U.S. News Headlines - Reuters

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida regulators seldom checked the Miami operations of Allen Stanford after giving the accused fraud master unprecedented freedom to send cash overseas and sell investment securities, the Miami Herald newspaper reported on Sunday.

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Autopsies were being performed on Sunday on the bodies of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair and a female friend who were found shot to death on Saturday in a Nashville apartment, police said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his advisers do not favor second stimulus package now to cut the highest U.S. unemployment rate in nearly 26 years, Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview aired on Sunday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American attitudes have changed and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays serving in the U.S. military should be reviewed, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Colin Powell said on Sunday.

MONACO (Reuters) - Astana manager Johan Bruyneel faces a dilemma over which of his men to back for victory after four of the team's riders, including Lance Armstrong, were in the top 10 of the Tour de France after the first stage.

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Walt Disney World employee died on Sunday in a collision of monorail trains carrying tourists at the theme-park complex in central Florida, according to a theme park spokeswoman.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he would discuss with a U.S. envoy Monday a compromise over a peace plan calling for an Israeli settlement freeze and seek ways to promote regional peace.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama heads to Moscow on Sunday promising a far-reaching effort to "reset" U.S.-Russia relations that hit a post-Cold War low under the Bush administration.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain expressed support for his former presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, on Saturday as Washington speculated about why the Alaska governor abruptly announced her resignation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday Iraq faced difficult days ahead after taking control of its towns and cities from U.S. forces but he pledged to remain a strong partner on behalf of the country's security and prosperity.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has used an interview with a Russian opposition newspaper to support Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev's publicly declared aim of building a freer society in Russia.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Infamous record label owner Allen Klein, who played a key role in the demise of the Beatles and also nabbed control of some of the Rolling Stones' best-known songs, died in New York on Saturday after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, a spokesman said. He was 77.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, optimistic California can finish its budget negotiations in a few days, is willing to reconsider his proposed cuts to education in hopes of averting a cash crisis, the San Francisco Chronicle said on Saturday.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States hopes President Barack Obama's decision to visit Ghana this month will spur other African governments to try and emulate the West African country's democratic record.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will grant President Barack Obama permission next week to ship U.S. weapons supplies across its territory, or through its airspace, en route to Afghanistan, sources on both sides told Reuters on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain issued a statement of support for resigning Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Saturday, saying she will play a leadership role in the Republican Party and in America.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson crossed swords with a lot of people when he was alive, but perhaps none more important than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq on Saturday ruled out foreign involvement in its efforts to reconcile rival factions, just after visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden urged Iraqis to do more to bury grievances and stave off renewed conflict.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States urged North Korea on Saturday not to "aggravate tensions" but did not confirm whether Pyongyang had launched a series of missiles.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss banks including ZKB and Mirabaud are pulling out of business with individuals who pay U.S. taxes, newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ) reported on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will use next week's Moscow talks to relieve President Barack Obama of mistaken impressions he remains mired in Cold War thinking, Putin's spokesman said on Friday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will fly to London on Sunday for a meeting with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, an Israeli official said on Friday.

NEW YORK/VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian fund manager Sonja Kohn did not receive any kickbacks from Bernard Madoff to steer Bank Medici customer funds to the swindler's investment business, a Medici lawyer said on Friday.

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's prime minister said on Friday he planned to step down next week following criticism of the government's handling of violent Amazon protests in which at least 34 people died last month.

LAGOS (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's choice of Ghana for his first official trip to Africa next week has triggered a bout of self-questioning in Nigeria and Kenya, where many see his itinerary as a deliberate snub.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia hopes next week's visit by U.S. President Barack Obama will help restore confidence between the two biggest nuclear powers, a Kremlin aide said on Friday, after strains over Georgia and a U.S. missile shield plan.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Since its opening last week, camp counselors at New Jersey's Liberty Lake Day Camp disinfect door knobs, take the temperatures of children as they arrive and remind the campers not to share canned sodas.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. marshals seized the luxury $7 million New York City penthouse apartment of imprisoned fraudster Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth, officials said on Thursday.