* Debt load saps U.S. bargaining power with China

Today in History. Today is Sunday, Sept. 27, the 270th day of 2009. There are 95 days left in the year. The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, begins at sunset.

William Safire, a speechwriter for disgraced US president Richard Nixon and a longtime political columnist, died Sunday at the age of 79, his former employer The New York Times reported.

Russian court begins hearing on libel suit brought by Stalin's grandson against newspaper. A Moscow court began hearings Thursday in a libel suit brought by Stalin's grandson against a Russian newspaper that he claims called into question the Soviet dictator's honor and dignity.

Former presidents, advisers weigh in at Boston conference "The Presidency in the Nuclear Age'. President Barack Obama should learn from the experience of previous U.S. leaders when grappling with thorny nuclear issues ranging from the ambitions of Iran and North Korea to the threat of terrorism, experts told a forum on the shaping of American foreign policy in a nuclear age.

Should Stalin quote, statue be returned to Moscow subway? New debate over Soviet dictator. A Moscow subway station is the newest focus of Russia's bitter dispute over the legacy of Josef Stalin, whose outsize shadow still haunts the nation more than 50 years after his death.

Roland Emmerich is a man who seeks closure. Big time. The director who blew up the White House in ``Independence Day'' - and unleashed a new Ice Age in ``The Day After Tomorrow'' - goes for the gold, apocalypse-wise, in ``2012.'' It opens Friday. More than just a disaster movie, ``2012'' is an uber-disaster movie. It offers up nothing less than the end of the world, as predicted by the Mayan calendar (2012 is a year, not a truncated ZIP code). The many subsidiary disasters are endured onscreen by John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and the rest of humankind. Disaster movies have long been a Hollywood cottage industry. A dark and rather forbidding room in that cottage has belonged to disaster movies that deal with the end of the world. ``2012'' may or may not be the end-of-the-world disaster movie to end all end-of-the-world disaster movies. It's certainly not the first. Murphy's Law states that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. That formulation might seem to imply there are a lot of ways for

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow unveiled a refurbished metro station this week decorated with an inscription heaping praise on Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, sparking outrage from opposition and human rights groups Thursday.

Russian liberals voiced outrage on Thursday at a "scandalous" restoration in which an inscription praising Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was returned to a Moscow metro station.

High-profile diplomatic rescues in North Korea, Myanmar carry risks and rewards for US. Rescue mission or diplomatic risk?

Lincoln, Grant, others have slept in Pittsburgh _ but not at once; G-20 poses a new challenge. The Prince of Wales slept here. So did Abe Lincoln. And Teddy Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev during the Cold War. More recently: Bill Clinton and John McCain.

Medvedev tells American students that Russia will support sanctions on Iran if diplomacy fails. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that Moscow would support new sanctions against Iran if diplomatic efforts fail to persuade Tehran to stop enriching uranium

Medvedev tells American students that Russia will support sanctions on Iran if diplomacy fails. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that Russia would support new sanctions against Iran if diplomatic efforts should fail.

Today in History. Today is Friday, Sept. 25, the 268th day of 2009. There are 97 days left in the year.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev exposed his softer side Thursday during a visit to the United States, pouring praise on counterpart Barack Obama and saying love was paramount.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev exposed his softer side Thursday during a visit to the United States, pouring praise on counterpart Barack Obama and saying love was paramount.

One of the Cold War's fiercest clashes took place 50 years ago this month, but instead of a conflict in Africa or Asia, this battle of US and Soviet might unfolded in a model kitchen.

One of the Cold War's fiercest clashes took place 50 years ago this month, but instead of a conflict in Africa or Asia, this battle of US and Soviet might unfolded in a model kitchen.

MOSCOW (Reuters Life!) - Moscow city officials are employing the brutal methods of their Soviet predecessors to develop a rash of buildings that are destroying the Russian capital's historic heritage, a pressure group said in its latest report published on Wednesday.

Today in History. Today is Friday, July 24, the 205th day of 2009. There are 160 days left in the year.