BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union says it finally has the answer to a question long attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: Who do I call if I want to call Europe?

President Barack Obama will have scant time to rest up from his eight-day Asia trip.

Judge rules ex-sailor granted conditional pardon can be retried in rape, murder case. Prosecutors can retry an ex-sailor who received a conditional pardon from Virginia's governor after spending 11 years in prison for the rape and murder of a fellow sailor's wife, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday defended the costly bailout of insurer AIG and urged swift regulatory reform to safeguard the economy from the failure of big financial firms.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday defended the costly bailout of insurer AIG and urged swift regulatory reform to safeguard the economy from the failure of big financial firms.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional panel on Thursday approved a measure to open the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions to government audits, a surprise blow to the central bank's efforts to shield its independence and a signal of frustration with the central bank.

And now the Botax? Once-shelved tax on face lifts, tummy tucks could help fund health bill. They call it the "Botax." The White House and Senate Democrats have turned to a proposal to tax breast implants, tummy tucks, wrinkle-smoothing injections and other procedures as they search for ways to pay for costly health care overhaul plans.

Tough decisions, showdown votes await Obama on health care, Afghanistan, jobs, banks. President Barack Obama will have scant time to rest up from his eight-day Asia trip. On Saturday, two days after his return to Washington, the Senate plans a make-or-break vote on his hard-fought plan to overhaul the nation's health care system. Obama also confronts a difficult choice on strategy and troop levels in Afghanistan, which will be criticized no matter what he decides.

Influential US lawmakers on Thursday called for levying a new income tax to pay for the war in Afghanistan, warning its costs pose a mortal threat to efforts like a sweeping health care overhaul.

US President Barack Obama welcomed the appointment of the EU's first president Thursday, saying it would make Europe an "even stronger partner" for the United States.

Texas inmate executed after governor rejects clemency recommendation from parole board. Inmate Robert Lee Thompson was executed Thursday evening for his part in a fatal Houston store holdup after the Texas governor rejected a parole board's recommendation to spare him because he wasn't the gunman.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cash-poor New York has extended a severance program that offers its workers $20,000 payments after only 1,089 people were approved in the first round.

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials in Newspapers in the US and Abroad. Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Progress toward tighter U.S. financial regulation faltered in the U.S. Congress on Thursday as a House committee postponed a pivotal vote and Republicans on a Senate committee aired stubborn opposition.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Progress toward tighter U.S. financial regulation faltered in the U.S. Congress on Thursday as a House committee postponed a pivotal vote and Republicans on a Senate committee aired stubborn opposition.

A US government report has warned that China is sharply stepping up espionage against the United States as the rising Asian power invests in cyber warfare and grows more sophisticated in recruiting spies.

House votes to block Medicare cuts to doctors, Republicans see a payoff to the AMA. The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent steep Medicare payment cuts to doctors, a move Republicans denounced as a political payoff.

The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent steep Medicare payment cuts to doctors, a move Republicans denounced as a political payoff.

Los Angeles man who claimed disability spotted on TV show, sentenced for tax, insurance fraud. California tax officials say an interior designer's false disability claim was uncovered when he was spotted on a home improvement television show.

Gunman opens fire on Pacific island of Saipan; 5 dead, including 2 young children. A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan on Friday, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said.