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Snowe would side with a GOP filibuster on Reid’s health care bill unless ’something changes’

Snowe would vote to block Reid’s health care bill

Obama’s talk on energy Friday at MIT also fuels visits to fundraisers for political allies

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — President Barack Obama did more Friday than promote climate legislation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He pumped his own energy into the campaigns of Democratic allies facing tough re-election bids.

Key Democratic senators may prove resistant to Obama’s health care pleas

WASHINGTON — Democrats struggled mightily to obtain their filibuster-proof Senate majority, persuading a Pennsylvania Republican to switch parties and pushing Massachusetts to change its laws to quickly replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Key Democratic senators may prove indifferent to Obama’s health care pleas

WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ control of a hefty majority in the Senate — plus the House — would suggest that President Barack Obama is within reach of overhauling the nation’s health care system this fall.

GOP Sen. Coburn’s protest grinds the Senate to a halt, frustrating Democrats

WASHINGTON — The Senate ground to a halt Wednesday in a display of what an individual senator can do to protest his treatment by some of Capitol Hill’s most powerful barons.

VA to issue emergency checks up to $3,000 to Iraq, Afghanistan vets waiting for benefits

WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department said Friday it would begin issuing emergency checks of up to $3,000 to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans whose payments under the new GI Bill have been delayed.

Mass. judge rejects GOP request to delay swearing in of Kennedy’s Senate successor

BOSTON — A Massachusetts judge on Friday rejected a Republican request to delay the swearing in of Edward M. Kennedy’s temporary replacement in the Senate.

VA Sec’y Shinseki hopeful delays in checks to recent vets under new GI bill will be resolved

WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said Friday he’s hopeful that many of the tens of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans awaiting payment under the new GI Bill will get paid next month.

Afghan election official gives 2-week window for runoff vote before winter

KABUL — Afghanistan has a two-week window to realistically hold any presidential runoff vote before winter sets in, an election official said Thursday in a stark acknowledgment that a quick decision is needed on whether to hold new balloting.

Democrats, Republicans ready fresh challenges to far-reaching health care overhaul bill

WASHINGTON — Tempers are flaring as the Senate Finance Committee starts its third day of exhaustive deliberations on a sweeping overhaul of the health care system.

October angst: Small business owners face tax deadline with some in disarray, some can’t pay

NEW YORK — These are anxious times for some small business owners who face an Oct. 15 due date for their 2008 income tax returns. These owners got extensions of the deadline for filing their returns back in April but aren’t ready to file. Or, they can’t pay the government the money they owe.

Mass. Senate likely to debate bill Tuesday allowing appointment for Kennedy’s Senate seat

BOSTON — Massachusetts could have a new U.S. senator by the end of the week.

Mass. Senate again delays debate on bill to allow an appointment for Kennedy’s vacant seat

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate is again delaying debate on a bill allowing the governor to appoint an interim replacement for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy.

Mass. GOP blocks debate on bill to allow governor to name interim successor to Sen. Kennedy

BOSTON — Massachusetts Republicans temporarily blocked Senate debate Friday on a bill allowing Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim appointment to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy.

Mass. House approves bill letting Gov. Patrick name interim successor to late Sen. Kennedy

BOSTON — A bill allowing Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim appointment to the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy is headed to the Massachusetts Senate, where its fate is uncertain.

Mass. House gives initial OK to bill letting Gov. Patrick name interim Kennedy replacement

BOSTON — The Massachusetts House of Representatives has given initial approval to a bill allowing Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim appointment to the Senate seat left vacant when Edward Kennedy died last month.

Mass. House begins debate on bill allowing Gov. Patrick to name interim Kennedy replacement

BOSTON — Massachusetts Speaker Robert DeLeo said Thursday there are enough votes in the House to pass a bill allowing Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim appointment to the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy last month.

Full, uncertified Afghan vote tally shows Karzai at 54 percent; fraud probes pending

KABUL — Afghanistan’s election commission released preliminary vote totals Wednesday showing President Hamid Karzai with 54.6 percent of the vote in the first full results to be released since the country’s Aug. 20 election.

Afghan election officials to release full preliminary results after repeated delays

KABUL — Afghan election officials plan to release the full preliminary results Wednesday from last month’s presidential vote, though the much-delayed total has lost some significance in an election now likely to be determined by the outcome of fraud investigations.

Sweden urges US Senate to act quickly on energy bill to help global talks on climate change

STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s environment minister urged the U.S. Senate on Monday to pass legislation to control greenhouse gases, saying a delay in the vote is impeding negotiations on a new international climate treaty.

Afghanistan struggling to find way forward amid uncertainty over election results

KABUL — Afghanistan’s electoral officials searched for a way Monday to salvage an election marred by reports of ballot stuffing and phantom voters, mulling how much of the vote to throw out because of fraud.

UN-backed commission orders recount in Afghanistan as Karzai nears outright win

KABUL — A U.N.-backed commission Tuesday ordered a recount of tainted ballots from the Afghan presidential vote, saying it had “convincing evidence of fraud,” even as President Hamid Karzai for the first time surpassed the threshold needed to avoid a run-off and win re-election.

UN-backed commission orders Afghan recount as Karzai nears outright win

KABUL — A U.N.-backed commission Tuesday ordered a recount of tainted ballots from the Afghan presidential vote, saying it had “convincing evidence of fraud,” even as President Hamid Karzai for the first time surpassed the threshold needed to avoid a run-off and win re-election.

Vote delayed on proposal to ban smelly people from Honolulu buses

HONOLULU — A vote on a Honolulu City Council proposal that would bar people with offensive odors from public transit vehicles is being delayed.

Some veterans face delays as Veterans Affairs wades through wave of last-minute GI Bill claims

Facing a rush of last-minute claims, the Department of Veterans Affairs has cut housing checks to tens of thousands of veterans returning to college under the newly expanded GI Bill but officials acknowledge several thousand may get their money later than expected.

UN official says int’l community has ‘wasted years’ in Afghanistan by not coordinating efforts

KABUL — The international community has wasted years in Afghanistan by not coordinating its efforts, a top U.N. official said Tuesday on the eve of a meeting by U.S. and European envoys to discuss the country’s recent election and deteriorating security.

US general says new Afghan strategy needed to defeat Taliban but says success ‘achievable’

KABUL — The commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan called Monday for a new strategy against the Taliban in an assessment of the 8-year-old conflict, saying the situation is serious but victory was achievable.

Major fraud allegations double in Afghanistan’s presidential vote

KABUL — Major fraud complaints in the Afghan presidential election surged Sunday to nearly 700, raising concern that the volume of cases that must be investigated will delay announcement of a winner and formation of a new government.