Elections Directory USA

Reuters - President Barack Obama on Saturday accused Republicans of holding American small businesses "hostage to politics" after Republican senators refused to back a $30 billion small-business lending package.

AP - An Army private charged with leaking classified material to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks had civilian help, a key figure in the case said Saturday.

AP - The helicopter passes over the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico — with surprisingly little oil visible on its surface — when out of the sea rises a skyscraper-like structure nearly 350 feet above the waves. The $600 million rig, nearly 100 miles off Louisiana's coast, has a hull larger than a football field and can drill more than 5 miles beneath the ocean floor.

AP - To rebut a lengthy list of alleged ethical misdeeds, Rep. Charles Rangel is trotting out this three-way defense: I didn't do it. I did it, but was inattentive. Others lawmakers were allowed to do the same thing without penalty.

AP - President Barack Obama has a warning for Republicans who denounce the federal deficit but reject proposals to cut it.

AP - Michigan voters frustrated over lost jobs, home foreclosures and budget deficits will vote in Tuesday's primary election for leaders they hope can move the state out of its economic morass.

AP - Rep. Charlie Rangel is getting sympathy from some fellow Democrats but scant support from others as he faces trial on several ethics charges.

AP - Tucked into the new health care law is a requirement that could become a paperwork nightmare for nearly 40 million businesses.

AP - President Barack Obama is going after Senate Republicans who have stymied his proposal to create a $30 billion fund to help unfreeze lending for credit-starved small businesses.

AP - They're a minority, but a vocal one, and they're hovering like storm clouds over a brittle recovery.

AP - A tea party success story in search of a statewide triumph, Kentucky Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul volunteers that he's spent two decades "popping off" about one issue or another. Not quite so much now, though.

Reuters - President Barack Obama called ethics charges against Representative Charles Rangel "very troubling" on Friday and said he hoped the lawmaker could end his career "with dignity."

AP - A second House Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, could face an ethics trial this fall, further complicating the election outlook for the party as it battles to retain its majority.

AP - The House has approved a bill to boost safety standards for offshore drilling and remove a liability cap for oil spills, but a partisan fight in the Senate will likely delay action on a response to the Gulf oil spill until Congress returns from its summer recess.

AP - It's hard to travel incognito when you're the president — even on a mission to a spy museum.

AP - The Obama administration, unable to push an immigration overhaul through Congress, is considering ways it could go around lawmakers to let undocumented immigrants stay in the United States, according to an agency memo.

AP - The big issue in Kansas' U.S. Senate race is which of two veteran Republican congressmen will fight hardest — and loudest — against President Barack Obama's agenda.

AP - The Obama administration, unable to push an immigration overhaul through Congress, is considering ways it could go around lawmakers to let undocumented immigrants stay in the United States, according to an agency memo.

AP - President Barack Obama on Friday called ethics charges against Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel "very troubling" and said he hopes the longtime lawmaker can end his career with dignity. Several House Democrats went further, flat-out urging the New York congressman to resign.

Reuters - President Barack Obama called ethics charges against Representative Charles Rangel "very troubling" on Friday and said he hoped the lawmaker could end his career "with dignity."