WASHINGTON (AP) — Girding for the campaign's homestretch, President Barack Obama is quietly using the powers of his office to fire up a reeling Democratic Party.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (AP) — President Barack Obama attacked Republicans with gusto Monday as he plunged into a final week of midterm election campaigning, but his party's prognosis remained darkened by the feeble economy and his itinerary was designed largely to minimize losses.

CHICAGO – A storm drawing comparisons to a hurricane muscled across the Midwest on Tuesday, snapping trees and power lines, delaying flights at one of nation's busiest airports and soaking commuters who slogged to work under crumpled umbrellas.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — For Alaskan voters, this year's Senate election is venturing into unexplored territory.
The three-way contest features a rematch of the bitter Republican primary, a rising Democrat who is moving from spoiler to contender, and even a voice from the grave. With millions of dollars flowing into the state to help fuel nonstop TV and radio ads, the scope of outside interest in the election is virtually unprecedented.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that once or twice a year Iran gives his office $700,000 to $975,000 for official presidential expenses -- and that Washington also provides "bags of money" because his office lacks funds.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal banking regulators are examining whether mortgage companies cut corners on their own procedures when they moved to foreclose on people's homes, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — A Canadian accused of killing an American soldier as a teenage al-Qaida militant pleaded guilty Monday as part of a deal that avoids a war crimes trial for someone labeled a "child soldier" by his defenders.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- America's most prominent civil rights group released a report this week accusing some tea party figures of having ties to racist groups and called on the movement to oust any activists who promote racism.

A Black general dentist from Flint, Michigan is the 2010-2011 president of the American Dental Association (ADA).  Dr. Raymond Gist's induction took place recently during the ADA's 151st Annual Session in Orlando, Florida.
Dr. Gist is the first African-American president of the 157,000 dentist member organization, the nation's oldest and largest dental association in the United States.

LONDON – The WikiLeaks website appears close to releasing what the Pentagon fears is the largest cache of secret U.S. documents in history — hundreds of thousands of intelligence reports compiled after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.