White Americans' majority to end by mid-century
11:08
The estimated time when whites will no longer make up the majority of Americans has been pushed back eight years _ to 2050 _ because the recession and stricter immigration policies have slowed the flow of foreigners...
House rushes to finish its work for year
11:05
The House launched a frenetic day of legislating Wednesday, seeking to wrap up such end-of-session tasks as financing the military, helping the jobless and permitting the government to run up more debt. Lawmakers, with...
Health care issues: Who's insured, and how
10:25
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: How many people have health insurance now, and how would that change if the system is overhauled? THE POLITICS: One of the driving causes behind the longtime...
AP Exclusive: Tourists enjoy White House breakfast
9:33
A Georgia couple who showed up at the White House a day early for a tour somehow wound up at an invitation-only breakfast with President Barack Obama and the first lady. It wasn't a state dinner, but it left the White...
Native Hawaiian bill poised to pass 2 committees
9:24
Two congressional committees are considering legislation this week that would let native Hawaiians establish their own government, much like those organized by hundreds of Indian tribes. The House Natural Resources...
Treasury receives $9.45 million for TCF warrants
9:20
The Treasury Department has received $9.45 million in the sale of warrants it had received from TCF Financial Corp. as part of the support the government provided the bank during last year's financial crisis. The...
Bail hearing for Pa. police accused of cover-up
8:42
After taking part in a fight that left a Mexican immigrant mortally wounded on the street, teenagers Brandon Piekarsky and Derrick Donchak fled. They didn't get very far before running into two police officers...
AP source: Obama writes letter to NKorean leader
6:38
President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as part of an intense effort to draw the reclusive nation back to nuclear disarmament talks, a senior State Department official...
Obama to host new safety chairwoman, NASA chief
5:25
President Barack Obama meets Wednesday at the White House with recently installed Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum. Tenenbaum has promised a more vigorous enforcement approach at the agency....
US calls Japan base delay decision unfortunate
3:11
The United States is frustrated by Japan's delay in relocating a major U.S. military base, even as the U.S. signals a willingness to be patient with Tokyo's new government. The moderate approach reflects the Obama...
AP Exclusive: Tourists enjoy White House breakfast
12:52
It wasn't a state dinner, and they didn't crash it on purpose. Still, a Georgia couple who showed up at the White House a day early for a tour somehow wound up at an invitation-only breakfast with President Barack...
Democrats propose $50B for jobs-boosting projects
8:10
Responding to calls among rank-and-file Democrats for more infrastructure spending, House leaders Tuesday unveiled a plan to add almost $50 billion in spending on highways, housing and school repair as part of a...
Roll Call: How they voted on drug imports plan
7:52
The 51-48 roll call Tuesday by which the Senate rejected a plan that would allow Americans to import low-cost prescriptions from abroad. Sixty votes were needed to pass the measure. A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the...
Senate rejects plan to import low-cost drugs
7:32
The Senate rejected a plan Tuesday to allow Americans to import low-cost prescriptions from abroad, handing drug makers a victory that may help secure passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The vote...
House votes to turn down volume of noisy TV ads
7:06
The House on Tuesday voted to level off the abrupt spikes in volume felt by television viewers during commercial breaks. The bill _ approved by a voice vote _ is aimed at stopping TV ads from playing noticeably louder...
Lawmakers: Soldiers have problems with combat gear
7:04
Troops are being sent to war zones without proper training and suitable gear, according to two senior Democratic lawmakers who say they've been told by soldiers about problems ranging from their backpacks to their...
Ex-State employee sentenced to 2-year probation
7:04
A former State Department employee has been placed on probation for two years for illegally accessing passport applications of more than 65 celebrities and others. Twenty-eight-year-old Karal Busch of District Heights,...
House votes to expand sanctions on Iran
6:26
The House voted Tuesday to impose new economic sanctions on Iran as lawmakers cast doubt on Iran's willingness to respond to diplomatic efforts to curtail its purported nuclear arms program. The legislation, approved...
Ex-Kennedy aide charged with defrauding Senate
6:21
A former office manager for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy has been charged with conspiring to defraud the Senate of more than $75,000 in pay and bonuses. Authorities charge that 39-year-old Ngozi T. Pole filled out...
Ill. town welcomes plan to house Gitmo detainees
6:04
The White House decision to move up to 100 Guantanamo Bay detainees to this dying Mississippi River town has folks here seeing dollar signs, not suspected terrorists. Many people in this rural community are hopeful...
Gitmo detainees not free in US after prison
6:04
Guantanamo Bay detainees brought into this country for trial will not be staying here, the Obama administration is promising. A detainee tried in this country would be treated for immigration purposes as though he is...
White House not expecting weapons treaty this week
5:34
The White House said Tuesday it didn't expect President Barack Obama to sign a nuclear weapons treaty with Russia when he travels to Copenhagen this week. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the U.S. and Russia continued to...
Bill would give undocumented legal status
5:09
Hispanic, black, Asian and other House lawmakers backing immigration overhaul called Tuesday for legalizing illegal immigrants in the U.S., despite a weakened economy and joblessness. The coalition of lawmakers said...
Obama talks climate with 3 European leaders
4:51
President Barack Obama is discussing the climate summit in Denmark with other world leaders. Obama spoke by telephone Tuesday with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs...
