WASHINGTON (AP) -- Time growing short, Democratic leaders in Congress are still grappling with divisive issues as they try to achieve President Barack Obama's ambitious goal of passing legislation to remake the U.S. health care system by year's end. Both House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are expected to make key decisions this week in hopes the long-delayed health care bills can come to a vote in early November.

An outraged Louisiana couple filed a federal lawsuit Oct. 20 against a local official's decision to deny them a marriage license because they are of different races.

Creating a U.S. agency to regulate home loans, credit cards, savings accounts and dozens of other financial services won the approval of a key House committee on Thursday in spite of loud complaints from banks and businesses.

The controversial debut of Britain's far-right leader on a flagship television debate show has been a ratings bonanza for the BBC, but it's unclear whether British National Party chief Nick Griffin gained from all the attention.

Credit card issuers are desperately trying to rebound after the collapse of the economy and consumer lending, but unemployment, the CARD Act and the possibility of new regulations are restricting traditional areas revenue. Issuers must make changes, even if it angers Congress and their cardholders.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed. A revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans last year lived in poverty, 7 million more than the government's official figure.

CUPERTINO, California (AP) -- Apple Inc. is updating its iMac desktop computer line and introducing a mouse that responds to the touch of fingers instead of using buttons or scroll wheels... The company also saw a jump in profits ...

Minister Louis Farrakhan on Sunday urged his followers not to become complacent by President Barack Obama's election and to work to repair communities. The 76-year-old Nation of Islam leader said in a speech commemorating the 14th anniversary of the Million Man March that people shouldn't become pacified by the election of the first Black president ...

The Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday threatened to sue conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for writing in a column that the civil rights leader played a role in two New York race riots.

C. Virginia Fields notices that at almost every turn, sex is being used to advertise everything from sodas to automobiles. Yet, candid discussions about protecting African Americans from sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, is often missing from homes, schools, barbershops, churches and other community institutions