U.S. News Headlines - Reuters

GINOWAN, Japan (Reuters) - Thousands of Japanese gathered in sweltering heat on the southern island of Okinawa on Sunday to demand that a U.S. Marine base be moved out of the region, days ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives voted on Saturday to tighten a ban against using federal funds to finance abortions under the proposed Democratic healthcare reform legislation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday he was "absolutely confident" the Senate would follow the lead of the House of Representatives in passing legislation to overhaul the healthcare system.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The lower house of Haiti's parliament confirmed Jean-Max Bellerive as prime minister on Saturday, clearing the way for the economist and veteran politician to form a new government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, will attend a memorial service in Fort Hood, Texas, on Tuesday for victims of a mass shooting.

AL-BIREH, West Bank (Reuters) - The grandfather of a U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead 13 people and wounding 30 others at a base in Texas said on Saturday he found it impossible to believe his grandson had committed the act.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United Commercial Bank, a big San Francisco bank with branches in China, was closed by state regulators on Friday and its banking operations were acquired by East West Bancorp Inc, also active in both nations.

KILLEEN, Texas (Reuters) - Investigators searched on Friday for the motive behind a mass shooting at a sprawling U.S. Army base in Texas, in which an Army psychiatrist trained to treat war wounded is suspected of killing 13 people.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers on fraud charges ended on Friday with sharp arguments over the meaning of the word "toast" in one defendant's email about the subprime mortgage market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro, who regulates a wide swathe of Wall Street, is the richest of the Obama administration's top officials with an estimated net worth of $26.6 million, according to a new analysis of U.S. public officials' wealth.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration would be willing to hold bilateral talks with North Korea but only if certain conditions were met, the president's top adviser on Asia said on Friday.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp will suspend its federally-backed student loan program by December 5, the company said in a letter to colleges and universities on Friday, as the U.S. gets ready to end the program entirely.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Arab and Muslim Americans on Friday braced for the possibility of verbal or physical attacks after an Army psychiatrist of Arab descent allegedly killed 13 during a shooting rampage at a military base in Texas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday listed a range of fresh options being considered by the White House to spur growth after "sobering" news that unemployment spiked to a 26 1/2-year peak last month.

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - A bankrupt U.S. Roman Catholic diocese has agreed to provide long-sought documents to alleged sex abuse victims in exchange for a postponement in the start of trials, an attorney for the plaintiffs said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - An ex-employee of an engineering consulting firm who was laid off in 2007 opened fire at his former workplace in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, killing one person and wounding five others, police said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will seek to reinforce the U.S. desire for more balanced global growth during his trip to Asia this month, administration officials said on Friday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. health officials said on Friday they are making progress in improving the supply of H1N1 vaccine to state health departments and urged people frustrated by long lines and scarce supply not to give up.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of New York Yankee fans cheered their baseball team on Friday at a parade through Lower Manhattan to celebrate its 27th World Series victory.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department sees wire taps as a crucial tool to root out securities fraud as it collaborates more closely with market regulators, a senior department official said on Friday, one day after new charges were filed in the biggest U.S. hedge fund insider trading scandal.

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. federal regulators have launched a fraud investigation into the state agency that runs Florida's $110 billion pension system and another fund hit by a 2007 depositors run, according to government documents.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans rolled to victory in governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday in a sharp blow to Democrats that showed the limits of U.S. President Barack Obama's influence.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who engineered a change in the city's term-limits law so he could run again and set a U.S. record for financing his campaign, won a third term on Tuesday, local media declared.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's foreign minister has called off a trip to Washington meant to smooth ties ruffled by a feud over military bases ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit next week, the top government spokesman said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Chris Christie defeated Jon Corzine, the Democratic incumbent, in the hard fought New Jersey governor's race on Tuesday, NBC News projected.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Bob McDonnell, who had led in public opinion polls, won the election for Virginia governor on Tuesday, U.S. television networks projected.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - A convicted rapist was charged with multiple murders on Tuesday after police dug up 10 corpses at his home, which produced a stench of death in the depressed Cleveland neighborhood.