Popularity of texting edging out cell phone calls
4:41
R u kidding me? Americans punched out more than 110 billion text messages in December 2008, double the number in the last month of 2007, as the shorthand communication becomes a popular alternative to cell phone calls. ...
For Westerners, it's not easy to join the Taliban
4:18
As five U.S. students are alleged to have discovered, joining Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents isn't easy for outsiders _ one reason the flow of foreign fighters to Afghanistan so far is a small stream compared to the...
Lawmaker scolds administration on Fort Hood info
3:35
Sen. Joe Lieberman, who chairs a Senate oversight committee, chided the Obama administration Tuesday for not providing information to lawmakers probing the Fort Hood killings. The Connecticut independent said his...
Clinton to attend climate change talks in Denmark
2:34
The State Department says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Copenhagen this week to attend a conference aimed at fashioning a global deal to curb emissions that cause global warming. The...
Federal workers owe more than $3B in back taxes
2:06
Federal workers owed the government more than $3 billion in back income taxes in 2008, just as federal tax revenues started to suffer from the recession. More than 276,000 federal employees and retirees owed back...
Obama panel urges single system for secrets
1:09
A presidential task force on government secrecy has recommended creating a new government-wide system for categorizing sensitive information to reduce confusion about exactly who should know what. The recommendations...
Schwarzenegger says go carefully on climate change
12:25
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says world policymakers do not have to choose between a clean environment and economic growth. Schwarzenegger said "we've proved that over and over again in California."...
Health care issues: Public plan compromises
10:50
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: Are compromises being considered when it comes to letting the government sell insurance in competition with private industry? THE POLITICS: The so-called...
Decade of politics leaves Americans still divided
7:12
It wasn't so long ago that politicians had the luxury to bicker over how to spend a record budget surplus, Barack Obama was a state senator trying unsuccessfully to get a foot in the door of the U.S. Capitol, and George...
Obama to pitch energy-saving home remodeling
6:08
President Barack Obama is making another pitch Tuesday to save energy and help the economy by encouraging people to make their homes more energy-efficient. Obama will make his presentation during a visit to a Home...
CAPITAL CULTURE: Obama's Chicago plans a no-go
12:02
People do it all the time. They move, and promise to visit the old neighborhood often. You never see them again. Barack Obama said when he became president that he wanted to get back to his home in Chicago every six...
AP sources: Ill prison to get some Gitmo detainees
11:30
The White House plans to announce Tuesday that a rural Illinois prison will be acquired by the federal government to become the new home for a limited number of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Administration officials as...
AP source: Feds eye NY trial for Gitmo suspect
11:03
Federal prosecutors are considering sending a Guantanamo Bay detainee named Majid Khan _ who grew up in Maryland before allegedly enlisting with al-Qaida _ to face trial in New York, a person familiar with the...
22 million missing Bush White House e-mails found
9:24
Computer technicians have found 22 million missing White House e-mails from the administration of President George W. Bush and the Obama administration is searching for dozens more days' worth of potentially lost e-mail...
Lieberman supported Medicare expansion
8:24
Sen. Joe Lieberman was for a Medicare expansion before he was against it. Democrats circulated video Monday from a Connecticut newspaper's interview in September showing Lieberman voicing support for a so-called...
Obama: UN resolutions in Lebanon must be enforced
7:18
President Barack Obama said Monday a U.N. resolution calling on Hezbollah to disarm must be enforced. Speaking to reporters following a private Oval Office meeting with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Obama said...
Senate Dems weigh dropping Medicare expansion
6:52
Senate Democrats say they may jettison a proposed Medicare expansion from health care legislation they are eager to pass before Christmas. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, emerging from a closed door meeting, said Monday the...
Back from combat, women struggle for acceptance
6:03
Nobody wants to buy them a beer. Even near military bases, female veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't often offered a drink on the house as a welcome home. More than 230,000 American women have fought...
Pa. lawmaker hospitalized with abdominal pains
4:27
Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha has been hospitalized with abdominal pains. His spokesman says he was admitted to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on Sunday night. The spokesman, Matt Mazonkey, says it...
Feds: Chicago suspect knew of Mumbai attack
3:57
A Chicago man accused of planning a terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper knew in advance about a plot to attack Mumbai and offered congratulations to the killers afterward, federal prosecutors charged Monday. In...
Famed blue diamonds to join up at Smithsonian
3:11
Two of the world's most famed blue diamonds will be on display together starting in January. The 31.06-carat Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond will join the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian's National Museum of...
Clinton: New sanctions on Iran needed
2:01
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday the Obama administration's nearly yearlong effort to engage Iran has fallen short and new sanctions are needed to press the Iranian leadership to come clean about...
Tenn. Rep. Gordon won't seek re-election next year
1:21
Rep. Bart Gordon, a 13-term congressman from Tennessee, announced Monday he will not seek re-election next year, the latest Democrat in a string of retirements. Gordon, 60, won re-election easily last year, garnering...
Clinton: Iran charges on US hikers unfounded
11:50
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that Iranian charges against three detained Americans are "totally unfounded" and appealed anew to authorities in Iran to release them. Clinton said the three were...
High court to rule on deportation issue
11:04
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether immigrants convicted of repeat, minor drug possession crimes should be subject to deportation. The justices said Monday they will hear an appeal from Jose Angel...
Health care issues: Penalties for no insurance
10:48
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: If individuals don't get health insurance, will they be penalized and how will it happen? THE POLITICS: President Barack Obama did not propose penalties for...