than they collected under a now-scrapped program by the National Security Agency, according to Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz. That estimate of the amou... More »
OMAHA, Neb. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Wednesday proposed expanding the “Buffett rule” to raise effective tax rates on the wealthy. Appearing in Omaha, Neb. alongside Warren Buffett for who the rule is named, Clinton said it will b... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Wednesday that his department has been consulting social media in reviews of immigration applications since early this year, hitting back at criticism that U.S. authorities are not doing enough to... More »
MOSCOW Russia will consider Afghanistan’s request for arms supply in a careful manner, but that task belongs first of all to the United States, RIA news agency cited Kremlin’s special envoy to Afghanistan as saying on Monday. Zamir Kabulov told the agency that... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Sunday laid out the most sweeping defense yet of his strategy to defeat Islamic State, but he offered no U.S. policy shift to confront what he called a “new phase” in the terrorist threat after a mass shooting in California... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidates roundly criticized President Barack Obama’s Sunday night address to the nation about the U.S. response to the threat of terror, arguing that he lacked a vision and was not aggressive enough. Republicans have become... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders unveiled a climate change plan on Monday that seeks to end the country’s dependence on oil, coal and nuclear energy and could pressure party front-runner Hillary Clinton. The Vermont senator’s plan... More »
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK President Barack Obama on Sunday called on Silicon Valley to help address the threat of militant groups using social media and electronic communications to plan and promote violence, setting up renewed debate over personal privacy online. “... More »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter delivered an unexpected message on Sunday to the several hundred people gathered at a Baptist church in Georgia for his Bible lesson – his latest brain scan showed no sign of cancer. Carter, 91, started treatment in August fo... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to review the K-1 fiance visa program that was used by a couple responsible for a mass shooting in California, a White House official said on Sunday. ... More »
WASHINGTON Singer-songwriter Carole King, Star Wars creator George Lucas and actress Cicely Tyson descended on Washington on Sunday to be feted for their contributions to the arts as the latest recipients of the coveted Kennedy Center Honors awards. Joined by ... More »
WASHINGTON The White House is urging Silicon Valley to help address the threat posed by militant groups by restricting the use of social media for planning and promoting violence, a senior administration official said on Sunday. Last week’s mass shooting in Ca... More »
WASHINGTON Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Sunday she would take the relationship between the U.S. and Israel “to the next level,” but warned that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would not be enough to stabilize the entire regio... More »
BOSTON/SINGAPORE Parents who gave their child a Kidizoom smartwatch or a VTech InnoTab tablet may have exposed them to identity theft after Hong Kong-based VTech said hackers stole the personal information of more than 6 million children. The breach underscore... More »
WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve Board on Friday named the chairs and deputy chairs of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks for 2016. The Fed’s Washington-based board appoints three of the nine directors at each of the regional banks and selects the chair and d... More »
PARIS U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping pledged on Monday to work together to drive forward a climate change agreement at international talks in Paris. Ahead of a bilateral meeting with Xi, Obama said the leadership of the two coun... More »
WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve Board will consider on Monday a proposal to curb its emergency lending powers, a change demanded by Congress after the central bank’s controversial decision to aid AIG (AIG.N), Citigroup (C.N) and others in 2008. A proposed rule,... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said on Sunday that he found facilities at a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan to be “really quite nice” and that people there would rather stay or return home to Syria than come to the United States. But Car... More »
BOSTON U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton plans to make job creation the focus of her campaign over the next month, beginning with a $275 billion infrastructure spending plan that will be released this week. Clinton’s plan to increase the f... More »
WASHINGTON The publisher of an influential newspaper in the early voting state of New Hampshire said on Sunday the paper had endorsed Republican Chris Christie in the U.S. presidential contest because of his experience and potential to take on rival Donald Tru... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted on Sunday he was “100 percent right” when he said he saw thousands of Muslims in Jersey City, New Jersey, cheering the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, even though fact-checkers hav... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday reframed his claim that he saw Muslims in Jersey City, New Jersey, cheering the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001 by asserting the sentiment... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, who last week compared Syrian refugees to “rabid dogs,” met with refugees in Jordan on Saturday and urged the U.S. government to do more to help but did not endorse bringing them to the United States. Ca... More »
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Comcast Corp, the biggest U.S. cable TV provider, is hindering competition in cable advertising sales, a source told Reuters. The department’s Antitrust Division has sent documents known as civil investig... More »
ABU DHABI U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was set to hold talks with senior Emirati and Saudi officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday to find ways to bring Syrian opposition groups together at a conference that will be hosted by Saudi Arabia next month. The hastil... More »
