WASHINGTON (AP) — Eager to counter Republicans intent on repealing his health care law, President Barack Obama will argue that it’s working and hold up as proof half a billion dollars in rebates insurance companies are sending to some 8.5 million consumers as a result. At the White House today, Obama will argue that his […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Cooler temperatures are within sight but likely not soon enough and cool enough for a large swath of the country hit with dangerously high temperatures for days as the largest heat wave of the summer failed to budge from South Dakota to Massachusetts. The relief is expected to begin arriving today […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are ready to offer students a better deal on their college loans this fall, but future classes could see higher interest rates. The Senate could vote as early as today on a bipartisan compromise that heads off a costly increase for returning students. The compromise could be a good deal for […]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was scheduled to be formally introduced today to the 26 people who are expected to become her new bosses — members of the University of California’s governing board. The UC Board of Regents is meeting in San Francisco to confirm Napolitano’s nomination to become the 10-campus […]

LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina are investigating the death of an 11-year-old Lexington girl who was electrocuted in a pool. The Dispatch of Lexington reports that Lauren Cecil died when an electric line snapped and fell onto a parking lot at the swim club where she was practicing with her team. The […]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police said two men are being charged in a crash that killed a mother and her three young sons on a 12-lane highway plagued by pedestrian deaths. Samara Banks often called a cab to take her and her four little boys home from family visits on the other side of Roosevelt Boulevard, […]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents pulled over a minivan with eight young laborers on their way to work at a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan today, forced them out and then shot them dead, officials said. The killings near Forward Operating Base Shank, a U.S. base in Logar province, were the latest in a militant […]

HELSINKI (AP) — Struggling Nokia Corp. said today its sales continued to drop in the second quarter, while it managed to reduce its net loss amid continued cost-cuts. The Finnish cellphone maker said second-quarter sales fell to 5.7 billion euros ($7.49 billion) from 7.5 billion euros in the same period last year. Net loss for […]

BEIJING (AP) — The European Union’s environment commissioner says China can curb pollution without sacrificing economic growth. Janez Potocnik also says China’s serious pollution problems are an opportunity for European businesses that have developed technology to clean up water and air pollution. Potocnik spoke today during a two-day trip to Beijing to meet with officials […]