Former US senator Edward M. Kennedy became a magnet for extremist rage in the decades after his brothers were gunned down, living under constant, chillingly specific assassination threats targeting him, according to newly released FBI documents.

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.

John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination tonight as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering campaign.