AP News

Obama defends drone strikes but says no cure-all
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Thursday defended America's controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S. counterterrorism policy. But he acknowledged the targeted strikes are no "cure-all" and said he is haunted by the civilians unintentionally killed....

Obama: Policy in leaks investigations under review
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says Attorney General Eric Holder will review Justice Department policy on leaks investigations involving the news media....

US, Israel raise hopes for Mideast peace restart
JERUSALEM (AP) -- The United States and Israel raised hopes Thursday for a restart of the Middle East peace process, despite little tangible progress so far from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's two-month-old effort to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table....

Between economy and trouble, Obama approval steady
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way....

Pritzker's ties to thrift, tax haven eyed
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of commerce is facing scrutiny in the Senate for her ties to a subprime mortgage lender that failed in 2001 and as a beneficiary of family offshore trusts in the Bahamas....

Report: Nation's kids need to get more physical
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Reading, writing, arithmetic - and PE?...

Tea party storm largely inside IRS _ so far
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three days of congressional hearings about the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative political groups have lawmakers looking for ways to widen an investigation that has so far been largely contained within the tax collection agency....

Obama condemns `appalling attack' on UK soldier
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is condemning what he calls an "appalling attack" that killed a British soldier Wednesday....

House backs variable rate student loans
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation that links student loan rates to the ups and downs of the financial markets in spite of a veto threat from President Barack Obama....

Wyden: FracFocus 'constructive' tool on drilling
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the Senate Energy Committee says a website partially funded by the oil and gas industry is a constructive tool that could be used by federal regulators in requiring public disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations....