BARACK OBAMA

A series of tsunamis smashed into the Pacific island nations of American and Western Samoa killing possibly more than 100 people, some washed out to sea, destroying villages and injuring hundreds, officials said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama's drive to tackle global warming gets a boost on Wednesday, when Democrats in the Senate are expected to unveil a bill aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next four decades.

Most Americans would pay higher taxes to fund healthcare reforms that provide the best quality of care, but only a minority expects Washington to deliver it, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

A Senate panel on Tuesday rejected a government-run public insurance option as part of a broad healthcare overhaul, handing insurers an early victory and setting the stage for a long fight over one of the bill's most contentious issues.

NATO's chief assured President Barack Obama on Tuesday of the alliance's commitment to the Afghan war as the U.S. administration weighs sending more troops to try to turn the tide on a resurgent Taliban.

Expanding broadband usage throughout the United States will require subsidies and investment in infrastructure upgrades of as much as $350 billion, a regulatory panel said on Tuesday.

Iran said on Tuesday it would not discuss a previously secret nuclear plant at international talks this week but Washington vowed to bring it up and demanded Tehran prove it is not developing an atomic weapon.

Expanding broadband usage throughout the United States will require subsidies and investment in infrastructure upgrades of as much as $350 billion, a regulatory panel said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposed tough new credit card rules to protect consumers from potentially costly practices by lenders and moved to implement legislation enacted in May.

Honduras' de facto government came under mounting pressure on Tuesday to restore civil liberties and negotiate an end to a three-month crisis sparked when President Manuel Zelaya was toppled in a coup.

The four cities bidding for the prize honor of hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics began three intensive days of lobbying on Tuesday with the Obama factor looming large ahead of Friday's vote by the IOC.

If President Barack Obama decides to send 30,000 to 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, he will be doing it against the advice of some advisers and leading Democrats in Congress.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown will promise Tuesday to clean up British politics, get tough on crime and heal the economy, in a blizzard of policy moves aimed at avoiding a crushing election defeat next year.

Part of the appeal of electronic medical records is that they can help doctors keep track of test results and avoid medical errors, but a study released on Monday suggests that doctors sometimes ignore electronic warnings about abnormal test results.

A photo of Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero with his wife, daughters, President Barack Obama and Michelle has caused a media frenzy because the girls appear posing in goth outfits.

An Obama administration task force has so far cleared 75 of the remaining 223 Guantanamo prisoners for release as part of its effort to close the detention camp, a military spokesman said on Monday.

Canada outperforms the United States in health outcomes but is well behind global leaders like Japan in overall health of its population, a Canadian report released on Monday showed.

Honduras' de facto government sent troops on Monday to shut down two media stations loyal to ousted President Manuel Zelaya, digging in to resist international pressure for his return to power.

Six out of 10 U.S. Hispanic illegal immigrants lack health insurance, more than twice the rate for legal Latino residents and citizens and three times the average for the population as a whole, a study released on Friday showed.

World leaders pledged last week to step up efforts to reach a U.N. deal to fight climate change, but they will have to match rhetoric with rapid action to break a crippling deadlock before a December deadline.

The head of the World Bank on Monday sounded a cautionary note about granting greater regulatory power to the U.S. Federal Reserve and said the dollar's future will depend heavily on U.S. choices.