Hoyer elected majority leader

Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, lost a lopsided 149-86 vote for majority leader to Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who has been a longtime political rival of Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi.

Comparisons with Vietnam shadow Bush trip

President Bush will focus on trade and worldwide crises like AIDS and bird flu during his eight-day trip to Southeast Asia, but the specter of the Vietnam War 30 years ago and comparisons to the U.S.-led war in Iraq have followed him to the Pacific Rim.

Coalition forces are dwindling as U.S. mulls next move in Iraq

As U.S. generals and lawmakers debated this week whether to cut, raise or hold steady the 141,000-strong U.S. troop contingent in Iraq, the coalition of foreign countries willing to deploy their forces in Iraq has shrunk steadily -- and soon could shrink even more.

Lucky 100 get PlayStations

One hundred lucky -- and patient -- customers, some who had been waiting in line since Monday, filed into the Rockville Circuit City store promptly at midnight, scoring the coveted PlayStation 3 game console. 1:52 p.m.

Ireland sees spike in foreign workers

After several centuries of a hardscrabble life that has seen Irish men and women emigrating around the world, taking their culture and legends with them, a decade of rapid economic growth has made the land of shamrocks a primary destination for hordes of immigrants, mainly from Eastern Europe.

Science, technology not making the grades in U.S.

The United States may be the world's biggest consumer of technology, but when it comes to churning out scientists and engineers, American schools and families are not generating enough interest, educators say.