WHITE HOUSE

Call it 'dueling debt plans': Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. announced Monday a $2.7 trillion spending reduction plan, while House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced a 2-stage spending cut plan, $1 trillion now, and $1.2 trillion next year. If the two sides can get down to negotiating, Monday will be a day of progress in the debt deal saga.

The dollar slipped in early Asia-Pacific trade on Monday as investors looked for signs of progress to break the deadlock that will avert a U.S. debt default.

Much of the United States may be frying in near-record temperatures but Wall Street has been feeling the heat for months. Wrangling over the debt ceiling has kept markets on edge, and investors are still waiting for a breakthrough that leads to a deal to avoid a devastating default.

Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann hit back at a Republican rival on Sunday, saying her experience with the conservative Tea Party movement made her uniquely qualified to trim down Washington.

President Barack Obama said the federal government should not stand in the way of any state that chooses to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. According to a new poll released last week, over half of all Americans support the White House position.

A new internet-based political party might give competition to the established Republican and Democratic political parties in the U.S.

Wall Street futures fell, the dollar dropped and gold rallied as Washington appeared no closer on Sunday to raising the debt ceiling to avert a devastating default.

President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders have missed a self-imposed Sunday deadline reach a deal to raise the U.S. federal debt limit, bringing the default deadline for U.S. obligations even closer.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, took pains to underscore that not only have the debt deal talks resumed, he says all parties are working toward an agreement. Time certainly is of the essence: the U.S. has less than 10 days to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default.

Top House and Senate leaders arrived at the White House on Saturday in a meeting called by President Barack Obama with the aim of advancing a negotiation to avert a federal default.

President Barack Obama summoned House Speaker John Boehner to White House after the Republican from Ohio threw the debt ceiling talks into disarray by withdrawing from discussions.

President Barack Obama said Friday that time for negotiations had ended after House Speaker John Boehner broke off talks on reaching a deal to raise the federal debt limit and handle the United States' long term debts and deficits.

The U.S. military is prepared to accept servicemembers who are openly gay and lesbian as President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen have certified that such a move won't harm military readiness.

President Barack Obama faces a powerful backlash from his own party for a proposed debt bargain that Democrats see as Obama handing a major victory to Republicans without preserving Democratic priorities.

President Barack Obama, D-Ill. and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio moved closer toward a landmark debt deal late Thursday -- one that would avoid a U.S. default and implement major tax code changes, if approved. However, aides to both were lowering expectations, given the importance of the talks, so as to not jeopardize delicate negotiations within each caucus.

The ongoing healthcare reforms cannot be isolated from the controversy that has exposed President Barack Obama's desperation to tag along his mother, who was often portrayed as a victim of health care insurers.

HIV-positive men who have sex with other men are at a high risk of contracting the Hepatitis C virus through sex, according to a new study of men in New York City.

Many of the amateur fundraisers who helped finance President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign will not return for the 2012 push, disillusioned by a perception that what was once a grassroots, outsider campaign has morphed into a big-money operation, Politico reported.

As the space shuttle Atlantis safely landed at 5:57 Thursday morning at Kennedy Space Center, it marked the end of one era of American space exploration.

When the space shuttle Atlantis safely touched down at 5:57 Thursday morning at Kennedy Space Center, it marked the end of one era of American space exploration.

The Gang of Six' debt plan, and President Obama's approval of its outline, has created momentum in Washington for a landmark deficit reduction package that would also avert a U.S. Government default, but two words could sap that momentum in a hurry: Tea Party.