US Unemployment Rate Gallops Ahead of Expectations  —  The White House says America's employment picture is worse than the Obama administration had anticipated just a few months ago.  The somber admission follows the latest jobless report showing the highest unemployment rate the United States has seen in more than 25 years.

Obama's Economic Circle Keeps Tensions Simmering  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama was getting his daily economic briefing one recent morning when a fly distracted him.  The president swatted and missed, just as the pest buzzed near the shoes of Lawrence H. Summers, the chief White House economic adviser.

Palin versus GOP  —  Sarah Palin's on-again, off-again appearance at Monday night's gala GOP fundraising dinner is off — again.  —  After being invited — for a second time — to speak to the annual joint fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National …

Obamanomics: How Stupid Do They Think We Are?  —  Pretty stupid.  Watching Fox News Sunday, I caught a panel on which Obama economic advisor Austin Goolsbee conceded that the administration had previously predicted unemployment would top out at around 8%, that it was now up to 9.4% …

NKorea jails US journalists for 12 years  —  SEOUL (AFP) — A North Korean court sentenced two female US journalists to 12 years in a labour camp for an illegal border crossing and an unspecified “grave crime,” state media reported.  —  The “trial confirmed the grave crime they committed …

President Obama's French food tested by ‘taster’ … A US “taster” tested the food being dished up to President Barack Obama at a dinner in a French restaurant, a waiter said on Sunday.  —  “They have someone who tastes the dishes,” said waiter Gabriel de Carvalho from the “La Fontaine de Mars” …

Sotomayor and the Politics of Race  —  Americans thought they were electing a president who would transcend grievance.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court points to a dilemma that will likely plague his presidency: How does a …

Suspect in abortion doctor death warns of violence  —  WICHITA, Kan. — The man charged with murdering a high-profile abortion doctor claimed from his jail cell Sunday that similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal, a threat that comes days …

U.S. to Propose Wider Oversight of Compensation  —  The Obama administration plans to require banks and corporations that have received two rounds of federal bailouts to submit any major executive pay changes for approval by a new federal official who will monitor pay, according to two government officials.

Elections - BNP wins its first seat in European Parliament  —  The British National Party broke into the political mainstream last night when it won its first seat in the European Parliament.  —  The far-Right party won almost 10 per cent of the vote in Yorkshire and the Humber …

In Iran, Harsh Talk as Election Nears  —  TEHRAN — The leading candidates are accusing each other of corruption, bribery and torture.  The wife of the strongest challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to sue him for defaming her.  And every night, parts of the capital become …

Closed Clinic Leaves Abortion Protesters at a Loss  —  WICHITA, Kan. — For the first time in years, only a Wichita police car has been waiting outside the abortion clinic of Dr. George R. Tiller, who was shot to death a week ago.  Gone are the trucks bearing enormous images of bloody fetuses …

Group Linked to Al Qaeda May Have Killed Minnesota Man Recruited in Somalia  —  A Minnesota man recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group overseas may have been assassinated in Somalia by the very terrorist group he went there to help.  —  The Federal Bureau of Investigation …

EXCLUSIVE: Recently Released Gitmo Detainee Talks to ABC News  —  Held Seven Years, Former Aid Worker Tells ABC News He Was Tortured  —  For 7½ years, Lakhdar Boumediene was known simply by a number: “10005.”  —  These were the digits assigned to him when he arrived at the detention center …

China Squeezes PC Makers  —  Beijing Is Set to Require Web Filter That Would Censor ‘Harmful’ Internet Sites  —  BEIJING — China plans to require that all personal computers sold in the country as of July 1 be shipped with software that blocks access to certain Web sites …

U.S. Will Let Some Banks Repay Aid  —  Move Doesn't Signal Economic Recovery, Officials Caution  —  The Obama administration plans to announce as soon as today that some of the nation's largest banks can repay billions in federal aid, but some officials caution that the show of progress …

Schakowsky, after exploring Senate bid, will run for House again.  —  WASHINGTON — After exploring a Senate run, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told me Sunday she instead will seek another term in the House.  —  Schakowsky had set today as her deadline for deciding whether to jump into the Democratic primary.

Sestak: Only an ‘act of God’ will keep him out of Senate race  —  PITTSBURGH—Short of divine intervention, Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) is running for Senate.  —  “It would take an act of God for me to not get in now,” Sestak told a Democratic State Committeeman Saturday morning within earshot of reporters.

New Orleans mayor quarantined in China  —  (CNN) — The mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, has been quarantined in China after possible exposure to the H1N1 virus, his office said Sunday.  —  Mayor Ray Nagin, who traveled to China on an economic development trip, flew on a plane that carried …