FINANCE-US: Helping People One Paycheque From Disaster

A decade ago, few could envision that making a charitable donation would be as simple as a mouse click.

POLITICS-US: Right-Wing Magnate Takes Up Anti-Abortion Banner

As the U.S. presidential race winds down and attack ads against Sen. Barack Obama intensify, Raymond Ruddy, a multi-millionaire conservative Catholic who over the years has been more comfortable operating in the backrooms of conservative philanthropy, appears to be coming out of the closet.

ECONOMY-US: This Sucker Could Go Down

Crises seem to awaken the inner poet of the commentariat, and the Crash of 2008 is no exception.

ECONOMY-US: Bailing Out a Boat Full of Holes

The U.S. Treasury's bonanza from Congress to hand out 700 billion dollars to Wall Street is not what the country needs to right its shaky economy, many independent experts say.

POLITICS-US: Michigan Republicans Upset at McCain's Exit

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain is facing a backlash from top Republicans, conservative media and party supporters for pulling out of Michigan, a key battleground state in the 2008 presidential election.

SCIENCE: Smart Slime and Cola Spermicides – It's Ig Nobel Time

If you always thought there was something oddly intelligent about that slime slithering across your garden, you can rest assured that your hunch is supported by award-winning scientific research.

ECONOMY-US: “Sweetened” Bailout Goes Back to the House

The bailout bill passed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday is nearly the same Wall Street giveaway as its original, critics say - except that it now includes 100 billion dollars more in tax giveaways and pet projects for lawmakers' home districts.

POLITICS-US: Hip-Hop Stars Tap Potentially Huge Youth Vote

In 2004, hip-hop mogul Sean P. Combs, known as "Puff Daddy", accompanied by R&B megastar Mary J. Blige and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, told thousands of students at Wayne State University in Detroit it was time to elect a new president.

ECONOMY-US: Bush Plan Down but Not Out

Leading U.S. lawmakers and the cabinet of Pres. George W. Bush met behind closed doors Tuesday to strategise a way to win more votes for their 700-billion-dollar plan to bail out Wall Street, a plan that met with stunning defeat in the U.S. House on Monday.

POLITICS-US: Cartoonists Enjoy a Rollicking Race

In spite of budget cutbacks, the challenge of learning to do their work with ever-changing computer software and other pressures, U.S. newspaper editorial cartoonists are thriving in the closing months of the 2008 presidential election.

U.S.: Great Place for the Oil Business

Why do U.S. oil companies - some of the most profitable corporations on the planet - receive 20 to 40 billion dollars a year in subsidies from the U.S. government?

POLITICS-US: Six Points of Separation?

If the presidential election is close enough on Nov. 4, racism could hand the Republican nominee Sen. John McCain a victory, according to recent polls showing that Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama is having a hard time winning over older white Democrats because of his race.

U.S.: Obama Solidifies Lead Amid Turmoil in Washington

With just five weeks before the Nov. 4 presidential elections, Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama has built a strong lead that his rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, could find difficult to reverse.

Q&A: Brother, Can You Spare 700 Billion Dollars?

As the U.S. Congress debates the George W. Bush administration's proposed massive bailout of the nation's precarious financial system, the astringent analysis of economist Dean Baker has enjoyed a high profile in the news, the opinion pages and the blogosphere.

POLITICS-US: Disabled Vets Face Red Tape in Voting

With the presidential polls just over a month away, tens of thousands of U.S. war veterans are still wondering whether or not they will be able to vote for the candidate of their choice.

ECONOMY-US: Bailout for Whom?

U.S. lawmakers and the George W. Bush administration are continuing their closed-door meetings through the weekend to try and fashion a softer 700-billion-dollar deal for Wall Street that will appeal to citizens angry at the prospect of the mega-corporate bailout.

ECONOMY-US: National Protests Erupt Over Bailout Plan

The George W. Bush administration's plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue giant Wall Street firms from their current financial meltdown has unleashed a spontaneous wave of protests across the United States.

POLITICS-US: Swiftboating Obama on the Cheap

In 2004, the so-called Swiftboating of Sen. John Kerry's U.S. presidential campaign changed the course of history by helping defeat the Massachusetts senator, and the tactic appeared to become an instant blueprint for future political campaigns.

RIGHTS-US: Court Holds Back Davis's Executioners

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of execution for Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis, less than two hours before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday night.

POLITICS-US: No Bailout for Ailing Peace Corps

As the U.S. government continues its planning for a 700-billion-dollar bailout of the financial sector, the Peace Corps - one of the United States' most successful foreign policy programmes - is being cut back due to a budget shortfall of 18 million dollars.

ECONOMY-US: Critics See Bailout as Massive Blank Cheque

U.S. activist networks have shifted into high gear to protest the secretive 700-billion-dollar plan to bail out Wall Street, which they say is unfair to average citizens and a giveaway to banks.