Elections

WASHINGTON - War-weary Americans will support more fighting in Afghanistan once they understand the perils of losing, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday, announcing he was ready to spell out war plans virtually sure to include tens of thousands more U.S. troops.

WASHINGTON - Seeking firmer footing for U.S.-India relations, President Barack Obama tried Tuesday to calm India's fears about Asian rival China, salving bruised feelings in the world's largest democracy with an elaborate state visit and assurances of India's "rightful place as a global leader."

WASHINGTON - Holiday shoppers should look out for toy hazards such as small parts, loud sounds, soft plastics and lead contamination, consumer advocates warned Tuesday.

David Broder has never been a big fan of Harry Reid.

WASHINGTON - A grand jury in Philadelphia indicted four men Tuesday for an alleged plot to support the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah through illegal schemes, including buying the group more than a thousand machine guns.

CHICAGO - The White House and Illinois Democrats said Tuesday that their bid to hold on to President Barack Obama's old Senate seat won't be easy and their difficulties aren't just because of the scandal that engulfed ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

WASHINGTON - Big banks are roaring back.

WASHINGTON - The head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday promised swift action to get dangerous products off the market, acknowledging that the agency didn't move quickly enough on a record recall of more than 2 million cribs linked to four deaths.

WASHINGTON - The government is imposing fines for the first time against airlines for stranding passengers on an airport tarmac, the Transportation Department said Tuesday.

The Obama White House is addicted to the “unprecedented.”

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) - Philippine police on Wednesday named a political ally of President Gloria Arroyo as the prime suspect in an election-linked massacre of 46 people.

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration and two major lobbying groups are seeking to spur momentum for a health- care overhaul after the U.S. Senate cleared the way for a floor debate that is likely to extend to Christmas or beyond.

THE VILLAGES, Fla. - Sarah Palin, who says the 2012 presidential election isn't on her radar, took her "Going Rogue" book tour to the biggest of the battleground states Tuesday, including a stop in the retirement community where tens of thousands of people gave her star treatment in the 2008 presidential election.

ALBANY, N.Y. - The Conservative Party candidate conceded a race in upstate New York for a U.S. House of Representatives seat for the second time Tuesday, saying he doesn't have enough votes.

WASHINGTON - The official uniforms for NBA players could soon be made in Asia, a move drawing sharp criticism from a New York Democratic senator.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday fired back at critics who claim he's not supportive enough of domestic energy production, saying their accusations have the same "poison and substance of election-year politics."

WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans are investigating e-mails stolen from a British climate change research center that they say show scientists attempting to suppress data that does not support man-made global warming.

Doug Hoffman will not contest the results of New York's 23rd District special election, the state Conservative Party candidate announced in a release Tuesday afternoon.

WASHINGTON - Republicans are using everything short of forklifts to show Americans that Democratic health care legislation is an unwieldy mountain of paper. They pile it high on desks, hoist it on a shoulder trussed in sturdy rope and tell people it's longer than "War and Peace," which it isn't.

WASHINGTON - In the history of U.S.-India relations, there's been plenty of broken bread and even a few crumbled Triscuits.

Democratic Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. is in his 14th term representing South Carolina's 5th District and usually has little trouble winning re-election. But it appears that national Republicans are set on giving the Budget Committee chairman more than simply a token challenge this cycle.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The United States upped pressure on Iraqi politicians on Tuesday to reach a deal on holding elections as Washington sought to avoid delays on the pullout of thousands of troops from the country.

WASHINGTON - With more Americans going hungry than ever before, the Agriculture Department is concerned that dozens of states aren't adequately administering food stamp programs designed to provide food to low-income Americans.

HOUSTON - An indisputable Washington insider, Kay Bailey Hutchison has been so close to the federal government's levers of power in her three Senate terms that former Vice President Dick Cheney has endorsed her over another Republican.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama honored a group of women Monday who have confronted Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and said they had defied a dictator.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the United States is not responsible for resolving the long-standing conflict between Pakistan and India, but that America wants to encourage security and civil progress in both nations.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will be unable to hold a national election in January as planned, a poll official said on Tuesday, heaping more uncertainty on a vote meant to cement democracy and pave the way for a partial U.S. troop withdrawal.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A new poll Tuesday found Americans deeply divided about deploying more US troops to Afghanistan, just days before President Barack Obama was to announce his decision on sending reinforcements.

AMPATUAN, Philippines (Reuters) - The Philippines placed two southern provinces and a city under emergency rule on Tuesday after gunmen killed 46 people in a brutal election-related massacre that has shocked the country.