Presidential Elections

WASHINGTON - Presidents get elected to run the nation. Some days that means knowing how to heal it.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Tuesday it would give Afghanistan up to $5 billion in new aid, a move Tokyo hopes will improve strained security ties with Washington ahead of President Barack Obama's visit this week.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and the first lady will travel to Killeen, Texas, to meet with those most affected by the Fort Hood shootings.

The traditional pecking order of Washington’s top trade and business groups has been thrown into disarray by the Obama administration’s far-reaching domestic agenda and its tough tactics against opponents.

Saturday night’s House vote on health care reform was the most significant liberal legislative triumph in years, and progressives are now scrambling to capitalize on the fast-fading momentum.

As the 2010 campaign cycle begins in earnest, the central question in the House of Representatives is how many seats will Republicans win?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States.

White House pastry chef Bill Yosses' light, flaky pie crusts have earned him the nickname "The Crustmaster" from President Barack Obama. His trick to making fruit pies worthy of a president is to bake the bottom crust first, then fill and top the pie and bake it again.

WASHINGTON - Poor Bill Yosses. He's the White House pastry chef. He makes desserts for a living.

President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a quickly scheduled meeting this evening even as the third party in their peace talks, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, threatened to quit his post to protest the lack of progress.

WASHINGTON - The White House launched an effort Monday that it says will turn the government into a model employer of military veterans and possibly provide encouragement for private employers to do the same.

HARTFORD, Conn. - Gov. M. Jodi Rell will not run for re-election next year, saying Monday that she plans to dedicate her last 14 months in office to solving Connecticut's ever-darkening economic problems.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid found his health reform efforts seriously complicated Monday by the explosive issue of abortion, as key centrist senators said they wanted to see airtight language in the bill blocking federal funding for the procedure.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said Monday that he'd be willing to attend an international climate summit in Copenhagen next month if it appears a deal is in the offing and his presence there would help clinch it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will be at a meeting in Singapore on Sunday also attended by the prime minister of Myanmar, but he does not intend to speak directly with him, an administration official said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he plans to raise the issue of the yuan currency with Chinese officials when he meets with them in Beijing next week.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will have a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, as well as with Asian leaders during his trip to Asia starting later this week, administration officials said on Monday.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the harshest prison sentence ever handed out to a member of Congress for former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), arguing that his “stunning betrayal of public trust” warrants what could be a life sentence for the long-time lawmaker.

WASHINGTON - The White House is calling for the release of three Americans being held in Iran on accusations of espionage.

Rep. Danny K. Davis has decided to run for an eighth term in in Congress instead of trying to become president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

LOS ANGELES - Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have canceled February appearances in Los Angeles and New York because a promoter wrongly billed the events as debates.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis will vote in a general election on January 21 now that parliament has passed a law needed for a vote to take place, the head of the country's electoral commission said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama congratulated Iraqi MPs Sunday on approving a new law to govern 2010 general elections, saying it was an important step towards ensuring a lasting peace.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq on Monday moved towards finalising a date for its general election in January, a vote crucial to consolidating the war-torn nation's fledgling democracy and ensuring a complete US military exit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will delay the start of his visit to Asia this week to attend a memorial service for soldiers killed in a mass shooting at a U.S. military base, an administration official said on Sunday.

Within minutes of Saturday’s historic House vote on health care reform, Republicans pronounced the political death of Rep. Thomas Perriello (D-Va.), pointing to the vulnerable freshman congressman’s vote in favor of the bill.

The day the Gallup Organization confirmed Mike Huckabee’s status as the pollsters’ front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, the former Arkansas governor was slouched in the back of his tour bus, somewhere between Harrisburg and Allentown, Pa., talking about the frustrations of not being taken seriously.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's fractious MPs have finally approved a law to govern the country's general election in early 2010, a move hailed by US President Barack Obama as an important step towards a lasting peace.

Republicans have been working overtime for days now trying to come up with newer and bolder ways of describing the 2009 election as an unmitigated triumph -- and a crystal clear sign their party will score a historic comeback in next year's congressional races.