Famed blue diamonds to join up at Smithsonian
3:11
Two of the world's most famed blue diamonds will be on display together starting in January. The 31.06-carat Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond will join the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian's National Museum of...
22 million missing Bush White House e-mails found
3:08
Two nonprofit groups say that computer technicians have found 22 million White House e-mails from the administration of President George W. Bush. The two groups say the electronic messages were previously mislabeled...
Feds: Chicago suspect knew of Mumbai attack
2:13
A Chicago terrorism suspect knew in advance about the deadly Mumbai terror attacks _ and offered congratulations to the killers, federal prosecutors charged Monday. Papers filed in federal court in Chicago say Tahawwur...
Clinton: New sanctions on Iran needed
2:01
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday the Obama administration's nearly yearlong effort to engage Iran has fallen short and new sanctions are needed to press the Iranian leadership to come clean about...
Tenn. Rep. Gordon won't seek re-election next year
1:21
Rep. Bart Gordon, a 13-term congressman from Tennessee, announced Monday he will not seek re-election next year, the latest Democrat in a string of retirements. Gordon, 60, won re-election easily last year, garnering...
Clinton: Iran charges on US hikers unfounded
11:50
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that Iranian charges against three detained Americans are "totally unfounded" and appealed anew to authorities in Iran to release them. Clinton said the three were...
High court to rule on deportation issue
11:04
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether immigrants convicted of repeat, minor drug possession crimes should be subject to deportation. The justices said Monday they will hear an appeal from Jose Angel...
Health care issues: Penalties for no insurance
10:48
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: If individuals don't get health insurance, will they be penalized and how will it happen? THE POLITICS: President Barack Obama did not propose penalties for...
Court won't hear appeal from ex-Gitmo prisoners
10:28
The Supreme Court has refused to take up an appeal from former Guantanamo Bay detainees who say they were tortured and denied religious rights. The justices rejected the appeal without comment Monday. Four British men...
Court rejects new appeal of Chrysler sale
10:10
The Supreme Court has declined to take another look at Chrysler's bankruptcy. The justices on Monday turned down an appeal from the state of Indiana pension funds that earlier challenged the automaker's bankruptcy...
Obama to meet with bankers, then Lebanon's leader
8:59
President Barack Obama is meeting with the nation's top financial industry executives at the White House today. They'll discuss economic recovery, small business lending, improving lending practices for homeowners and...
US reveals fund for green tech in poor nations
8:40
The White House on Monday announced a new program drawing funds from international partners to spend $350 million over five years to supply developing nations with clean energy technology to curb greenhouse gas...
Obama: Success of strategy evident in a year
7:01
President Barack Obama says he'll know by the end of 2010 if his Afghan strategy is working, and pledges to change direction if the U.S. military is not on course "in terms of securing population centers" from Taliban...
Obama: Expect no more White House gate-crashers
7:01
President Barack Obama says the White House gate-crashers got in through a "screw-up," he's unhappy with everyone involved and it won't happen again. "What I know is what everybody knows, which is that these people...
Gay mayor-elect: Victory shows Houston's diversity
5:11
The day after Houston voters chose Annise Parker to become the city's first openly gay mayor, she did as she had throughout a contentious, hard-fought campaign: focused on the brick-and-mortar realities of running the...
3:10
Senate sends $1.1 trillion spending bill with budget increases to Obama ...
Kremlin cites progress on weapons treaty
9:24
Russia and the United States are making "substantial progress" on negotiations for a successor to an expired nuclear weapons treaty, according to a Kremlin statement. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry...
Obama celebrates the holidays
3:06
President Barack Obama and the first lady will attend the Christmas in Washington celebration at the National Building Museum Sunday evening. The holiday event is a benefit for the Children's National Medical Center. ...
White House unhappy with Iranian nuke proposal
6:36
The White House is expressing unhappiness over Iran's announcement that it is ready to exchange uranium for nuclear fuel. Such a deal would meet a key demand of a U.N.-sponsored effort to defuse fears over Iran's...
State Department says Cuba has detained US citizen
5:26
The Cuban government has arrested an American citizen, and U.S. diplomats in Havana are trying to learn more about the case, the State Department said Saturday. The American was detained on Dec. 5, State Department...
10:35
Senate defeats GOP filibuster on big spending bill ...
Houston voters may elect openly gay mayor
8:56
Voters are deciding Saturday whether Houston will become the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor. The runoff election pits City Controller Annise Parker against former city attorney Gene Locke. Parker is a...
GOP: US should reject climate pact
6:10
Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn on Saturday urged against U.S. participation in an international agreement on climate change, maintaining it would result in soaring energy prices and damage America's economic...
AP sources: FBI questions students, eyes charges
4:18
FBI agents have questioned some of the young Americans arrested in Pakistan as U.S. investigators gather evidence that could lead to a conspiracy charge against them, an American official and another person familiar...
Blackwater Predator missile-load contract ending
12:12
CIA Director Leon Panetta has canceled a contract with the former Blackwater security firm that allowed the company's operatives to load missiles on Predator drones in Pakistan. Panetta canceled the contract earlier...
AP source: Al-Qaida operative killed by US missile
12:11
A senior al-Qaida operations planner was killed in an American missile strike this week in western Pakistan, a U.S. counterterrorism official said Friday. Saleh al-Somali was responsible for the terror group's...
