AFP - The US House of Representatives approved Thursday a compromise bill to free up 162 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stripped of a timetable to pull US troops out of Iraq.

AP - A broad bipartisan coalition supporting a massive foreclosure rescue beat back GOP efforts to gut it Thursday, defying a White House veto threat and quashing a bid to make it victim to revelations about two senators' VIP mortgages.

AP - For months the debate over whether telecommunications companies should face lawsuits for cooperating with the government's warrantless wiretapping program has been the sticking point for updating a surveillance law.

AP - A much-delayed Iraq war funding bill sailed through the House on Thursday, along with a doubling of college aid for returning troops and help for the unemployed and Midwestern flood victims.

Reuters - Democrat Barack Obama said on Thursday he would forego public financing of his general election campaign against Republican John McCain, reversing an earlier stance and positioning himself to outspend McCain in the White House race.

Reuters - Congress should examine preferential loans to two Senate Democrats, including the sponsor of a major housing bill, by mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Thursday.

AP - The Democratic-led Congress finally appears ready to give President Bush his request for $162 billion in long-overdue funds for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AP - The White House said President Bush would veto a foreclosure rescue the Senate began debating Thursday, as GOP conservatives sought to block the measure amid a scandal over cut-rate mortgages for senators.

AFP - The US House of Representative prepared to vote Thursday on compromise legislation freeing up some 162 billion dollars for US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next several months.