Elections

WASHINGTON - Hey kids, grab those beakers and Petri dishes, the White House is going to hold a science fair.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is holding out the possibility that Iraq's national election could be delayed beyond January because of a dispute over the allocation of seats in parliament.

WASHINGTON - A leading Senate Democrat said Monday his party is determined to push through a health care overhaul bill with or without Republican support because the "system is broken."

If you’re an underdog conservative running for Congress, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) should be on your speed dial these days.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will be a tough act to follow, even for the Kennedys. His death, coupled with the decision by family members not to seek the seat he held for nearly five decades, has prompted predictions that the family's long-running political dynasty is over.

WASHINGTON - India has watched with wariness as President Barack Obama's administration has lavished attention on rivals Pakistan and China. Now, Obama is trying to ease Indian worries by honoring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the first state visit of his presidency.

WASHINGTON - Suddenly the Federal Reserve is everybody's punching bag.

WASHINGTON - After the beatings by President Robert Mugabe's policemen, the overcrowded, lice-ridden jail cells, the degradation of nightly strip-searches, Jenni Williams and Magondonga Mahlangu still cling to hope for Zimbabwe.

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers broke along party lines on a new aspect of the health care debate Sunday as a former National Institutes of Health chief urged women to ignore guidelines that delay the start of breast cancer screenings.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament on Monday approved an amended law needed to hold an election next year, but the new text risks being vetoed a second time -- which could delay both the vote and next year's partial U.S. troop withdrawal.

Democrat Dennis Moore is ready to announce that he won't seek re-election to Congress, according to local news reports.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans to show patience over the economy and argued that his just-concluded Asia trip was critical for U.S. exports, countering criticism he had returned empty-handed.

TOPEKA, Kan. - U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, the only Democrat in Kansas' congressional delegation, will not seek a seventh term, his staff said Monday.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is calling his war council together as he moves toward a decision on whether to add more U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama added a Monday night meeting with top advisers on Afghanistan to his schedule as he closes in on a decision on whether to send more U.S. troops.

Just 38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That's the lowest level of support measured for the plan in nearly two dozen tracking polls conducted since June.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Charles Schumer says majority Democrats will push through a bill overhauling the health care system with or without Republican support.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will speak about several government initiatives to raise the level of education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Republicans aren’t the only ones staring at the unnerving prospect of a 2010 primary season filled with smash-mouth intraparty contests that threaten to distract the party and leave Senate nominees bloodied and cash-depleted.

Emboldened by their success in inserting restrictive abortion language into the House health care bill, Roman Catholic bishops say they’ve found a lobbying model that could provide them a louder voice in future policy debates.

BUCHAREST (AFP) - Romania's incumbent president and his Social-Democrat rival will face a run-off after Sunday's first round election, exit polls showed, as the country aims to recover from a political crisis and a deep recession.

WASHINGTON - Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated — beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) was a day away from casting a vote that could change her political career when she got a phone call from someone who knew what she was going through.

BUCHAREST (AFP) - Romania's President Traian Basescu and his Social Democrat rival Mircea Geoana will face a run-off as the two top vote-getters in Sunday's presidential election, television exit polls showed.

WASHINGTON - Two Democratic senators say the health care overhaul bill now going to the Senate floor for debate is a key to saving jobs and reducing the spiraling American budget deficit.

WASHINGTON - A leading Democratic senator says the proposed health care overhaul must pass the Senate by the end of the year, so that lawmakers can begin to concentrate on the economy and job creation.

WASHINGTON - A Democratic senator says moderates in his party shouldn't be allowed to dictate the terms of the health care debate and that the final bill should include a government-run option for Americans lacking insurance.

WASHINGTON - The former director of the National Institutes of Health is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid eked out 60 votes on a procedural motion to start the health care debate Saturday night – but there’s no guarantee he can pass a bill on the merits.