Reuters
Politics - Reuters

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) gestures as he addresses a League of United Latin American Citizens conference in Washington, July 8, 2008. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

McCain says supports Fed move to extend lending

Tue Jul 8, 9:10 PM ET

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Tuesday he would support a move by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to keep an emergency lending facility for big Wall Street firms open longer than originally planned.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) gestures during remarks during a League of United Latin American Citizens conference in Washington, July 8, 2008. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
    Obama rejects charges of flip-flopping Tue Jul 8, 7:04 PM ET

    POWDER SPRINGS, Georgia (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama rejected charges on Tuesday that he has shifted positions on Iraq and other issues as part of a move to the political center now that he is his party's nominee.

  • Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit (L) poses next to a George Clooney wax figure at an exhibition stand of 'Madame Tussaud's' at the 'Internationale Tourismus Boerse' (ITB) tourism fair in Berlin in this March 5, 2008 file photo. (Tobias Schwarz/Reuters)
    Struggling German SPD searches for its "Obama" Tue Jul 8, 8:43 PM ET

    BERLIN (Reuters) - Can Germany's Social Democrats find a Barack Obama of their own to revive their party?

  • Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) smiles as he addresses a League of United Latin American Citizens conference in Washington, July 8, 2008. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
    McCain jokes about killing Iranians with cigarettes Tue Jul 8, 8:27 PM ET

    PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Presidential candidate John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country by saying it may be "a way of killing 'em."

  • Georgian peacekeepers walk near their armoured vehicles near the village Nikozi, some 93 miles northwest of Tbilisi, June 28, 2007. (Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters)
    Violence mars Russia-Georgia talks before Rice trip Tue Jul 8, 6:21 PM ET

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Bombings and gun battles in two breakaway regions of Georgia are threatening efforts to ease a standoff between Tbilisi and Moscow, hours before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits the Georgian capital.

  • U.S. welcomes Sudan election law as step forward Tue Jul 8, 10:27 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday hailed Sudan's new election law, which paves the way for the first free ballot in 23 years in Africa's biggest state.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama speaks during a town hall meeting at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia, July 8, 2008. (Tami Chappell/Reuters)
    Obama proposes easing consumer bankruptcy laws Tue Jul 8, 11:18 AM ET

    POWDER SPRINGS, Georgia (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama proposed overhauling bankruptcy laws on Tuesday to ease the impact on people unable to pay their bills because of medical expenses or military service.

  • U.S. soldiers stand at attention during a mass reenlistment ceremony in Baghdad July 4, 2008. More than 1200 soldiers were reenlisted in the U.S. military on Friday as part of a U.S. Independence Day celebration at al-Faw palace in Camp Victory. (Erik de Castro/Reuters)
    Panel urges new law on government war powers Tue Jul 8, 1:35 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The president should be forced by law to consult Congress before going to war, a bipartisan panel including several prominent former U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

  • A doctor checks the blood pressure of a patient at the J.W.C.H. safety-net clinic in the center of skid row in downtown Los Angeles July 30, 2007. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
    Coalition to lobby for health-care reform Tue Jul 8, 2:12 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A coalition of unions, think tanks and other groups launched an advertising campaign on Tuesday saying they want to ensure that health-care reform tops the U.S. political agenda after the November elections.

  • The coastal plain within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in an undated photo. A top U.S. Republican cited on Monday a surge in support among liberals for increased energy exploration as a reason why the Democratic-led Congress may act soon to allow expanded drilling in the United States. (Fish and Wildlife Service/Handout/Reuters)
    Republican buoyed by calls for energy exploration Tue Jul 8, 2:24 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. Republican cited on Monday a surge in support among liberals for increased energy exploration as a reason why the Democratic-led Congress may act soon to allow expanded drilling in the United States.

  • Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gets on his car upon his arrival at the New Chitose International Airport, near Sapporo July 6, 2008. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
    U.S. issues "insulting" Berlusconi biography Tue Jul 8, 5:29 AM ET

    TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - The United States formally apologized to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday for distributing to reporters an "insulting" biography of him that said he was "hated by many."

  • The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg show documents of a treaty they signed in Prague July 8, 2008, allowing the U.S. to build a missile defence radar in the Czech Republic. (Petr Josek/Reuters)
    U.S., Czechs missile deal upsets Moscow Tue Jul 8, 5:02 PM ET

    PRAGUE (Reuters) - The United States signed a pact on Tuesday to build part of a U.S. missile defense shield in the Czech Republic, prompting neighboring Russia to warn it will react with military means if the shield is deployed.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama recognizes a friend in the audience as he addresses a National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) conference in Washington, June 28, 2008. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
    Democrats to open Obama nomination speech to public Mon Jul 7, 2:52 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama will accept the Democratic presidential nomination next month at a Denver football stadium that can hold more than 75,000 people after the political party decided to open the event to a broader audience, officials said on Monday.

  • Bush Commerce aide scolds Congress on Asian trade Mon Jul 7, 4:59 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress would be giving China an unrivaled chance to shape the economic future of Asia if lawmakers reject a free trade agreement with South Korea, a top Bush administration trade official said on Monday.

  • A boy walks in front of the sea in Key West, Florida, October 20, 2005. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
    Agency calls on Congress to end drilling ban Mon Jul 7, 3:42 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lifting the congressional ban on offshore drilling would likely increase U.S. oil and natural gas production above the government's current estimates, the U.S. Interior Department said on Monday.

  • Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama boards his plane in Blountville, Tennessee June 5, 2008 after a campaign stop in Bristol, Virginia. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
    Mechanical problem forces Obama plane to land Mon Jul 7, 11:38 AM ET

    ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Barack Obama's plane landed unexpectedly in St. Louis on Monday after experiencing a mechanical problem.

  • U.S. President George W. Bush (L) shares a laugh with Prime Minister Stephen Harper at a Tanabata ceremony during the G8 Summit at The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Toyako, Japan, July 7, 2008. (Jim Young/Reuters)
    Bush summons Canadian leader with a "Yo Harper!" Mon Jul 7, 9:14 AM ET

    TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday kept up his tradition of informal relations with fellow world leaders by summoning Prime Minister Stephen Harper with a brusque "Yo Harper!"

  • Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice listens to a reporter's question during a joint news conference with South Korea's Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul June 28, 2008. . (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)
    Rice seeks to tighten links with Prague Mon Jul 7, 10:16 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left on Monday for the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Georgia and perhaps Poland on a trip that illustrates their deepening U.S. ties despite Russia's objections.