U.S. News Headlines - Reuters

PASADENA, California (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday suspended a lower court order that transferred ownership of the Bratz doll franchise to Mattel Inc until it rules in the case, and ordered Mattel and rival toymaker MGA Entertainment into mediation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a procedural rule on Wednesday that cleared the way for floor debate to begin on legislation that would give the government broad new powers over large financial firms and tighten bank and capital market regulation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised a Senate compromise on a public insurance option, and Senate Democrats said the proposals moved them one step closer to passage of a sweeping healthcare overhaul.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives began preliminary debate on sweeping legislation to give the government new powers over large financial firms and tighten bank and market regulation late on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former senior IBM Corp executive denied being involved in a sprawling hedge fund insider trading case and asked a court on Wednesday to dismiss civil charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five American men were arrested in Pakistan this week and are being investigated for alleged links to extremist groups, the Pakistani embassy in Washington said on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire submitted a state budget plan on Wednesday that would close a $2.6 billion deficit but that she described as "unjust" because of the spending cuts it would impose.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressional panel voted on Wednesday to subpoena a married couple who slipped into a White House dinner, making them the world's most famous gate crashers and raising questions about security.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Security Administration accidentally posted a document online containing secrets related to airport passenger screening practices, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - The legalization of same-sex marriage faces a critical test in New Jersey, where advocates on each side of the controversial issue argue will shape the fate of gay-marriage battles across the nation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is reviewing a policy in which the president does not send letters of condolence to families of military personnel who commit suicide, the White House said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Private health insurance companies that offer alternative Medicare coverage funnel billions of dollars toward company profits and marketing efforts rather than to patient care, U.S. Democrats said in a report released on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to extend $17 billion in tax breaks for big business and to pay for them with a new tax on fund managers' compensation and stiff penalties on foreign banks that help rich Americans hide assets offshore.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called for bipartisan cooperation on his plans to boost U.S. jobs on Wednesday, but Republicans sounded skeptical and the White House made no mention of the eventual cost of the package.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the men accused of plotting the September 11 attacks wonder what conditions they might face when they are moved to New York from Guantanamo Bay for trial, they can expect solitary confinement, 23-hour-a-day lockdowns, constant video surveillance and almost no visitors.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Men outnumber women on top U.S. boards of directors six to one, a ratio unchanged in 2009 from the year before, said research released on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department sought to assure lawmakers on Wednesday that prosecutors are rooting out mortgage and corporate fraud after Wall Street's meltdown wiped out trillions of dollars in investments and laid bare the gaps in regulation.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Americans are getting seasonal flu shots at about the same rate as last year despite heightened awareness of the risks of influenza inspired by the swine flu pandemic, a survey released on Wednesday showed.

WASHINGTON/ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated Larry Persily, a veteran Alaska policy maker and former aide to former Governor Sarah Palin, to oversee plans for a massive, long-desired Alaska natural gas pipeline.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit against Conseco Inc insurance and finance company over allegations of fraud in the $1.4 billion sale at auction in 2003 of the General Motors Building in New York.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York authorities are cracking down on the sale of counterfeit luxury items, shutting down 31 stalls in raids on Tuesday and Wednesday and seizing $1 million of fake bags and watches.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's top aides promised on Wednesday "robust" negotiations toward a global climate change deal this month, but firmly stated the United States does not owe the world "reparations" for centuries of carbon pollution.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A recount in the race for Atlanta mayor confirmed lawyer Kasim Reed as winner on Wednesday after an election that exposed a racial fault line in one of the leading cities in the U.S. Southeast.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investors duped by Bernard Madoff's epic $65 billion scam urged Congress on Wednesday to change laws so that victims of investment fraud never again lose all their money.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Violence in Afghanistan will likely climb in the short-term, along with internal government turmoil, U.S. General David Petraeus told Congress on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to reserve judgment for a full year on President Barack Obama's new war strategy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate budget hawks on Wednesday unveiled a proposal that aims to get the national debt under control by forming a bipartisan commission to make tough decisions that they do not trust Congress to make on its own.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board on Wednesday called a July explosion at Citgo Petroleum Corp's Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery "a significant near-miss" for a widespread release of highly toxic hydrogen fluoride (HF) into a community.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Chicago man with Pakistani roots accused of scouting targets for the 2008 Mumbai attackers