Obama Promotes First Navy Gay Kiss

2011-12-23T12:30:04Z

President Barack Obama has promoted a story of the historic first gay kiss since repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

President Barack Obama has promoted a story of the historic first gay kiss since repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

A picture and a link to the story was posted on Obama's re-election blog (b...

Michele Bachmann Heckled By 'Gay Robot'

2011-12-23T08:30:06Z

Michele Bachmann on Thursday was heckled by a gay robot during a campaign stop in heavily Democratic Iowa City

Michele Bachmann on Thursday was heckled by a gay robot during a campaign stop in heavily Democratic Iowa City, the Iowa City P...

Congress poised to pass payroll tax cut deal

2011-12-22T22:30:11Z

(Reuters) - Congress, after months of bitter fighting, is poised on Friday to pass a payroll tax cut extension that President Barack Obama argues is vital to the health of the economy.

The legislation would continue for two months a 4.2 percent payroll tax rate that otherwise would expire on December 31 and ratchet up to 6.2 percent for...

George H.W. Bush: Romney 'best choice' for Republicans

2011-12-22T19:30:56Z

Former US president George H.W. Bush said Mitt Romney is the Republican Party's "best choice" to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 election in an informal endorsement published Thursday.

"I think Romney is the best choice for us," the elder Bu...

Senate Republican tries to end tax impasse

2011-12-22T09:30:24Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Senate Republican on Thursday sought to break a year-end impasse over extending a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans, an issue that has deeply divided his party and raised the risk of an economic downturn in 2012.

Mitc...

Italy's Senate definitively approves austerity budget

2011-12-22T07:00:32Z

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Senate Thursday definitively approved Prime Minister Mario Monti's 33-billion-euro austerity package aimed at restoring market confidence in the euro zone's third-biggest economy.

Gingrich, Romney barnstorm New Hampshire

2011-12-22T02:30:40Z

Republican presidential frontrunners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney barnstormed high-stakes New Hampshire, with Gingrich vowing to roll back President Barack Obama's "radical socialism" and Romney warning against "a path to make us more like White House hopeful Ron Paul, courting Iowa voters who are key to his campaign, called Wednesday for a "minding our own business" US foreign policy and an end to "perpetual war."

"No more wars unless you declare them, and fight them, and win them, and get them over w...

Republicans stick to guns despite scorn

2011-12-21T17:30:45Z

US Republican lawmakers faced a torrent of political pressure and media scorn Wednesday after triggering an uproar by blocking a compromise plan to extend a tax break for 160 million Americans.

The conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, normally a bastion of support for House of Repres...

Man faces prison for threats to senior lawmaker

2011-12-21T13:30:15Z

NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to making drunken and profanity-laced telephone threats to U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor and his family.

Glendon Swift, 64, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to threatening a family member of a federal official and accepted prosecutor'...

Gingrich's nods to history don't impress scholars

2011-12-21T13:00:11Z

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - "I'm speaking as a historian."

It's a common refrain in Newt Gingrich's speeches, a not-so-subtle reminder of the image he seeks to build as a Republican presidential candidate: that of a serious think...

Republicans under pressure over payroll tax cut

2011-12-21T09:30:29Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Republicans were under growing pressure on Wednesday to agree to a 60-day extension of an expiring payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and end a stand-off with Democrats that threatens to undercut a fragile U.S. economic recovery.

The Repub...

Former co-star confronts Sean Penn for Chavez support

2011-12-21T08:30:47Z

US actor Sean Penn had a public showdown with a former co-star at the Los Angeles airport over his support for Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

Venezuelan actress Maria Conchita Alonso confronted Penn, star of films "Mystic River" and "

Ron Paul may struggle outside Iowa

2011-12-21T08:30:30Z

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Congressman Ron Paul is one of the favorites to win the Iowa caucuses vote on January 3 but his libertarian and isolationist messag...

Payroll tax cut in doubt with stand-off in Congress

2011-12-21T06:00:30Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A payroll tax cut for 160 million American workers was in limbo on Wednesday with Democrats and Republicans in Congress accusing each other of bringing an extension to a dead stop.

If Congress cannot produce a deal by a December 31 deadline, one of the taxes that workers pay on their wages will rise immediately to 6.2 percent, from the current...

Romney blasts Obama, Gingrich courts Iowa

2011-12-20T19:31:57Z

Republican White House hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, running neck and neck in national polls, scoured key early-voting states for support Tuesday in a pre-Christmas rush of politicking.

Romney, looking for a crushing victory in New Hampshire<...

Gingrich gets unwanted backing of US adultery site

2011-12-20T17:30:29Z

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich trumpeted the endorsement of an influential archconservative leader on Tuesday, but he also scored the backing of a pro-adultery website.

The site -- www.ashleymadison.com, which dubs itself "the most recognized name in infidelity" -- announced its support for the thrice-marri...

Obama, Boehner lock horns in payroll tax fight

2011-12-20T15:30:19Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama demanded on Tuesday that Republicans in the House of Representatives pass a short-term extension of a payroll tax cut, showing an unwillingness to back down in a fight that could res...

