BARACK OBAMA

The top U.S. transportation official on Wednesday warned Toyota owners caught up in its massive recall to stop driving their cars, triggering alarm and confusion in a crisis that has engulfed the automaker.

President Barack Obama said Tuesday in a letter to Senate Majority leader Harry Reid he wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas.

Stocks mostly fell on Wednesday as Pfizer's disappointing outlook weighed on the health sector, and President Obama's pledge to complete banking and healthcare reform revived fears of increased regulation.

The Obama administration stepped up the pressure on Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday to address a range of safety issues as investors bolted at signs of a deepening crisis for the world's largest automaker.

Stocks mostly fell on Wednesday as Pfizer's disappointing outlook weighed on the health sector, and President Obama's pledge to complete banking and healthcare reform revived fears of increased regulation.

In unusually frank public comments, the top U.S. intelligence chief said on Wednesday that spy agencies could target Americans involved in terrorism but must get permission before a potentially deadly strike.

The first national Tea Party convention meets this week to take aim at all the raucous movement says is wrong with Washington and Sarah Palin, darling of America's conservatives, will help lead the charge.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced an $81 billion quarterly debt refunding and said government securities issuance may be peaking, although the government plans to expand its offerings of inflation-protected securities.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after President Barack Obama reiterated his commitment to overhaul the healthcare system and impose stricter regulatory reforms on Wall Street.

President Barack Obama sought to rally Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday after the loss of a crucial Senate seat, saying it must not weaken their resolve to pass healthcare and financial regulatory reforms.

President Barack Obama's pay czar on Wednesday predicted the issue of hefty bonuses for AIG employees would end in March and denied a Republican claim that the firm outmaneuvered the Obama administration.

Pakistan's Taliban claimed responsibility for a bomb on Wednesday that killed three U.S. soldiers outside a girls school in the northwest of the country and threatened more attacks on Americans.

China warned President Barack Obama on Wednesday that a meeting between him and the Dalai Lama would further erode ties between the two powers, already troubled by Washington's arms sales to Taiwan.

An Illinois Democrat who won his party's nomination on Tuesday to campaign for Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat struck a populist tone, attacking his Republican opponent as part of the Washington establishment.

White House economic adviser Paul Volcker on Tuesday told Congress to curb risky investing by big banks, warning his soul would haunt lawmakers when the next banking crisis hits if they did not heed him now.

One of President Barack Obama's top advisers argued on Tuesday to impose new limits on commercial banking activity, noting strong conflicts of interest in financial institutions' proprietary or private investment activity.

The U.S. space agency on Tuesday awarded $50 million in grants to five private firms in a first step to implement President Barack Obama's vision of turning over space transportation to the commercial sector.

President Barack Obama still plans to meet the Dalai Lama, the White House said on Tuesday, despite China's warning that such a meeting would hurt ties already strained by U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

President Barack Obama plans on Tuesday to unveil his proposed $30 billion funds for Small Business Lending at a town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire.

In releasing his fiscal 2011 budget on Monday, President Barack Obama said his proposal includes funds to lay the groundwork for these reforms. Instead of dramatic action, the plan seeks to boost health information technology, cheaper generic drugs and certain Medicare payment changes.

A Democratic senator said on Tuesday he has asked 30 U.S. companies, including Apple, Facebook and Skype, for information on their human rights practices in China in the aftermath of Google's decision to no longer cooperate with Chinese Internet censorship efforts.