White House choice to oversee nation’s forest programs withdraws from consideration for job

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s pick to oversee the nation’s forests has withdrawn his nomination.

Redemption from scandal? Critics say Illinois ethics reform all bluster, little substance

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois politicians running for office next year can say something virtually unheard of in the state’s long, shady history: We put limits on the size of campaign contributions.

Divided over budget, California legislature finds common ground on farm animal welfare issues

FRESNO, Calif. — California voters’ landslide support last November of an initiative on the treatment of farm animals appears to have helped a state legislature bitterly divided over the budget find common ground.

To combat terrorism, US seeks to expand ’strategic partnership’ with India

WASHINGTON - As the US pushes Pakistan to shift its focus from India to dismantling Al Qaeda safe havens in its territory, top Obama administration officials have outlined plans to expand an ‘increasingly important strategic partnership’ with India.

Republicans plan to sink Obama pick to Interior, the first nomination to fail on Senate floor

WASHINGTON — Republicans indicated Tuesday that they will try to block President Barack Obama’s pick for the No. 2 job at the Interior Department because of a flap over oil leases in Utah.

Some Haitian senators allege fraud in election, call for results to be thrown out

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Some of Haiti’s most powerful lawmakers are calling for last month’s parliamentary elections to be thrown out because of allegations of voter fraud and political manipulation.

Senate passes resolution making new Democrat Specter the most junior on committees

WASHINGTON — Arlen Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party has cost him his seniority on Senate committees.

Senate bill strips references to India for conditional aid to Pakistan

WASHINGTON - Two influential US senators have introduced a bill to triple American aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion annually for five years, with some exacting conditions but stripped of references to India to make it more palatable to Islamabad.

Comparison of House and Senate legislation on credit cards

A comparison of House and Senate legislative proposals with pending Federal Reserve regulations.

House passes $3.4 trillion budget plan that endorses Obama’s agenda, health care overhaul

WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress capped President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office by advancing a $3.4 trillion federal budget for next year — a third of it borrowed — that prevents Republicans from blocking his proposed trillion-dollar expansion of government-provided health care over the next decade.

Parkinson new Kan. gov after Sebelius confirmed as US health and human services secretary

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kathleen Sebelius has resigned as Kansas governor after winning confirmation as U.S. health and human services secretary.

Democrats want special counsel to conduct torture probe

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats turned up the pressure on the Obama administration Tuesday to start a criminal investigation by a special counsel into harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects.

Obama, US Congress, briefly ‘relocated’ in alarm

WASHINGTON - During a dramatic few moments in the US capital, US President Barack Obama and the US Congress were forced to relocate to safety when a small plane violated the tight airspace regulations around Washington Friday.

Former GOP Sen. Warner urges Congress to deal with climate change as national security issue

WASHINGTON — Former Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia says dealing with climate change is a national security issue that must be addressed.

Diplomat says more time needed to repair Venezuela-US relations, appoint new ambassadors

CARACAS, Venezuela — The top official at the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela said Tuesday that ambassadors won’t be returning to Washington and Caracas anytime soon, but he was optimistic that diplomatic relations will improve.

US intelligence chiefs say Iran can’t build nukes yet

WASHINGTON - Disputing a claim by an Israeli official that Iran is capable of making a nuclear bomb, two top US intelligence officials have said that Teheran does not yet have the highly enriched uranium it needs to make a nuclear warhead.