Most Emailed - Politics

WASHINGTON - For the first time, more than half of the children under age 2 in the U.S. are minorities, part of a sweeping race change and a growing age divide between mostly white, older Americans and fast-growing younger ethnic populations that could reshape government policies. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans walked out of budget talks on Thursday, setting up a showdown between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner over how to extend U.S. borrowing and avoid a looming debt default. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Treading carefully, President Barack Obama praised New York state lawmakers who were debating landmark legislation Thursday to legalize gay marriage, saying that's what democracy's all about. But as expected, the president stopped short of embracing same-sex marriage himself, instead asking gay and lesbian donors for patience. Full Story »

President Obama will face a stiff political challenge Wednesday in presenting his plan for a gradual end to the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan. His prime-time address must remind a skeptical electorate and a concerned Congress that the country's longest war remains worth fighting--and funding--for several more years. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military commanders distanced themselves on Thursday from President Barack Obama's timetable for withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, telling Congress they had sought a slower, less risky drawdown. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The nation's top military officer and its top diplomat made clear Thursday that President Barack Obama rejected the advice of his generals in choosing a quicker path to winding down the war in Afghanistan. Full Story »

BEIJING (Reuters) - China urged the United States on Wednesday to leave the South China Sea dispute to the claimant states, saying that U.S. involvement may make the situation worse, its most direct warning to Washington in recent weeks. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Congressional Budget Office warned that an explosion in public borrowing could lead to debt levels as high as 100 percent of the gross domestic product by 2021, if the current course remains unchanged. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Increasingly troubled by the economy, more Americans are convinced the country is headed in the wrong direction and fewer approve of President Barack Obama's economic stewardship. The sentiments pose a new complication for the president's re-election hopes and create an obstacle to a recovery that relies in part on public perceptions. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Pakistan on Thursday that U.S. military aid could suffer if Islamabad failed to address rising U.S. doubts over its commitment to fighting Islamist militants. Full Story »

JUNEAU, Alaska - Sarah Palin is disputing online reports that she has canceled her bus tour of historic American sites, saying in a Facebook posting that her schedule will be tight the next few weeks because she's been called for jury duty. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of the Philippines, which vowed to "stand up to any aggressive action" amid rising tension at sea with China. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders called on Wednesday for new spending and tax cuts to boost the sluggish U.S. economy, setting up a fresh hurdle for bipartisan efforts to head off a government debt default this summer. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Single mother Bristol Palin takes swipes at everyone from Republican Senator John McCain's family to the media and her ex-fiancee in her memoir, published this week. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Two House members introduced a bill Thursday that would remove marijuana from the list of federal controlled substances and cede to the states enforcement of laws governing pot. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took withering fire from the oil industry and Republicans for agreeing to release the nation's emergency oil supplies, a decision that senior officials said was prompted by the need to prop up the ailing economy. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday called on Vice President Joe Biden to include new economic stimulus spending in deficit-reduction talks as a way of lowering the 9.1 percent jobless rate that is hobbling the economic recovery. Full Story »

BEIJING (AFP) - China on Wednesday warned the United States to stay out of the deepening territorial spat in the South China Sea and accused other countries in the region of provocation, a report said. Full Story »