Obama administration

US aims to cut HIV infections in young women in Africa

Administration officials are aiming for a 25 percent infection reduction in females between ages 15-24 by the end of next year and a 40 percent reduction by the end of 2017.

"No greater action is needed right now than empowering adolescent girls and young women to defeat HIV/AIDS," National Security Adviser Susan Rice said.

US weighs abstention on Cuba embargo vote at UN

   

As it does every year, the U.N. General Assembly will vote as early as next month to demand the embargo's end. But this time, U.S. officials told the AP that the United States could abstain instead of voting against the resolution as it normally does.

US eases rules for travel, doing business in Cuba

The Treasury and Commerce departments said the regulations that take effect Monday simplify procedures for tourism, telephone and Internet investments, and money transfers to Cuba.

The changes were first reported by The Associated Press on Thursday and come as both countries seek to transform their new diplomatic relationship into deeper commercial ties.

Kerry: US weighs Russia offer of military talks on Syria

Kerry said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had proposed the consultation in a phone call on Tuesday and that the White House, Pentagon and State Department were considering it.

Kerry suggested that he favored such an idea, noting that the United States wants a clear picture of what Russia's intentions are in Syria following a recent military buildup there.

US vows to help Europe, but will it take in more migrants?

While Germany braces for some 800,000 asylum seekers this year, many of whom are fleeing Syria's civil war, the U.S. isn't saying if it will increase its worldwide quota for resettling refugees from 70,000. Only a fraction of those would be Syrians, who must first navigate a multiyear application process before learning if they can start a new life in the United States.

White House renames Mount McKinley as Denali on eve of trip

By renaming the peak Denali, an Athabascan word meaning "the high one," Obama waded into a sensitive and decades-old conflict between residents of Alaska and Ohio. Alaskans have informally called the mountain Denali for years, but the federal government recognizes its name invoking the 25th president, William McKinley, who was born in Ohio and assassinated early in his second term.

Vote tally for Iran nuclear deal rises to 31 in Senate

Merkley's backing puts supporters within reach of the 34 votes required to uphold a presidential veto of a congressional resolution disapproving the agreement, which curbs Iran's nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

Kerry pushes back against critics of Iran deal

"Let me underscore, the alternative to the deal we've reached isn't what we're seeing ads for on TV," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the first public hearing on the controversial deal to lift economic and other sanctions in exchange for concessions of the Islamic state's nuclear program. 

He was referring commercials aired by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee urging lawmakers to reject the deal.

US vows to defend Arab allies as it seeks Iran deal support

After his first Cabinet-level meeting with a Mideast partner since Tuesday's accord, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. and its Arab partners in the Persian Gulf were "committed to working together to push back against any extremist enterprises, including the activities of Iran in the region." But his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, stopped short of endorsing the nuclear accord and said his country still has questions.