Reuters: Politics
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Updated: 2 hours 43 min ago
Healthcare bill passes first Senate test
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A sweeping healthcare overhaul narrowly cleared its first hurdle in the Senate on Saturday, with Democrats casting 60 party-line votes to open debate on the biggest healthcare changes in decades.
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Healthcare bill poised to pass Senate test
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A broad healthcare overhaul was poised to clear its first Senate hurdle on Saturday as the last wavering senators said they would vote to begin debate on the legislation, giving Democrats the 60 votes they need.
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Obama asks for patience on economy
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.
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Honduras de facto leader says will step aside
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's post-coup de facto leader said on Friday he would give up his presidential duties for a week, a step Washington welcomed as a way to help ease a five-month-old political crisis.
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Ex-State Dept official pleads guilty to spying for Cuba
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. State Department official and his wife pleaded guilty on Friday to charges that they spied for almost three decades for the Communist-led Cuban government.
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Obama job approval rating drops under 50 percent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped below 50 percent in a second major poll in an indication he is suffering from the long healthcare debate and weakness in the economy, Gallup said on Friday.
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Top House Democrat questions 9/11 criminal trials
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Representative Ike Skelton, cast doubt on Friday about the Obama administration's decision to try the September 11, 2001, conspirators in a U.S. criminal court.
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Senate sets hearing on Bernanke's renomination
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Banking Committee said on Friday it will hold a hearing on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's renomination to a second term on December 3, putting the central bank chief under scrutiny at a time when the Fed is facing intense criticism in Congress.
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Moderate Democrat boosts Senate health bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of three wavering U.S. Senate Democrats said on Friday he would vote to start the chamber's healthcare debate, bolstering the chances for a broad reform bill one day before its first crucial test.
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Healthcare lobby set for record spending this year
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It's not just spending on U.S. healthcare that is breaking records. Drugmakers, insurers and industry groups are on track to spend an all-time high of more than $500 million this year to influence Congress' revamp of the healthcare system.
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Senate leader at risk in healthcare battle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Other than President Barack Obama, perhaps no one's political future is riding more on the Senate battle to revamp the healthcare system than the chamber's Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid.
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Ethics panel admonishes Obama Senate replacement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate ethics committee on Friday admonished Roland Burris, saying he had been less than candid about his gubernatorial appointment to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.
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U.S. to tighten control of Afghan contracts: Gates
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Reuters) - The United States must tighten control of Afghan aid contracts as a first step toward stemming rampant corruption, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.
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No Obama decision on Afghan until after Thanksgiving
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's announcement of a new strategy on Afghanistan will not take place until after the Thanksgiving holiday next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday.
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U.S. urges Honduras de facto leader to step aside
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Honduras' de facto leader should make good on an offer to step aside for a week so voters can focus on November 29 polls and resolve the country's political crisis, the U.S. State Department said Friday.
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Nearly half of Americans rate Geithner performance "poor"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Adding to lawmaker criticism of U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's performance is a new survey released on Friday showing 42 percent of Americans say he has done a "poor job" handling the credit crisis and federal bailout programs.
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Pelosi calls Afghan Karzai "unworthy partner"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai is an "unworthy partner" who does not deserve a big boost either in U.S. troops or civilian aid, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
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State, local budget cuts a "time bomb" for U.S. jobs
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Budget shortfalls pose a direct threat to millions of U.S. jobs, many in the private sector, as state and local governments lay off workers and cut spending on contracts and other business services, a think tank said on Thursday.
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Senate confirms long-stalled Obama judicial pick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Senate, having smashed through a Republican wall of opposition, confirmed on Thursday U.S. President Barack Obama's first and longest-stalled judicial nominee.
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India PM heads to U.S. in test of ties with Obama
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's prime minister and U.S. President Barack Obama meet next week to strengthen ties, with the emerging Asian power increasingly playing a bigger role on global issues such as climate change and trade.
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