AP - A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at ending the Federal Aviation Administration's sometimes cozy relationship with the airline industry and reversing purported complacency on safety oversight.

AP - House Democrats, moving to accomplish a top priority in exchange for quick approval of the Bush administration's urgent rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, intend to tie it to $3.9 billion in grants for neighborhoods hit hardest by foreclosures.

AFP - Barack Obama maintained a lead over John McCain in the White House race in three national polls published on Tuesday, but voters still trust McCain more to lead the country in the face of a major crisis as president.

AP - Congress on Tuesday rejected President Bush's veto of legislation protecting doctors from a 10.6 percent cut in their reimbursement rates when treating Medicare patients.

AP - Mayor Lou Barletta, whose bid to unseat a 12-term congressman is based largely on his reputation as an anti-illegal immigration crusader, is trying to keep his signature issue alive even as voters turn their attention to the troubled economy and sky-high gas prices.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies for a second day before Congress amid a backdrop of fading confidence in the U.S. economy.

AP - Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura halted his political comeback before it began, using a national TV platform to announce that he won't launch a third-party bid for the U.S. Senate "at this moment."

AFP - White House hopeful Barack Obama Tuesday promised to shift the "single-minded" US focus on Iraq to a threatening "terrorist sanctuary" in tribal Pakistan, in a broad new blueprint for US foreign policy.