WASHINGTON — A sweeping crackdown on banking and high-finance broke through a Senate Republican blockade Thursday, setting the stage for Congress to send the massive regulation overhaul to President Barack Obama.

NEW ORLEANS — BP's work to cap its Gulf of Mexico gusher was in limbo Wednesday after the federal government raised concerns the operation could put damaging pressure on the busted well and make the leak worse.

JERUSALEM — A ship sent by a Libyan charity to break Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip changed course in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday and instead appeared headed for an Egyptian port, signaling that it would avoid a showdown with the Israeli navy.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A billboard created by an Iowa tea party group comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin has been removed. At the same time, the NAACP has passed a resolution condemning the Tea Party movement for its rampant racism.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Tuesday a new strategy for combating HIV and AIDS fulfills America's obligation to stopping the spread of the virus and rooting out the inequities and attitudes on which it thrives.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A missing Iranian nuclear scientist, who has sought refuge at a Pakistani embassy office in Washington and who Iran claims was abducted, is free to return to his homeland, the State Department said Tuesday

LOS ANGELES (NNPA and wire services) – Riots erupted across California after Oscar Grant's killed was found guilty to lesser charges.

KAMPALA, Uganda — Somalia's most dangerous al-Qaida-linked militant group claimed responsibility Monday for twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people watching the World Cup final on TV, saying the militants would carry out attacks "against out enemy" wherever they are

NEW ORLEANS — BP expected to attach a tight new cap Monday on its busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, putting the oil giant a few tantalizing steps closer to knowing whether the fix will be enough to finally stop crude from gushing into the Gulf.

Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil are being allowed to spew into the fouled waters of the Gulf of Mexico while BP engineers prepare to install a new containment system they hope will catch it all in the coming days.
There's no guarantee for such a delicate operation nearly a mile below the water's surface, officials said, and the permanent fix of plugging the well from the bottom remains slated for mid-August.