CLINTON, Iowa U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Sunday proposed a tax credit offsetting up to $6,000 in costs associated with caring for elderly and disabled family members, and allowing caregivers to accrue Social Security retirement b... More »
NEW YORK Nearly a dozen big Republican donors backing different presidential candidates are coming together to help fund an advertising campaign attacking front-runner Donald Trump, who faced sharp criticism from rivals this week for his inflammatory comments ... More »
WASHINGTON Leading Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said on Sunday the United States is not doing enough to fight Islamic State, and the group is gaining strength outside Iraq and Syria. Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, ... More »
WASHINGTON Several Republican presidential candidates insisted Syrian refugees pose a potential danger to America and should not be allowed into the country, despite growing criticism within and outside their party of some of their statements. Debate over the ... More »
WASHINGTON The White House deployed Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday to explain to fearful Americans the administration’s policy on Syrian refugees in the weekly address to the nation. Refugees have become a top political concern after Islamic State milita... More »
PARIS/BRUSSELS French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Sunday as police in Europe widened their investigations into coordinated attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday’s suicid... More »
PARIS French police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across the country overnight in the aftermath of the Paris shootings, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday as he warned of potential further attacks. Valls said that since this summe... More »
BELEK, Turkey Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he wanted Britain to carry out air strikes against Islamic State militants (ISIL) in Syria but still needed to convince more lawmakers to back such action. “I have always said I think that it is sensibl... More »
SYDNEY/TOKYO/PARIS/NEW YORK Stocks in major markets are set for a short-term sell-off on Monday after suspected Islamist militants launched coordinated attacks across Paris that killed more than 130 people, but few strategists expect a prolonged economic impac... More »
AMES, Iowa A top aide to U.S. Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that criticism of her remarks in Saturday’s debate regarding 9/11 and Wall Street campaign contributions would not resonate with average voters. “They were attacking... More »
WASHINGTON The deadly attacks in Paris pushed terrorism and the Syrian refugee crisis to the center of the U.S presidential campaign on Sunday, as Republicans hammered Obama administration plans to take in more refugees as well as Democratic front-runner Hilla... More »
DES MOINES, Iowa U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton played defense over her 2003 vote backing the U.S. invasion of Iraq and inched away from President Barack Obama on Syria and the rise of Islamic State militants during a contentious deb... More »
SHANGHAI Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, enjoys strong support in the United States, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told Chinese officials during a visit this week to the Himalayan region, while expressing concern about human rights there. Pel... More »
WASHINGTON/DES MOINES, Iowa The lethal attacks in Paris have the potential to reshape the U.S. presidential race, placing a new emphasis on issues of national security, border control, and counterterrorism, while perhaps bolstering candidates who talk toughest... More »
WASHINGTON The United States needs to increase its efforts in Syria and Iraq “directly” and expand its support to other nations where Islamic State militants operate, U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement on Saturday responding to the Pa... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama still plans to attend a global climate summit in Paris at the end of November despite the attacks claimed by Islamic State, a senior U.S. administration official said on Saturday. The Paris summit is focused on curbing climate... More »
WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to hear a challenge to tough abortion restrictions in Texas raises questions about the legal fate of similar laws in more than a dozen other states. The court’s ruling, due by June, could spell out the ext... More »
WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court took up a major new abortion case on Friday, agreeing to hear a challenge by abortion providers to parts of a restrictive, Republican-backed Texas law that they contend are aimed at shutting clinics that offer the procedure. T... More »
WASHINGTONRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Sunday that rival Ben Carson would have to explain a number of things about his West Point and youth recollections, which have come under scrutiny. “He’s going to have to explain a lot of things ... More »
WASHINGTONHillary Clinton on Saturday called for looser federal regulations governing marijuana, to boost scientific research on a drug that many tout for relieving pain, among other medical benefits, according to media reports. Speaking at a campaign event in... More »
WASHINGTON Battered by weeks of negative headlines, Republican Jeb Bush launches a campaign reboot on Monday with a “Jeb Can Fix It” tour and release of an e-book that reveals a more personal side to a 2016 candidate who has struggled on the public stage. Bush... More »
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Fred Thompson, a former Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee who briefly ran for president and straddled the world of politics and entertainment with a prolific television and film acting career, died of cancer on Sunday at age 73. Thompson,... More »
WASHINGTON Representatives from Republican presidential campaigns on Sunday demanded a more active role in negotiations with TV networks over how presidential debates are conducted and sought a more limited role for the Republican National Committee. Officials... More »
WASHINGTON Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan can add one more burning issue to his agenda as the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives: how to get rid of the stench of cigarette smoke. Ryan said on Sunday he has been trying to come up with ways to remo... More »
