LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson’s personal doctor administered a powerful anesthetic to help him sleep, and authorities believe the drug is what killed the pop singer, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Monday.

ATLANTA – In a disturbing new projection, health officials say up to 40 percent of Americans could get swine flu this year and next and several hundred thousand could die without a successful vaccine campaign and other measures.

NATICK, Mass. – A white police sergeant who arrested renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Thursday he’s disappointed President Barack Obama said officers acted “stupidly,” despite acknowledging he didn’t know all the facts.

LONDON (AFP) - Henry Allingham, the world’s oldest man and World War I veteran who put his longevity down to “cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women”, died Saturday at the age of 113.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama told the nation Saturday that his health care overhaul is financially sound and Congress should not squander the chance to make meaningful change. Republicans didn’t relent in their criticism of his plan as a costly burden unwisely on a fast track.

NEW YORK – Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks’ golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called “the most trusted man in America,” died Friday. He was 92.

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor declined repeatedly at Senate confirmation hearings Wednesday to talk about her views on abortion rights, and said President Barack Obama never asked her about the issue before he chose her for the bench.

WASHINGTON — The federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever and could grow to nearly $2 trillion by this fall, intensifying fears about higher interest rates, inflation and the strength of the dollar.

Washington: With recession still holding the economy firmly in it’s grip, Americans are urge , by President Barack Obama to have patience, and give his economic recovery plan time to work.

ACCRA, Ghana - America’s president and Africa’s son, Barack Obama dashed with pride onto the continent of his ancestors Saturday, challenging its people to shed corruption and conflict in favour of peace. Campaigning to all of Africa, he said “Yes you can.”