Politics - Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to reassure Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday of his commitment to boosting U.S. ties with India even as his administration has set its rivals, China and Pakistan, as top priorities.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has no plans to join a global treaty banning landmines because a policy review found the United States could not meet its security commitments without them, the State Department said on Tuesday.

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."

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor David Paterson on Tuesday submitted emergency legislation that would grant him the one-time authority to balance the state budget without approval from the legislature.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration, facing criticism its economic stimulus plans are failing to halt layoffs, on Tuesday said hiring prompted by the spending would accelerate next year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fifty-nine U.S. senators, led by John Kerry and Orrin Hatch, have urged European antitrust regulators to conclude their investigation of the Oracle and Sun Microsystems merger and justify any further delay in making a decision on the deal.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama assured Americans on Monday that boosting jobs was a top priority, but gave no specifics about how to meet this goal that some economists say warrants more government spending.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama should look abroad for ways to boost jobs at home, the biggest U.S. business lobby group said on Monday, urging the administration to advance three pending free trade agreements.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, a conservative seen as a presidential contender before a sex scandal wrecked his reputation, faces 37 possible ethics violations, the state ethics commission said on Monday.

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 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers and exiled Chinese dissidents urged President Barack Obama on Monday to intervene with China's government on behalf of Jiang Tianyong, a rights activist who tried to see Obama while he was in China last week.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States plans to resume arms sales to Taiwan and warned of a build-up of missiles aimed at the island by China, a top U.S. diplomat said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. negotiators working to conclude a new strategic arms treaty with Russia are discussing ways to continue nuclear weapons monitoring until the new accord can be ratified, a State Department spokesman said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's U.S. healthcare overhaul plan has cleared an important Senate hurdle but lawmakers warned on Sunday of challenges ahead in winning support for passage, even among Obama's own Democrats.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday completing a 2005 U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal would boost investment opportunities in his country, a hopeful sign for U.S. companies eyeing India's potential $150 billion market in power plants.