U.S. News Headlines

JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana (Reuters) - Indiana Republicans last spring spurned long-time Senator Richard Lugar for a more conservative candidate, but now supporters of the soft-spoken moderate may tip the balance in the race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Republican Richard Mourdock, the state treasurer, …

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Thousands of Venezuelans who live in the United States crowded outside a New Orleans convention center on Sunday to cast ballots in Venezuela's presidential election, with many hoping their vote will help drive President Hugo Chavez from power. Many flew to New Orleans on charter and commercial flights …

(Reuters) - The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose less than half a cent over the past two weeks, masking a decline in most regions and a sharp spike in California prices, according to a widely followed survey. Gasoline prices averaged $3.8375 on October 5, up from $3.8338 on September 21, …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama finally celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on Saturday - a romantic night on the town that came three days late after being pre-empted by a high-stakes presidential debate. The first couple marked the occasion with a dinner for two at the …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly two dozen people were injured on Saturday when a bus traveling from Toronto to Brooklyn, New York, overturned while approaching an exit ramp on a New Jersey highway, according to New Jersey state police. Twenty-three of the 57 people aboard the bus were taken to hospitals, but none of the injuries …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - Republicans in Arkansas are struggling to get past the controversy generated by a state lawmaker who wrote that slavery might have benefited blacks and a candidate who has advocated expelling Muslims from the United States. The Republican politicians' comments have been roundly criticized and …

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Mormon leaders on Saturday lowered the age requirements for full-time missionaries in a change that could swell the ranks of the church's messengers around the world. All 18-year-old men in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will now be allowed to serve missions and women can do so …

BIRMINGHAM, Ala (Reuters) - A campus police officer at the University of South Alabama on Saturday shot and killed a naked freshman who repeatedly chased, threatened and rushed him, a university spokesman said. Gilbert Thomas Collar, 18, died from a single bullet wound to the chest, spokesman Keith Ayres said. Collar was …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gasoline prices in California hit record levels on Saturday, after an unprecedented surge in pump prices propelled by a perfect storm of factors that drove inventories in the region down to near-historic lows. The average cost of a gallon of gas in the state stood at $4.614, edging past the previous …

(Reuters) - U.S. government officials reported on Sunday an additional 27 cases in a fungal meningitis outbreak linked to steroid injections that has killed seven people and now affected 91 in nine states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 91 cases in an update on its website, up from …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's strong debate performance did little to convince more voters he understands them or is a "good person" even though he has narrowed President Barack Obama's overall poll lead, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey released on Saturday. Just a month before the November 6 election, the Democratic …

FAIRFAX, Virginia (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a drop in the U.S. jobless rate to the lowest level since he took office, saying the country had "come too far to turn back now," as he sought to recover from a lackluster debate performance against Republican challenger Mitt Romney. A decline in unemployment …

JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana (Reuters) - Indiana Republicans last spring spurned long-time Senator Richard Lugar for a more conservative candidate, but now supporters of the soft-spoken moderate may tip the balance in the race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Republican Richard Mourdock, the state treasurer, …

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - The death toll from a widening outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to steroid injections has risen to seven, with 65 cases now reported in nine states, officials said on Saturday. The latest two deaths were reported on Saturday in Michigan, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control …

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Steve Martin has released an off-beat ad endorsing Bob Kerrey's candidacy in Nebraska's U.S. Senate race, in which the actor and comedian demonstrates how to build a wad of paper while cue cards offering praise for Kerrey are displayed on the screen. Martin, playing the role of "home crafts expert," …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve chief and avid baseball fan Ben Bernanke saluted the playoff-bound Washington Nationals on Friday as an example for gridlocked U.S. government leaders of how to succeed by making wise, patient decisions. "People decry the absence of leadership in Washington these days. My response: …

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Friendly fire probably killed a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona near the Mexican border this week, the FBI said on Friday, citing "strong preliminary indications" from the ongoing investigation. Before daybreak on Tuesday, Nicholas Ivie was one of three agents responding on foot to a tripped ground …

(Reuters) - A collision on Florida's Interstate 75 on Friday sparked a series of additional crashes involving dozens of cars, shutting the roadway and leaving at least 52 people injured, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol said. The initial accident, which occurred on Friday afternoon near the border of Sarasota …