In fall 2011, the president was seen as a 50-50 proposition to be re-elected. The Affordable Care Act's future was yet to be decided by the Supreme Court. The term "Obamacare" was viewed as somewhat of a slur.
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks hovered near break-even Wednesday on Wall Street ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
POINT REYES STATION, Calif. (AP) - U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is on a fact-finding mission in Marin County to decide the fate of a family-run oyster farm operating in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) - Residents and staff members at a senior high-rise in California had complained in the past about erratic behavior by an elderly man now suspected of killing two women and himself at the facility, authorities and employees said.
CAIRO (AP) - Israel and the Hamas militant group reached a cease-fire agreement Wednesday to end eight days of the fiercest fighting in nearly four years, promising to halt attacks on each other and ease an Israeli blockade constricting the Gaza Strip.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Prosecutors decided not to file any charges against Justin Bieber after investigators found no evidence that the pop star had kicked and punched a photographer after leaving a movie theater last month, a document obtained Wednesday states.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A young chemist fatally burned in a UCLA laboratory was inadequately trained, lacked experience and was not given protective gear before handling highly flammable chemicals, an expert witness testified Tuesday.
BRUSSELS (AP) - EU officials have failed to reach a deal on giving Greece more aid, prolonging uncertainty over the future of the euro.
Feeling the pinch of the sluggish economic recovery, many Americans setting out on the nation's annual Thanksgiving migration had to sacrifice summer vacations, rely on relatives for airfare or scour the Web for travel deals to ensure they made it home.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Hundreds of nurses in the San Francisco Bay area were braving rain showers to walk picket lines after going on strike Tuesday, union officials said.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jurors awarded nearly $777,000 Tuesday to a former "The Price is Right" model who claimed she was discriminated against by producers because of her pregnancy.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - The heirs of late author J.R.R. Tolkien are suing the producers of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" movie trilogies over alleged exploitative merchandizing.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A labor march could delay Thanksgiving eve travelers at Los Angeles International Airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco lawmakers disappointed committed nudists Tuesday by narrowly approving a ban on public nakedness despite concerns the measure would undermine the city's reputation as a sanctuary for free expression.
NEW YORK (AP) - Federal labor officials said Tuesday they don't expect to decide before Thursday on whether to seek an injunction on behalf of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to stop a union-backed group from encouraging worker walk-outs that are expected to culminate Friday. That's the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Privacy laws urgently need to be updated to protect the public from information-gathering by the thousands of civilian drones expected to be flying in U.S. skies in the next decade or so, legal experts told a Senate panel Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) - While lower-wage American workers have accounted for the lion's share of the jobs created since the 2007-2009 Great Recession, a new survey shows that they are also among the most pessimistic about their future career prospects, their job security and their finances.
VALLEJO (AP) - A suspected bank robber released from jail earlier this month is back in custody again after being arrested in Vallejo, officials said.
DENVER (AP) - Gov. John Hickenlooper signed bills Wednesday that place new restrictions on firearms and signaled a change for Democrats who traditionally shied away from gun control debate in Colorado - a state with a moderate streak and pioneer tradition of gun ownership and self-reliance.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tea party favorite Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that the nation's illegal immigrants should be able to become citizens eventually, but amid a furor from conservative activists on the explosive issue he quickly sought to make clear that, while they would not be sent home, they couldn't get in line in front of anyone else.
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - If history is any judge, the U.S. government will be paying for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the next century as service members and their families grapple with the sacrifices of combat.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - After a week marked by acts of simplicity and openness, Pope Francis finally let his words do the talking as he officially began his stewardship of the Catholic Church on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) - A government survey of parents says 1 in 50 U.S. schoolchildren has autism, surpassing another federal estimate for the disorder.