JOE BIDEN

NATO's top defense officials will examine proposals Saturday for a big troop surge to contain Afghanistan's escalating insurgency but any such move hinges on a decision by the U.S. president, NATO military officials said.

The New Jersey governor's race is virtually tied between Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine and Republican Christopher Christie after months in which the challenger held the lead, a poll released on Wednesday said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates blamed the Taliban's revival on a past failure to deploy enough troops to Afghanistan and said U.S. forces would not withdraw whatever the result of President Barack Obama's strategy review.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday called for patience and discretion as President Barack Obama decides how to conduct the war in Afghanistan, urging advisers to speak candidly but privately on strategy.

U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 263,000 jobs in September, fueling fears the weak labor market could impede the economy's recovery from its worst recession in 70 years.

If President Barack Obama decides to send 30,000 to 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, he will be doing it against the advice of some advisers and leading Democrats in Congress.

Green building materials start-up Serious Materials raised $60 million in a third round of funding and plans to use the money to accelerate product development.

The White House kept insurance companies squarely in its sights on Tuesday in the push for healthcare reform by releasing research showing that health insurance premiums have risen far faster than inflation in every U.S. state.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq on an unannounced visit on Tuesday to keep up U.S. pressure on Iraq's leaders to reach political compromises on thorny issues as U.S. combat troops prepare to go home.

Mourners of victims of the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center honored them in New York on Friday.

Vice president Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden visited the World Trade Center at Ground Zero on Friday marking the eighth anniversary commemoration of the 9/11 attacks.

New York held a memorial gathering on Friday to remember the eight anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the city while President Obama in Washington observed a minute of silence at the White House.

U.S. job losses were the smallest in a year last month, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to a 26-year high, according to data on Friday that showed the labor market limping toward health.

Republicans and Democrats were to come together at a private memorial service on Friday to honor Senator Edward Kennedy, the standard-bearer for liberal Democrats and patriarch of an American political dynasty.

Republicans and Democrats came together on Friday to honor Senator Edward Kennedy, the standard-bearer for liberal Democrats and patriarch of America's fabled political dynasty, at a private memorial service.

The U.S. Energy Department will award $300 million to a clean cities program to help communities buy alternative fuel vehicles, Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Wednesday.

Senator Ted Kaufman on Monday asked U.S. regulators to undertake a comprehensive review of several questionable developments in the structure of capital markets, the latest lawmaker to weigh in on so-called dark pools, flashes, and high-frequency trading.

A Democrat senator is expected on Monday to ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to review the stock market's structures, Dow Jones Newswires reported, reviving a debate over the market impact of computer-based trading.

The U.S. government on Thursday announced grants of almost $1.2 billion to help hospitals and healthcare providers implement and use electronic health records.

The U.S. government announced grants of almost $1.2 billion on Thursday to help hospitals and health care providers establish and use electronic health records.

Student Damon Weaver gives U.S. President Barack Obama a hard time over education, school meals and bullying.