WASHINGTON House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Sunday ruled out working with President Barack Obama on overhauling U.S. immigration policy, saying it would be “a ridiculous notion” to pursue legislation because Obama cannot be trusted on the issue. R... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidates accused President Barack Obama on Sunday of showing weakness in U.S. policy in Syria, doubting that his small deployment of special operations troops will make much difference without a coherent broader strategy. “... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush pressed his attack on rival Marco Rubio’s record of missed Senate votes, saying it showed Rubio had “given up” on breaking through the political gridlock in Washington. Bush questioned whether Rubio, a U.S.... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said he is conflicted about the death penalty and wants to see reforms in how it is implemented. Bush, in an interview taped for broadcast on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said executions can provide cl... More »
KRAKOW, Poland Oscar-winning film-maker Roman Polanski said on Friday he was grateful and relieved after a Polish court rejected a U.S. request for his extradition over a 1977 child sex conviction. The case of the Polish-born Polanski, now 82, remains an inter... More »
(This October 28 story has been corrected in 13th paragraph to fix 100 mph metric conversion to 160 kph from 60kph) By Joe McDonald and Phil Stewart EXCHANGE, Pa./WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A high-tech U.S. military blimp designed to detect a missile attack came l... More »
WASHINGTON Vice President Joe Biden, calling former campaign opponent Paul Ryan a “good guy,” voiced hope in an interview that the White House could make progress with Congress on the budget and other issues if Ryan becomes House of Representatives speaker. Ry... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, who is making inroads against front-runner Donald Trump, on Sunday denied he would end the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly, saying he would provide the option of using a government-backed sav... More »
NEW YORK U.S. presidential candidate Ben Carson may be the farthest Republican voters can get from the party’s establishment: A retired neurosurgeon with a penchant for inflammatory comments who has never held, much less run, for elected office. While many of ... More »
DES MOINES, Iowa U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders contrasted his record with that of Hillary Clinton on key issues, including his early support for same-sex marriages and consistent opposition to the Iraq war, during a Democratic fundraising dinner i... More »
NEW ORLEANS Louisiana voters on Saturday threw support behind Democrat John Bel Edwards in his bid to succeed Governor Bobby Jindal, but Edwards will have to face off with Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter in a Nov. 21 runoff when no candidate polled more than... More »
MILWAUKEE Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker on Friday signed a bill into law that prohibits prosecutors from using the state’s secret investigation law to probe political crimes – a measure used to convict four of his aides and investigate his campaig... More »
WASHINGTON Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Friday denounced as “pathetic” and “totally ridiculous” a Republican congressman’s call to impeach her on her first day in office if she is elected to the White House next year. Clinton, the ... More »
NEW YORK U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Friday won a major union endorsement, further boosting her front-runner status in the race for the Democratic nomination in the November 2016 election. The 1.6-million-member AFSCME’s endorsement represents... More »
BOSTON/NEW YORK A panel of medical experts said on Friday the prices of prescription medicines in the United States need to be brought in line with the value they bring to patients instead of continuing to let drugmakers set any price they choose. “Americans a... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Representative Paul Ryan did not secure enough votes from the conservative “Freedom Caucus” for a formal endorsement as speaker of the House of Representatives but may get enough support to win if he decides to run, congressmen said on Wednesda... More »
Hackers associated with the Chinese government have tried to penetrate at least seven U.S. companies in the three weeks since Washington and Beijing agreed not to spy on each other for commercial reasons, according to a prominent U.S. security firm. CrowdStrik... More »
IOWA CITY, Iowa Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said on Sunday he plans to give a major speech soon to explain his belief in democratic socialism, acknowledging the political label could be a stumbling block to winning over American voters. Th... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush transitioned from defense to offense on Sunday after criticism from rival Donald Trump that his brother, former President George W. Bush, carried some blame for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Trump, the flamb... More »
WASHINGTON When President Barack Obama announced this week that the United States would leave more troops than planned in Afghanistan, his vice president, Joe Biden, stood right at his side. And for Biden, still mulling a presidential bid, that could pose a pr... More »
WASHINGTON Turmoil swirled again around the Republican-controlled Benghazi committee on Friday as it questioned a senior aide to Hillary Clinton, prompting fresh accusations that the panel was created to damage the Democratic front-runner’s presidential campai... More »
MOSCOW Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday, RIA news agency quoted the ministry’s press department as saying. RIA said the information came in response to a question on wh... More »
WASHINGTON A group of hard-line conservative Republicans would “look favorably” on Paul Ryan if he ran to be speaker of the House of Representatives, the group’s leader said on Sunday. The approximately 40-member House Freedom Caucus is at the center of turmoi... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said Donald Trump was “the classic reality TV character” who had tapped into something real in the Republican Party but was unlikely to end up as president. “He is a great publicity-seeker – and at a time when the Republican P... More »
WASHINGTON A former investigator for the Republican-led U.S. House committee on Benghazi – who accused it of targeting Hillary Clinton – never expressed unhappiness about Clinton’s treatment in discussions leading up to his firing, the panel’s head said on Sun... More »
SAN FRANCISCO President Barack Obama poked a litte fun at rapper Kanye West on Saturday for saying he planned to run for the White House and offered some tongue-in-cheek advice on how to achieve a successful political career. “First of all, you’ve got to spend... More »
