BARACK OBAMA

US President Barack Obama has announced the 17-year military ban on openly gay service will end on Sept.20 2011.

The Pentagon is preparing to put an end to the 17-year military ban on openly gay service after the Defense Secretary has certified that doing so will not harm the military's ability to fight.

Technology shares led the Nasdaq higher on Friday thanks to solid results from chipmakers, but a disappointment from Caterpillar kept markets from full-fledged optimism.

Despite howls of protests from many on Wall Street over some of President Barack Obama's policies, financial sector employees are giving at a greater rate to his re-election bid than during his last campaign.

The Dow fell on Friday after disappointing results from Caterpillar and Microsoft, reversing optimism after a strong week of earnings.

For years now, America has been spending more money than we take in. The result is that we have too much debt on our nation's credit card - debt that will ultimately weaken our economy, lead to higher interest rates for all Americans, and leave us unable to invest in things like education, or protect vital programs like Medicare. Presdient Barack Obama said

The deadline for U.S. lawmakers to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit draweth nigh, and now it is up to the Democratic-led Senate to vote on the Republican-backed, House-passed plan that would raise the debt ceiling in trade of large cuts in the federal budget. The bill also requires Congress to approve a constitutional amendment for a balanced federal budget, which would then be sent to state legislatures for review.

President Barack Obama faces a powerful backlash from his own party for a proposed debt bargain that Democrats see as Obama handing a major victory to Republicans without preserving Democratic priorities.

Stocks were little changed on Friday as a profit miss from Caterpillar and disappointing sales from Microsoft offset strong earnings from GE and McDonald's and a new deal to help Greece.

The United States will repeal a 1993 law that prohibits openly gay or bisexual people from serving in the military. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen have decided to recommend to President Barack Obama to repeal the Act..

The Gang of Six group of U.S. senators was finally able to agree to a deficit-reduction plan on Tuesday, but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., only give it a mixed review, citing his concern about the plan's revenue target while saying it proposes some constructive ideas.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday as a profit miss from Caterpillar and disappointing sales from Microsoft overshadowed strong profits from GE and McDonald's and a new deal to help Greece.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as Caterpillar's profit missed estimates, offsetting a strong report from GE and an agreement on a Greece rescue package.

Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as Caterpillar's profit missed estimates, offsetting a strong report from GE and an agreement on a Greece rescue package.

President Barack Obama, D-Ill. and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio moved closer toward a landmark debt deal late Thursday -- one that would avoid a U.S. default and implement major tax code changes, if approved. However, aides to both were lowering expectations, given the importance of the talks, so as to not jeopardize delicate negotiations within each caucus.

The ongoing healthcare reforms cannot be isolated from the controversy that has exposed President Barack Obama's desperation to tag along his mother, who was often portrayed as a victim of health care insurers.

World stocks hit a two-week high on Friday and the euro and oil prices rose after European leaders agreed on a package to rescue Greece that hopes to prevent the region's debt crisis from deepening.

Global warming, a detectable trend in the 1980s and 1990s, all but disappeared in the 2000s.

Stocks advanced on Thursday, powered by financials after Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected results and on apparent progress on debt deals in Europe and the United States.

Many of the amateur fundraisers who helped finance President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign will not return for the 2012 push, disillusioned by a perception that what was once a grassroots, outsider campaign has morphed into a big-money operation, Politico reported.

As the space shuttle Atlantis safely landed at 5:57 Thursday morning at Kennedy Space Center, it marked the end of one era of American space exploration.