BARACK OBAMA

The U.S. Congress approved more aid for jobless workers and broadened tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses on Thursday and sent the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

With a close vote looming in the U.S. House of Representatives, President Barack Obama's push for healthcare reform was boosted Thursday by the support of powerful lobbies representing doctors and seniors.

Although U.S. President Barack Obama has never set foot there, China cast a long shadow in the Pacific region where he grew up.

A U.S. diplomat said on Thursday that Washington was fully committed to its alliance with Japan, as the two governments prepared for a visit by President Barack Obama that has been clouded by a feud over a U.S. Marine base.

President Barack Obama told Native American leaders on Thursday, You will not be forgotten and promised to end U.S. government neglect and broken promises toward Indian tribes.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives hustled on Thursday to count votes and round up support for a sweeping healthcare overhaul that was headed to a close floor vote on Saturday.

A controversial climate change bill cleared its first hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, allowing President Barack Obama to tout progress in the run-up to next month's global warming talks in Copenhagen.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama to coordinate on the future of Opel after General Motors'surprise decision to keep the unit, a German government spokesman said on Thursday.

Democrats in the House of Representatives scrambled on Wednesday to iron out lingering concerns over abortion in a healthcare reform bill that was headed to a close and potentially historic weekend debate.

The United Nations said on Thursday it would evacuate hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan for several weeks due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for Western efforts to stabilize the country.

U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Steny Hoyer on Thursday said he expects the House to pass a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Saturday, but acknowledged that the vote would be close.

The Senate vote unanimously on Wednesday to extend aid for jobless workers and broaden tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses in a bid to breathe life into the struggling U.S. economy.

Democrats pushing for healthcare reform shrugged off their losses in two governors races and said on Wednesday the results made it more imperative to deliver on campaign promises to overhaul a failing system.

The Obama White House on Wednesday attempted to play down election losses in Virginia and New Jersey in contests that analysts said served as a warning shot to Democrats looking ahead to 2010 voting.

Christopher O'Neill is worried about the deficit. The deficit, that is, in his personal income after the 26-year-old Miami finance analyst was forced to find a temporary job paying $20,000 a year less than he earned until January when he was laid off from his auditor's post in Miami.

The U.S. Senate was poised on Wednesday to extend aid for jobless workers and broaden tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses in a bill aimed at breathing life into the U.S. economy.

The White House turned aside questions on Wednesday about the reason that General Motors decided not to sell Opel, saying that the auto company makes its own business decisions.

The Walt Disney Co has received Beijing's nod to build a theme park in Shanghai, in a major advance for the media and entertainment company in the tough China market ahead of President Obama's first China visit.

U.S. stocks rose broadly on Wednesday on positive economic data and ahead of a Federal Reserve statement on interest rates and the economy that is expected to keep government support in place.

U.S. stocks rose broadly on Wednesday on positive economic data and ahead of a Federal Reserve statement on interest rates and the economy that is expected to keep government support in place.

Republicans rolled to victory in Virginia and New Jersey governor's races on Tuesday in a sharp blow to Democrats that showed the limits of President Barack Obama's political clout.