Memo may point to IL as site for Gitmo detainees
10:17
A draft memo leaked to a conservative Web site is an encouraging sign the government intends to transfer Guantanamo terrorist suspects to Illinois, Sen. Richard Durbin and the state's governor said Friday. In a joint...
Ninth defendant pleads guilty to passport snooping
7:31
A State Department filing clerk pleaded guilty Friday to illegally viewing passport files of celebrities, the ninth current or former employee of the agency to admit to snooping. Debra Sue Brown, 47, of Oxon Hill, Md.,...
White House to help close health bill loophole
6:51
In a victory for people with cancer and other serious medical problems, the White House agreed Friday to help close a loophole in the Senate health care bill allowing annual dollar limits on their care. "The president...
Mosque: VA men detained in Pakistan 'regular kids'
5:46
The five young Americans detained in Pakistan as part of a terrorism investigation were wholesome kids who never exhibited any signs of religious extremism, according to the youth director at a mosque where they...
Obama dog Bo has own Christmas stocking
4:41
Bo, the White House dog, has his very own Christmas stocking. First lady Michelle Obama made the revelation in an interview with Oprah Winfrey for her "Christmas at the White House" special, scheduled to air Sunday...
Senator Baucus gave girlfriend $14,000 raise
4:38
Sen. Max Baucus gave the director of his Montana office a nearly $14,000 raise as they were becoming romantically involved last year, a spokesman for the senator said Friday. Baucus, a Democrat who chairs the Finance...
Roll Call: House passes broad regulatory bill
3:44
The 223-202 roll call Friday by which the House passed broad legislation changing how the government regulates banks and other financial institutions. A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the bill. Voting yes were 223...
House interrupts divisive debate to honor troops
3:34
The House broke Friday from a divisive debate on banking laws to applaud a military unit visiting the Capitol. But first, lawmakers had to finesse their own rules. They were about to vote on a financial regulation...
Obama says Afghanistan not US 'protectorate'
2:33
President Barack Obama says he needed to set a deadline to start withdrawing U.S. forces so the Afghans wouldn't assume their country would be "a permanent protectorate" of the United States. Obama told CBS's "60...
Obama wishes Jews worldwide a Happy Hanukkah
2:21
President Barack Obama says Hanukkah's lessons should inspire everyone to be thankful for what they have. The eight-day celebration, beginning at sunset Friday, commemorates the rededication of the temple by Jewish...
$1.1 trillion spending bill clears Senate hurdle
2:04
A massive year-end spending bill has cleared a key obstacle in the Senate. By a 60-36 vote, the Senate has defeated a GOP procedural move that would have unraveled the $1.1 trillion measure. The bill bundles six...
US official: Pakistan expected to deport US youths
10:46
A senior State Department official says the U.S. expects that Pakistani authorities will deport five young Americans they have detained over alleged terrorist links. The official said Friday that it is not yet clear...
Health care issues: Age and sex rating
10:28
A look at key issues in the nation's health care debate: THE ISSUE: How much more can insurers charge people based on age, sex and pre-existing conditions, and would that change if the health system is overhauled? THE...
Report: Blackwater guards linked to CIA raids
8:59
Private security guards working for Blackwater USA participated in clandestine CIA raids against suspected insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, The New York Times reported Thursday. Blackwater, now renamed Xe Services,...
AP source: Drone attack kills al-Qaida member
11:38
A U.S. government official says a top al-Qaida operative has been killed in a drone attack in western Pakistan. The official would not immediately identify the target of the attack, which he said occurred very...
Black lawmakers grow impatient with White House
9:14
Black lawmakers who have largely held their tongues during President Barack Obama's first year in office are stepping up their demands that the nation's first black president do more for minority communities hit hardest...
House Roll Call: How they voted on spending bill
8:11
The 221-202 roll call Thursday by which the House passed a year-end spending bill that would boost funding for domestic programs and foreign aid. A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the bill. Voting yes were 221 Democrats...
A parent's dilemma: a child with ties to terrorism
7:09
It's a dilemma no parent wants to face _ fearing a son or daughter may be mixed up in terrorism, wondering whether to turn in a loved one. It was Washington-area parents who helped authorities find the young American...
House approves compromise on GM, Chrysler dealers
6:19
The House has approved a compromise plan to give General Motors and Chrysler dealers an appeals process to keep their showrooms open. A $1.1 trillion spending bill approved Thursday includes provisions to give 789...
A guilty pleasure for first lady: 'really bad TV'
5:54
Michelle Obama says curling up with the first family's dog and clicking through food and design shows on television provide moments of peace amid a busy schedule. During an interview to mark her selection as Barbara...
2009 was trying for Obama; Dems fret over 2010
4:58
Even if President Barack Obama's lofty ratings were bound to recede, 2009 has been a politically bruising year for Democrats, who now approach 2010 with deep anxieties. They lost both governors' races and their party's...
Bill protecting journalists' sources gets boost
3:48
A bill to protect reporters' confidential sources in federal court cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, ending months of stalemate. The panel sent the so-called media shield bill to the full Senate on a...
Mullen: 16,000 troops have orders to Afghan war
3:28
The Pentagon's top military officer says 16,000 troops have received their orders for Afghanistan since President Barack Obama announced his new war strategy. Adm. Mike Mullen said at a news conference Thursday that...
After walkout, black caucus gets what it wanted
3:07
Call it the $6 billion boycott. By boycotting a key House committee vote last week and threatening to abandon support for banking regulations, members of the Congressional Black Caucus got $4 billion added to a Wall...