Politics - Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq are close to a deal extending the presence of U.S. troops beyond 2008, but any timetable for their withdrawal must be "feasible," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With speculation over U.S. vice presidential picks at a boil, prediction markets on Wednesday judged Democrat Joseph Biden and Republicans Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty most likely to get the nod.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio Democrat who was one of the few dissenting voices in Congress during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, died on Wednesday after a brain aneurysm, a hospital spokeswoman said.

TBILISI (Reuters) - The United States expects to help Georgia rebuild its military following the conflict with Russia over breakaway South Ossetia, a top U.S. general said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens failed on Wednesday to have his corruption case moved to Alaska so he could have more time in his home state to campaign for re-election.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Forty-five nations met on Thursday to consider lifting a ban on nuclear trade with India, a move which will help launch a U.S.-Indian nuclear deal.

WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Russia's reaction to the U.S.-Polish missile shield agreement "borders on the bizarre" but denied Washington wanted a confrontation with Moscow.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eight scientific organizations urged the next U.S. president to help protect the country from climate change by pushing for increased funding for research and forecasting, saying about $2 trillion of U.S. economic output could be hurt by storms, floods and droughts.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - California's attorney general is reviewing a request by former employees of IndyMac Bancorp Inc to investigate whether a New York senator triggered the bank's collapse by releasing confidential information.

WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States and Poland signed a deal on Wednesday to station parts of a U.S. missile defense shield on Polish soil, drawing a sharp response from Moscow.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp lost out on a Navy patrol plane contract because of problems with past work on the unmanned Predator aircraft it proposed, offsetting a $5 billion higher life-cycle cost of Northrop Grumman Corp's winning bid.

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi politicians must not let a bitter feud over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk stand in the way of provincial elections expected to redraw the country's political map, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans remain deeply worried about a faltering economy and their own financial futures, but their outlook improved slightly this month, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans think that the worst of the fuel price spike that pushed gasoline above $4 per gallon has passed, but they have little hope that the housing market will stage a swift recovery, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The United States has seen initial signs that Russia is withdrawing some of its forces from Georgia but Moscow is not moving fast enough, the White House said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of September 11 victims' families appealed to White House hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama on Wednesday to suspend all campaigning on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks as a show of respect.