BARACK OBAMA

President Barack Obama called for a new beginning in relations between the United States and the Muslim world Thursday, addressing grievances over the Arab-Israeli conflict, two U.S.-led wars and tensions over Iran.

President Barack Obama called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims Thursday, in a speech delivered at Cairo University.

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have put major environmental legislation on a fast-track, boosting chances a climate change bill will pass this month or next, leading lawmakers said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims Thursday, and called on both societies to start a new relationship bringing an end to the cycle of suspicion and discord.”

President Barack Obama told Congress on Wednesday that any requirement for mandatory health insurance in a proposed overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system should allow exemptions for the poor and for small businesses.

U.S. President Barack Obama will urge Arabs and Israelis to say publicly what they acknowledge in private about Middle East peace moves and Iran when he speaks to the Muslim world on Thursday.

Most global industrial companies that emit a lot of greenhouse gases are not adequately detailing their climate strategies in U.S. financial filings, two studies by environmental and investment groups showed on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sounded a cautiously upbeat note on the U.S. economy on Wednesday but warned that corralling government debt was vital to ensuring the nation's long-term health.

The U.S. general nominated to take charge of the war in Afghanistan pledged on Tuesday to try to minimize civilian casualties even as U.S.-led forces step up operations against insurgents.

Al Qaeda's North African wing said on Wednesday it had carried out its threat to kill a British hostage it was holding in the Sahara.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said U.S. President Barack Obama had planted the seeds of revenge and hatred toward the United States in the Muslim world and warned Americans to prepare for the consequences.

President Barack Obama headed for the Middle East on Tuesday hoping to start mending U.S. ties to the Islamic world in a speech that aides say will reach out to Muslims but deal with tough issues like the peace process and violent extremism.

President Barack Obama met Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh on Wednesday ahead of a much-heralded speech in Cairo the U.S. leader hopes will help refurbish America's tarnished image in the Islamic world.

The oil markets' seven-day rally faltered on Wednesday ahead of weekly U.S. inventory data and as investors grew more cautious ahead of the $70 a barrel mark.

Two months ago President Obama stood with other Group of 20 nations' leaders in London and pledged not to introduce protectionist measures in the global economic crisis.

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday will open a debate that has stymied them for at least a decade: the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant housing finance agencies nearly felled by the credit crisis.

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor sought to answer critics on Tuesday with a vow to follow the law ultimately and completely, and a key senator said he wanted confirmation hearings next month so she can rebut what he called unfounded charges of racism.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Republican congressman John McHugh as secretary of the Army, the latest move to tap an opposition party member for the Democratic administration's top ranks.

The U.S. climate change bill making its way through Congress is the best legislative bet to help the country take the lead in tackling global warming on the world stage, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Monday.

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a second foray into European diplomacy this week facing pressure to demonstrate his consensus-building foreign policy can produce results where his predecessor George W. Bush's go-it-alone style failed.

The United States can be a role model to the Muslim world, President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday.