In advance of next year’s re-election bid, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas sided with fellow Democrats for one vote, but was cautious about the overall bill.

Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who played a role in the founding of the Islamic Republic, has emerged as the spiritual leader of the opposition.

The Senate voted 60 to 39 on Saturday night to begin full debate on major health care legislation, propelling the bill over a crucial, preliminary hurdle.

The conservative firebrand Glenn Beck is planning voter registration drives and rallies, but he is cautious about how he might directly support particular candidates.

The Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people at the Fort Hood army base earlier this month will not be moved immediately to a military prison for pretrial detention.

On her book tour, Sarah Palin has skipped the big cities authors usually visit in favor of smaller places where she and Senator John McCain performed well on the presidential ticket.

Which is safer: technology that disables a cellphone in a moving car, or that makes the conversation completely hands-free?

Companies that were once content to fight in store aisles and on commercials are choosing a different route — formal grievances challenging their competitors’ claims.

Investment funds are buying mortgages, trimming some of them to the benefit of homeowners, and shifting any risk to the federal government.

The profile that has emerged of David Headley, a U.S. citizen accused of plotting revenge against a Danish newspaper, suggests a man pulled between two cultures.

The Americans hope the militias will encourage an increasingly demoralized Afghan population to take a stake in the war against the Taliban.

With one victory and five offensive touchdowns in nine games, the deterioration of the Browns under Coach Eric Mangini is at full boil.

A fight of galactic proportions over health care looms. Here’s a playbook for aficionados of legislative war games.

Several Bay Area doctors who recommend medical marijuana for patients say their client base includes teenagers with psychiatric conditions including A.D.H.D.

The Knicks (3-9) won their second in a row and kept the Nets winless at 0-13.

Prosecutors asked an Italian court to hand down life sentences to an American student and her former boyfriend for their alleged roles in a fatal stabbing.

The authorities arrested a Pakistani father and son accused of providing logistical support and money for a terrorist strike in India.

A government report on the bailout of A.I.G. is must reading for taxpayers looking to know why the $182 billion “rescue” is the most troubling episode of the financial disaster.

A senior Sri Lankan official said that all ethnic-minority Tamil detainees would be freed from government camps on Dec. 1.

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” took in $72.7 million in its first day to break the single day domestic box office record previously held by “The Dark Knight.”