Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney dive back into campaigning on Thursday after the president put politics aside to spend three days managing the federal response to the superstorm that battered the east coast of the US.

Barack Obama vows to put up a fight in his second debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, a promise the president will need to keep if he is to overcome his lacklustre, momentum-stalling performance in the candidates' first debate two weeks ago.

US President Barack Obama planned to build on an impressive fundraising haul, launching a lucrative and celebrity studded trip to California.

An embattled President Barack Obama vowed in his first State of the Union address to make job growth his topmost priority, as he looked to reignite his stalling presidency.

Barack Obama today warned the US recession could drag on for years unless the country agrees to pump record amounts of cash into the economy.

The quietest place in Washington today may have been the White House itself.

“HERE I am, signed, sealed, delivered.” That’s what the giddy crowds at Barack Obama’s campaign rallies hear when he walks off the stage — the booming sound of Stevie Wonder singing about the promise of a sure thing.

ELECTION Day is less than two weeks away, and Chicago could be home to the biggest political party in the country.

A US Roman Catholic Archbishop has labelled Barack Obama the “most committed” abortion-rights candidate from a major party in 35 years while accusing Democratic-friendly Catholic groups of doing a “disservice to the church”.

Russians complained today about being pressured to vote, with some saying their ballots were already filled out for President Vladimir Putin’s party and others reporting cash bribes, election watchdogs said.

Israelis voted today in a historic election seen as a referendum on the future of the West Bank, with the leading candidate, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, promising to pull back from most of the territory and draw Israel’s final borders by 2010.

US PRESIDENT George W Bush vigorously defended US interrogation practices in the war on terror yesterday and lobbied against a congressional drive to outlaw torture.

Republican and Democratic lawyers converged on Ohio today for a potential new overtime presidential court fight, with the focus this time on tens of thousands of uncounted ballots cast by people who would otherwise have been turned away from the polls.

AFTER a slugfest campaign that intensified through the year, US President George W Bush, voting in Texas, said “I’ve given it my all,” while John Kerry, campaigning in Wisconsin, promised to take the nation “to a better place”.

In an election that could rival the photo finish of 2000, US voters were today choosing between President George Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry.

The first presidential election since the United States plunged into its war on terrorism was finally handed over to voters today.

The first presidential election since the US plunged into its war on terrorism was finally handed over to the voters today.

US President George Bush has taken a double-digit opinion poll lead over John Kerry in the wake of the Republican convention.