"I am almost as shocked ... as anybody else, " said the St. Paul mayor of his decision to run again for mayor.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran and Afghanistan will dominate talks by U.S. Secretary of State hillary clinton next week on a trip to Britain and Russia that could also spur progress on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Moscow.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan has recommended an increase of 40,000 troops as the minimum necessary to prevail, two sources familiar with his recommendations said on Thursday.

Party is urged to give details of checks carried out on Polish and Latvian politicians accused of antisemitismJewish leaders have told senior Conservatives to prove that the party vetted its new rightwing allies in Europe before it joined forces in the EU parliament with Polish and Latvian politicians accused of antisemitism.Mark Francois, the shadow Europe minister, held an emergency meeting yesterday with Vivian Wineman, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, after the Tories suggested that his organisation was politically motivated in raising concerns about the party's new allies.Wineman wrote to David Cameron this week expressing concern at the past political activities of Michal Kaminski and Roberts Zile, and a meeting followed on Wednesday.The Tories have now been asked to give details of where "due diligence" was exercised before the alliances were formed. The move indicates a hardening of the board's position. Last week it said it had looked into Kaminski and f

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration's effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure may not achieve its goal of helping 3 million to 4 million borrowers and may simply delay mortgage defaults for many, a government watchdog group says....

The industry heavyweights President Obama neutralized through the summer are agitating that the health-care bills in Congress violate agreements they made with the White House, leave 25 million Americans uninsured and have the potential to increase medical costs.

In the three months since soldiers expelled Honduras's leftist president, the Obama administration and the rest of the world have shunned the Central american country, cutting off aid and travel visas. But the isolated Honduran leadership has found one lifeline: Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would renew portions of the USA Patriot Act in an effort to address administration concerns about protecting terrorism investigations.

Eight months after enacting a massive economic stimulus package, the Obama administration is facing rising pressure from some congressional Democrats to move more aggressively to jump-start the moribund job market and try to spur a housing recovery.