WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will cast its first crucial test vote on healthcare reform on Saturday, with Democrats close to reaching the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican opposition and open debate.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped below 50 percent in a second major poll in an indication he is suffering from the long healthcare debate and weakness in the economy, Gallup said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans to show patience over the economy and argued that his just-concluded Asia trip was critical for U.S. exports, countering criticism he had returned empty-handed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Representative Ike Skelton, cast doubt on Friday about the Obama administration's decision to try the September 11, 2001, conspirators in a U.S. criminal court.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. State Department official and his wife pleaded guilty on Friday to charges that they spied for almost three decades for the Communist-led Cuban government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Other than President Barack Obama, perhaps no one's political future is riding more on the Senate battle to revamp the healthcare system than the chamber's Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Banking Committee said on Friday it will hold a hearing on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's renomination to a second term on December 3, putting the central bank chief under scrutiny at a time when the Fed is facing intense criticism in Congress.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's announcement of a new strategy on Afghanistan will not take place until after the Thanksgiving holiday next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate ethics committee on Friday admonished Roland Burris, saying he had been less than candid about his gubernatorial appointment to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's post-coup de facto leader said on Friday he would give up his presidential duties for a week, a step Washington welcomed as a way to help ease a five-month-old political crisis.