BARACK OBAMA

The U.S. swine flu caseload rose to 65 in six states on Tuesday as lawmakers launched emergency hearings to evaluate the government's response to what doctors warn could become a pandemic.

New swine flu infections were found around the world on Tuesday and the specter of a pandemic began to hit the travel industry as governments warned people to stay away from Mexico where 149 people have died.

President Barack Obama asked congressional leaders for an additional $1.5 billion dollars on Tuesday to enhance the U.S. response to the swine flu outbreak.

Less than half of utility executives support the Obama Administration's plan to make the United States a leader on climate change and are concerned about the impact related policies will have on industry profits, according to a survey released on Monday.

U.S. environmental regulators said they have withdrawn a permit for a massive coal-fired power plant that had been scheduled to be built on the Navajo Nation to send electricity to populated areas to the West.

A compromise $3.4 trillion budget blueprint for next year has enough support to pass the U.S. House of Representatives, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday.

Oil prices eased toward $49 a barrel on Tuesday, paring earlier gains after U.S. stock markets rose following encouraging housing and consumer confidence data.

Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has damaged the country's relations with the international community, a moderate challenger to the president in the June presidential vote said on Tuesday.

More than 40 people in five states have been sickened by new strain of swine flu that doctors fear may cause a pandemic, U.S. officials said on Monday, promising more cases to come.

World Energy Solutions Inc, an operator of online exchanges for energy and environmental commodities, hopes to conduct auctions should a U.S. cap and trade market in greenhouse gases develop, its chief executive said in an interview.

The U.S. Treasury Department will on Tuesday tap a $50 billion housing rescue fund to pay off mortgage investors and reduce monthly payments for millions of borrowers, said a senior administration official.

General Motors Corp on Monday offered its final plan to reorganize outside bankruptcy by slashing bond debt, cutting over 21,000 more U.S. jobs and emerging as a nationalized automaker under majority control by the U.S. government.

The cost of carbon capture and sequestration infrastructure in the United States that would include each of the coal-fired electricity plants in the country could cost over a trillion of dollars, industry experts told CBS news program 60 Minutes in a segment that aired on Sunday.

U.S. President Barack Obama proclaimed Monday April 26 through May 2 as National Crime Victims' rights week, honoring crime victims and pledging to fight future crimes.

President Barack Obama on Monday announced a goal of ensuring 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product is spent on scientific research and development.

Barack Obama has used his first 100 days in office to set a foundation for the rest of his presidency. Time will be the judge of how successful his early months have been in resolving major U.S. challenges.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told representatives of the world's 17 major economies that the United States is fully engaged in issues relating to climate change and is no longer absent without leave in the matter.

A college diploma has long been the ticket to a good job, but the deepest economic slump in decades has dampened the dreams of many U.S. college seniors.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has failed to use all its powers or to beef them up if inspectors are obstructed, leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in tatters, a former top agency official says.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown flew to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday touting a new security strategy for the region as international alarm spreads over Taliban advances.

A U.S. business group said on Monday it was worried that protectionist sentiment could rise in both China and the United States as the global economy shrinks.