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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's options for spurring job growth may be limited by out-of-control budget deficits, but with the unemployment rate hovering at 10 percent he is warming to moves by his congressional allies for a jobs-boosting bill. Full Story »
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BRUSSELS - Some two dozen countries will send an estimated 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan next year, the chief of NATO said Friday as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told her allied counterparts that an infusion of forces is crucial to turning the tide in the long war. Full Story »
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WASHINGTON - On the Senate floor, Democrats are debating Republicans on health care. Behind the scenes, they're debating each other. Full Story »
WASHINGTON - A Cold War-era nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia expires Friday, but its key provisions are likely to remain in effect while negotiators work out the final details of a replacement treaty. Full Story »
When President Barack Obama announced his appointment of Richard Holbrooke and George Mitchell to be his special envoys to two of the world’s most challenging trouble spots at a formal ceremony with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last January, it almost seemed the new Obama administration was getting three secretaries of state for the price of one. Full Story »
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WASHINGTON - A House Democrat says someone from the White House social secretary's office should have helped the Secret Service clear people into last week's state dinner, saying "even Walmart has a greeter." Full Story »
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Lynn Giese calls Sarah Palin the best thing that's happened to the U.S. in a long time, and the 57-year-old housewife says she'd work tirelessly for the former Alaska governor were she to run for president in 2012. Full Story »
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Moviegoers know Jody Trautwein as the smiling Alabama pastor who tries to talk Sacha Baron Cohen's character out of being gay in the hit movie "Bruno." Trautwein is now auditioning for another role: Mayor of Birmingham. Full Story »
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WASHINGTON - The House voted Thursday to indefinitely extend a 45 percent inheritance tax on estates larger than $3.5 million, canceling a one-year repeal of the tax set to begin next month. Full Story »
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WASHINGTON - Facing the prospect of more American deaths in Afghanistan as the war escalates, lawmakers lashed out at neighboring Pakistan on Thursday as an unreliable ally that could spare the U.S. its bruising fight with al-Qaida if it wanted. Full Story »
President Barack Obama got a hint of relief on the jobs front Friday as the nation’s unemployment rate eased off slightly to 10 percent in November, down from 10.2 percent a month earlier. Full Story »
In the months since she returned to the public spotlight, Sarah Palin’s continually evolving political identity has undergone a subtle change as her public persona centers increasingly on her disabled son Trig. Full Story »
NEWTON, Mass. — For years, the anticipation loomed. Full Story »
AFP
SHARIFF AGUAK, Philippines (AFP) - Philippine troops stormed the homes on Friday of the powerful clan suspected of involvement in an election-linked massacre that left 57 people dead, a military spokesman said. Full Story »
On May 3, 2007, League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski realized that the plan was working. Full Story »
WASHINGTON - Oprah and Obama, teamed up again. Full Story »
AP
WASHINGTON - Democrats are looking to tap as much as $70 billion in unused funds from the Wall Street bailout to pay for new spending on roads and bridges and to save the jobs of firefighters, teachers and other public employees, officials said Thursday. Full Story »
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WASHINGTON - Surrounded by celebrity performers and characters from the North Pole, the Obama family on Thursday led a countdown and lighted the National Christmas Tree. Full Story »
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