Elections Directory USA

Reuters - Taliban threats, shuttered polling centers and warnings of widespread fraud are clouding hopes for Afghanistan's September 18 parliamentary election, a key test of an already fragile democracy, observers have warned.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, scrambling to jump-start job creation in a sluggish U.S. economy, will announce on Monday a six-year plan to revamp aging roads, railways and airport runways with an initial $50 billion investment.

AP - Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank's retort was an Internet sensation.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama Monday proposes a quick $50 billion boost in federal spending to rebuild roads, railways and runways — a move he says will create jobs and which Democrats hope will improve their election prospects in November.

AFP - US President Barack Obama unveiled plans Monday to spend at least 50 billion dollars to expand and renew US roads, railways and airports, in a fresh bid to fire up sluggish economic growth.

AP - A determined Republican stall campaign in the Senate has sidetracked so many of the men and women nominated by President Barack Obama for judgeships that he has put fewer people on the bench than any president since Richard Nixon at a similar point in his first term 40 years ago.

AP - Never before have so many governorships been up for grabs — and with so much at stake.

Time.com - Nine weeks before the midterm elections, Barack Obama finds himself on the wrong side of the polls. Where did all that adoration go -- and is a Republican sweep next?

AP - John Boehner could walk down most American streets without turning a head.

AP - In the turbulent year of the tea party, Republican Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware set out to jangle no nerves as he ran for a Senate seat long held by Vice President Joseph Biden. It's the way Republican strategists originally envisioned 2010, a roster of seasoned politicians pointing the party toward significant gains in the Senate.

AP - President Barack Obama hopes to improve the fortunes of suddenly imperiled Wisconsin Democrats as he celebrates Labor Day with the state's union workers on Monday.

CQPolitics.com - Outside organizations have shelled out twice as much on ads and other electioneering activities to affect Congressional races so far during the 2010 election cycle as they did two years ago.

AP - The family of the late Robert C. Byrd blasted the GOP nominee for his U.S. Senate seat Sunday after he used an image from Byrd's memorial service in a TV ad attacking the Democratic nominee.

Time.com - Nine weeks before the midterm elections, Barack Obama finds himself on the wrong side of the polls. Where did all that adoration go -- and is a Republican sweep next?

Reuters - Afghanistan's Taliban said on Sunday they would attempt to disrupt elections this month and warned Afghans to boycott the vote, the first explicit threat against the poll by the hardline Islamists.

Reuters - President Barack Obama will ask the Congress on Wednesday to increase and permanently extend a tax credit for business research as a way of boosting job growth, an administration officials said on Sunday.

The Christian Science Monitor - A consensus is building that Democrats’ chances of holding on to both houses of Congress – certainly with anything like the majorities they have today – are fast fading.

AP - French director Francois Ozon's says he was inspired to go ahead with his latest film, a battle-of-the-sexes comedy, after the presidential election pitting Nicolas Sarkozy against Segolene Royale.

AP - In the turbulent year of the tea party, Republican Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware set out to jangle no nerves as he ran for a Senate seat long held by Vice President Joseph Biden. It's the way Republican strategists originally envisioned 2010, a roster of seasoned politicians pointing the party toward significant gains in the Senate.

AP - The father of Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio has died after a long illness. He was 83.