BARACK OBAMA

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Tuesday shot down speculation that she is close to deciding whether to jump into the 2012 presidential race, after talk that she would announce her plans during the Labor Day holiday weekend in early September.

Triumphant rebels seized Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli on Tuesday after a fierce battle with a loyalist rearguard but there was no word on the fate of the Libyan leader who vowed again to fight to the end.

A strengthening Hurricane Irene churned on a northwest track toward the Southeast United States on Tuesday, threatening the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas with battering winds and rain and dangerous surf.

Jon Huntsman said Monday that he would be willing to run for vice president as Michele Bachmann's running mate if he doesn't win the Republican presidential nomination. But would a Bachmann-Huntsman ticket be viable?

You thought the U.S. debt deal ended the feud between Democrats and Republicans? Hardly. The U.S. Government's new fiscal year, fiscal 2012, starts Oct. 1 -- and a budget must be passed by Sept. 30. A key unknown is: will the Tea Party threaten to shut down the government again, if it doesn't get most of what it wants?

The Tea Party Patriots have denounced Rep. Maxine Water's telling them to go straight to hell, and are calling on President Obama to do the same.

Libyan rebels battled on Tuesday around Muammar Gaddafi's headquarters, where a son of the veteran leader had emerged overnight to confound reports of his capture and to rally cheering loyalists for a rearguard fightback.

S&P couldn't take back its U.S. debt rating downgrade that rocked global financial markets. Once it was done, it was done. But now we know the agency embroiled in controversy for two weeks since its Aug. 5 downgrade was met with corporate regret. The ratings agency said Tuesday that Deven Sharma, S&P's president since 2007, will sept down. He will be succeeded on Sept. 12 by Citibank Chief Operating Officer Douglas Peterson. The move caps two weeks of controversy that has embroiled the com...

Those upset with the ratings agency Standard & Poor's after the company caused brief havoc in U.S. financial markets by downgrading America's debt rating exacted a measure of revenge Tuesday -- S&P announced its president is stepping down following two weeks of controversy.

A son of Muammar Gaddafi, previously reported captured, made a surprise appearance with jubilant supporters in Tripoli overnight, urging loyalists to fight off rebels who say they control most of the Libyan capital.

Four leading Republican presidential candidates have pulled even with President Barack Obama in a new poll, signaling a close race in 2012.

Vice President Joe Biden said on Monday China's leaders did not seek reassurances about the weak U.S. economy, and he called Xi Jinping -- the man expected to take over as China's next president -- pragmatic and strong.

Remnants of forces still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi staged a desperate stand in Tripoli on Tuesday as rebels fought their way into the capital, but the whereabouts of the veteran leader was a mystery.

Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney on Monday said the Federal Reserve should not go ahead with another round of monetary stimulus to boost the U.S. economy, because it would risk kicking up inflation.

During Vice President Joe Biden's visit to China, Beijing and Washington confined their brawling to the basketball court, and for now economic and political needs should keep tensions in the diplomatic arena from spiraling into fully-fledged feuds.

Vice President Joe Biden said on Monday China's leaders did not seek reassurances about the weak U.S. economy, and he called Xi Jinping -- the man expected to take over as China's next president -- pragmatic and strong.

President Barack Obama and his family are on a 10-day vacation at Blue Heron Farm in Martha's Vineyard. Though his free time was interrupted by Libya briefings, Obama has been golfing, shopping, and eating out at the Vineyard's famous seafood restaurants.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman praised the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi even though he has been a vocal critic of U.S. intervention in the country.

Muammar Gaddafi was a hunted man on Monday as loyal remnants of his forces made last-ditch stands in the capital while world leaders rushed to embrace the fractious rebel movement as new masters of Libya's oil riches.

Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin will not run for the Republican presidential nomination, he announced Monday on his Web site. He said he had chosen to seek re-election to the House of Representatives instead.

President Barack Obama has taken heat for taking a vacation when the U.S. economy is struggling, but aides are striving to make clear he is not neglecting the country's finances during his break.