WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama, risking liberal anger and Republican scorn, is turning his attention to the nation's crushing debt with an anti-deficit framework that tackles politically sensitive health care programs while also increasing taxes.
The president on Wednesday plans to deliver a speech outlining his approach to reducing the deficit by lowering spending in Medicare and Medicaid, raising taxes on the wealthy and cutting defense costs. Obama's address will draw contrasts with a Republican plan that cuts $5 trillion in spending over the next decade and which the White House says unfairly singles out middle-class taxpayers, older adults and the poor.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's touted as the biggest one-time rollback of domestic spending ever, but most folks will be hard-pressed to notice.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Two months ago, Texas looked ready to allow concealed handguns in college classrooms

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- On a memorable day in space history, NASA began its goodbyes to the shuttle program Tuesday

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Thudding cannons and somber music around Charleston Harbor in South Carolina ushered in the commemoration Tuesday of the nation's bloodiest conflict

When Melissa Noriega moved to a quiet street in this suburb east of Los Angeles five years ago, she thought it was the perfect family place: kids played in the cul-de-sacs, neighbors knew each other and a small park was a stone's throw from her doorstep. That idyllic vision has been shattered.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Details of last week's hard-won agreement to avoid a government shutdown and cut federal spending by $38 billion were released Tuesday morning. They reveal that the budget cuts, while historic, were significantly eased by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway.

With the price of gas above $3.50 a gallon in all but one state, there are signs that Americans are cutting back on driving

Authorities say the 15 minutes of warning given to residents of a small Iowa town were key to preventing any deaths or serious injuries when a tornado destroyed more than half the community

Obama is setting up his campaign headquarters in a downtown high-rise near Grant Park, the site of his victory celebration on election night in November 2008