NYT > U.S.

Lenders have become even less willing to part with their money, further crimping budgets and family spending.

The presidential race has turned into an audition for who could best handle a national economic emergency.

At issue is whether plaintiffs have the right to sue when the products that hurt them had met federal standards.

California legislative leaders and the governor have come to an agreement on the state budget, which is now roughly three months late.

After investigators said an engineer in last week’s collision had been texting on the job, regulators temporarily banned the use of all cellular devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.

Democrats believe that a long list of Republican lawmakers with legal troubles makes it impossible for Republicans to gain much ground on the issues of ethics and good government.

The recommendations included a simpler application, Pell grant maximums linked to the consumer price index and federally financed college savings accounts for children in low-income families.

The blueprint would change the city’s building codes to promote energy efficiency, and it calls for installing huge solar panels at municipal properties and building alternative fueling stations.

Treasury and Fed officials were discussing with leaders in Congress a plan for the government to buy up distressed mortgages.

A backlash against short sellers has begun, with regulators in the U.S. and Britain tightening rules and authorities in New York intensifying investigations.

The president spoke briefly on Thursday after remaining largely out of sight as Wall Street has become engulfed by a financial crisis.

Senator John McCain’s once easygoing if irreverent campaign presence — endearing to crowds, though often resulting in gaffes — has been put out to pasture.

As Gov. Sarah Palin has moved to the national stage, Senator Ted Stevens, who goes on trial next week, has risen in some opinion polls in Alaska.

Todd Palin was one of 13 people subpoenaed in the inquiry into whether Gov. Sarah Palin or members of her administration abused their power in the dismissal of a top state administrator.

A Spanish-language Obama ad misrepresents John McCain’s record on the immigration issue and his relationship with Rush Limbaugh.

A privacy group filed a class-action lawsuit on Thursday seeking to halt what it describes as illegal surveillance of Americans’ telephone and Internet traffic.

Remnants of Hurricane Ike swept through the region on Sunday, bringing torrential downpours and strong winds.

As the veterans’ health system strains to handle a growing caseload, a move is under way in Congress to avoid yearly delays in financing that can hamper the medical care of the nation’s veterans.

O. J. Simpson’s legal team began Thursday to mount a defense that will sound familiar to anyone who followed his 1995 murder trial.

Flashing headlights and honking horns penetrated the early-morning sky as police officers and first responders led drivers in a slow procession across the new Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis.

Gov. Haley Barbour agreed to move a special election for Trent Lott’s former Senate seat to near the top of the November ballot, ending a dispute that had threatened to delay the start of absentee voting.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell of Alaska conceded to Representative Don Young in the Republican primary for Alaska’s only House seat.

Agriprocessors Inc., an embattled kosher meatpacker with a plant in Postville, Iowa, named a corporate lawyer from New York to be its chief executive, responding to an ultimatum from the leading kosher certifying organization.

An Episcopal bishop, whose diocese is moving toward splitting from the national church, was ousted from ministry.

A man charged in the killings of four people who died during a June killing spree in Illinois and Missouri has been charged with murder in four more bludgeoning deaths.

Every year, an estimated 500,000 people trek to a lake to see a veritable carpet of carp, and the state has temporarily called off a plan to force people to stop feeding bread to the fish.