BARACK OBAMA

by Lisa Lambert

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday the availability of over $467 million from the stimulus package for two Recovery Act energy programs on the 100 days anniversary since the President signed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

General Motors Corp moved closer to filing the largest U.S. industrial bankruptcy after a crucial bond exchange proposal failed and as officials in Germany neared a decision on which company would take over GM's European brand Opel.

The U.S. Congress has started work on a broad overhaul of the healthcare system in a rare spirit of optimism, but brewing battles over its cost, scope and structure could still scuttle hopes for a solution.

White House budget director Peter Orszag said Friday reforming healthcare through higher costs is not the administration’s aim.

Myanmar's detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has hurt the image of Southeast Asia's regional group and strained its policy of quiet diplomacy, ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuwan said on Wednesday.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked six years in detention on Wednesday as her supporters freed birds and prayed for the Nobel laureate facing a possible further five years in jail.

General Motors Corp said on Wednesday that a crucial bond exchange proposal failed to gain enough support and that its board of directors would meet to review the automaker's options, clearing the path for what would be the largest U.S. industrial bankruptcy ever.

President Barack Obama's pick of Sonia Sotomayor to join the Supreme Court will trigger a battle in the Senate over what conservatives called her liberal positions, but she is likely to prevail.

U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC said on Tuesday it submitted proposals totaling $448 million to the U.S. Department of Energy to research and develop electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid models.

Polo Ralph Lauren announced Tuesday the resignation of Judith McHale from the Polo Ralph Lauren Board of Directors following her recent appointment to the White House.

North Korea defied international condemnation of its latest nuclear test by firing two short-range missiles off its east coast on Tuesday and major powers considered tougher action against the isolated communist state.

The Democratic-led U.S. Senate must vote to confirm President Barack Obama's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

North Korea, defiant in the face of international condemnation of its latest nuclear test, fired two more short-range missiles off its east coast on Tuesday and accused the United States of plotting against its government.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will urge U.S. President Barack Obama at their first White House talks to press Israel to halt expansion of Jewish settlements, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama nominated Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, selecting a woman who would be the court's first Latino to replace retiring Justice David Souter.

President Barack Obama has named Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice David Souter making her the first Hispanic in history picked to wear the robes of a justice.

The U.S. economy appears destined for several years of weak growth and high unemployment that leave it vulnerable to a recession relapse after the massive dose of government stimulus wears off.

President Barack Obama commemorated his first Memorial Day in office honoring men and women who made America’s history.

North Korea conducted a second nuclear test on Monday that was far more powerful than its first one, triggering an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on the hermit state's defiant act and drawing condemnation from around the globe.

Japan raised its economic outlook for the first time in three years on Monday, and an important measure of German business sentiment rose in May in further signs the worst of the global recession may be over.