Presidential Elections

The heated Capitol Hill debate over health care coverage for mammograms has exploded onto the political scene, shaping the 2010 electoral landscape and recalibrating the battle for a crucial constituency: the women’s vote. Full Story »

Senate Democrats scrambling to pass a sweeping health care reform bill before Christmas begin this critical week facing a host of nettlesome problems that threaten to derail the Democrats’ fast-track timetable. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, in an interview that aired Sunday, gave himself "a good solid B-plus" grade for his first year in office. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Sunday his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan was the toughest of his presidency and said it would be clear within a year whether the strategy was working. Full Story »

COPENHAGEN — Black police vans, with sirens screaming and occupants clutching semiautomatic rifles, barreled past the iconic Marble Church here Sunday, rattling the nerves of climate change conferees trying to enjoy a final break before this week’s intense finale. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says he'll know by the end of 2010 if his Afghan strategy is working, and pledges to change direction if the U.S. military is not on course "in terms of securing population centers" from Taliban militants. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the White House gate-crashers got in through a "screw-up," he's unhappy with everyone involved and it won't happen again. Full Story »

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Houston Saturday became the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, Annise Parker, after a hotly contested run-off election that gave gay and lesbian supporters a symbolic victory following defeats over legalizing same-sex marriages in California and Maine. Full Story »

Houston's first openly gay mayor says she hopes election shows city's diversity, changes image Full Story »

SANTIAGO, Brazil (AFP) - A conservative billionaire, Sebastian Pinera, won the first round of an election in Chile Sunday in the race to succeed outgoing leftist President Michelle Bachelet, a partial official count showed. Full Story »

HOUSTON - The first openly gay person to be elected mayor of Houston says she hopes her victory in Saturday's election will change how the world views the city. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Congress on Sunday sent President Barack Obama a giant spending bill that includes annual foreign aid packages, mild sanctions aimed at Iran, and money for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior White House economists on Sunday predicted the U.S. economy will start creating jobs by spring and said that boosting employment will be at the top of President Barack Obama's agenda next year. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The southern city of Houston late Saturday became the largest US metropolis to elect an openly gay mayor when Annise Parker, an open lesbian, claimed a solid victory over her rival. Full Story »

Fresh from his election victory, Barack Obama introduced a new national security team last December that included two key players – National Security Adviser Jim Jones and holdover Secretary of Defense Robert Gates – he had hardly met. A third, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had been his bitter rival in the Democratic presidential primaries. Full Story »

SANTIAGO (AFP) - Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera won the first round of elections in Chile Sunday for a successor to outgoing leftist President Michelle Bachelet, nearly complete results showed. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The White House is expressing unhappiness over Iran's announcement that it is ready to exchange uranium for nuclear fuel. Full Story »

DALLAS - The Episcopal Church should respond with "prayer and discernment" to the recent election of a lesbian priest as an assistant bishop of the Los Angeles diocese, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said Saturday. Full Story »