Gingrich fades in Iowa and nationally

2011-12-20T11:00:24Z

DAVENPORT, Iowa (Reuters) - Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich's status as the front runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination is ...

US seniors turn to community to avoid nursing homes

2011-12-20T10:30:26Z

Determined to avoid ending their days in a retirement center, elderly Washingtonians living in the shadow of Capitol Hill are working together in a village-like community to stay in their homes.

"I wouldn't want to be in a nursing home. I love my independence too much and doing what I want," said Ramon Gonzalez, a dapper blue-eyed and white-haired 86-year-old, who has trouble walking due to persistent knee pain.

Mitt Romney Most Trusted On Gay Marriage, Poll Says

2011-12-20T09:00:21Z

A new poll has Mitt Romney edging out Newt Gingrich as the most trusted GOP presidential candidate on gay marriage

A new poll has Mitt Romney edging out Newt Gingrich as the most trusted GOP presidential candidate on gay marriage.

According to the Washington showdown.

Time is running out for Congress to act on President Barack Obama's demand for a plan to alleviate the pain of the middle class and help the jobless: if lawmakers cannot pro...

US shows doubt over monitoring in Syria

2011-12-19T19:30:40Z

The Obama administration expressed doubt Monday that Syria was genuine in its promise to allow Arab observers to monitor a deal to end a nine-month protest crackdown that has killed over 5,000 people.

"A signature on a piece of paper from a regime like this, that has broken promise after promise after promise, means relatively little to us," State Department spokeswoman

Romney presents "Top Ten" on David Letterman show

2011-12-19T19:00:11Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney made a return appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" on Monday night to present the program's popu...

Payroll tax cut extension stuck in partisan fight

2011-12-19T18:00:24Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a tax cut for 160 million U.S. workers set to expire in less than two weeks, Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Monday were mired in a last-ditch battle over extending it.

In a surprise turnabout, Republicans in the House of Representatives are...

Palin says not too late to consider presidential run

2011-12-19T14:00:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tea Party champion Sarah Palin, who has already ruled out a 2012 presidential run, on Monday attempted to dangle her name anew as a possible Republican candidate, although it's probably too late.

In an interview to air on Fox Busi...

Romney sees long, bitter nominating fight ahead

2011-12-19T06:30:24Z

Mitt Romney geared up Monday for a long and bitter fight for the Republican presidential nomination even as he attacked current frontrunner Newt Gingrich as "unreliable" and "zany."

With the first Republican nominating contest a little over two weeks away in Iowa, Romney made his first appearance on a Sunday television talk show since March 2010 to try to rec...

House Republicans oppose Senate payroll tax bill

2011-12-18T14:00:25Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fate of an expiring tax break for 160 million American workers was in doubt on Sunday after the top Republican lawmaker declared his opposition to a two-month extension passed overwhelmingly by the Senate.

House of Representatives Reuters) - Republican Jon Huntsman, who has based his 2012 campaign for the White House almost exclusively on a strong showing in New Hampshire, has been rewarded with endorsements from two newspapers in the st...

New Congress

2011-01-04T15:01:56Z

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., right, walks with Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, to a closed GOP conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Boehner New Congress

2011-01-04T15:01:56Z

House Speaker-designate John Boehner of Ohio arrives for a closed GOP conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel smiles during at a news conference at the Better Boys Foundation, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

...

APTOPIX Chicago Mayor Emanuel

2011-01-04T12:01:36Z

Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel waits in the wings before speaking at a news conference at the Better Boys Foundation, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Obama

2011-01-04T06:00:36Z

President Barack Obama walks with Xavier Nesbitt, left, and his daughter Sasha Obama, center, through Honolulu Zoo in Honolulu, Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

US Politics

Obama Promotes First Navy Gay Kiss

Michele Bachmann Heckled By 'Gay Robot'

Congress poised to pass payroll tax cut deal

George H.W. Bush: Romney 'best choice' for Republicans

Senate Republican tries to end tax impasse

Italy's Senate definitively approves austerity budget

Gingrich, Romney barnstorm New Hampshire

Republicans stick to guns despite scorn

Man faces prison for threats to senior lawmaker

Gingrich's nods to history don't impress scholars

Republicans under pressure over payroll tax cut

Former co-star confronts Sean Penn for Chavez support

Ron Paul may struggle outside Iowa

Payroll tax cut in doubt with stand-off in Congress

Romney blasts Obama, Gingrich courts Iowa

Gingrich gets unwanted backing of US adultery site

Obama, Boehner lock horns in payroll tax fight

Gingrich fades in Iowa and nationally

US seniors turn to community to avoid nursing homes

Mitt Romney Most Trusted On Gay Marriage, Poll Says

US shows doubt over monitoring in Syria

Romney presents "Top Ten" on David Letterman show

Payroll tax cut extension stuck in partisan fight

Palin says not too late to consider presidential run

Romney sees long, bitter nominating fight ahead

House Republicans oppose Senate payroll tax bill

New Congress

Boehner New Congress

APTOPIX Chicago Mayor Emanuel

Obama