Politics - Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers stepped up pressure on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday, hoping to paint her as judicial activist who will stamp the court with President Barack Obama's liberal agenda.

Jim Christie

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers failed on Wednesday night to agree to balance the state's budget by closing a $26.3 billion deficit, but officials said talks would continue.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying it was "time to get this done," President Barack Obama pressed on Wednesday for swift congressional action on healthcare after a Senate panel approved a bill to overhaul the $2.5 trillion industry.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves for India on Thursday on a high-profile mission to deepen ties and dispel any doubts about the U.S. commitment to New Delhi under U.S. President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that he acted appropriately in warning Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis that top executives could be ousted if they walked away from a merger with Merrill Lynch.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hopes to unveil agreements that would help U.S. firms sell sophisticated arms and nuclear power plants to India when she visits next week, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The U.S. government will get tough with governments that don't live up to trade deals, including those with substandard labor practices, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk was set to announce on Thursday.

PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon told U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that France aimed to bring its public finances back to balance in the long run during a meeting in Paris on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retiring U.S. Army General David McKiernan said on Wednesday he was "more than a little embarrassed" by his abrupt ouster from his job as top military commander in Afghanistan last spring.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two key components of the Obama administration's bold plan to reshape U.S. financial regulation came under attack on Wednesday, with lawmakers and lobbyists engaged in a reform debate of immense scope.