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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday lifted a White House ban on offshore drilling to try to drive down soaring energy prices, a largely symbolic bid unlikely to have any short-term impact on high gasoline costs.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Monday he backed U.S. actions aimed at saving mortgage finance giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae from financial collapse.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday said he does not expect housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will need to draw on additional liquidity or capital from the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush planned to lift a ban on oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf on Monday as part of an effort to ease record high oil prices, the White House said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had tightened security at its embassy and offices in Sudan after an international prosecutor sought the arrest of the country's president on genocide charges in Darfur.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - White House hopeful Barack Obama will outline his views on Iraq and U.S. national security in a speech Tuesday before a planned trip there, his campaign said.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama will visit Israel and the occupied West Bank next week, Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Monday.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain defended himself on Monday against charges from Democrat Barack Obama that he adopted a more aggressive stance against illegal immigration for political purposes.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said on Sunday he used "poor phrasing" in a speech supporting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government support for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should protect taxpayers and not bail out shareholders or management, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said on Sunday.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama unveiled a proposal on Sunday to give $6 billion a year in tax credits to small businesses that provide health insurance plans.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama played down a controversy in Germany over whether he should speak at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate, saying he did not want the venue to distract from his message.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said on Sunday he used "poor phrasing" in a speech supporting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Sunday the Bush administration did not believe it should do anything about global warming and that any last-minute action before leaving office would be "bogus."

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has condemned U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain for joking about killing Iranians with cigarettes and said it showed his "warmongering" foreign policy attitude, media said on Sunday.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said on Saturday comments by Iraqi leaders calling for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops added weight to his stand in favor of such a timetable.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, visited Pakistan on the weekend, fueling speculation that the United States was about to take action against militants in northwest Pakistan.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said on Saturday the rising cost of a contract to build new presidential helicopters showed problems in Pentagon contracting and he pledged a thorough audit.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said on Saturday he was confident "prudent steps" by the U.S. government would stabilize mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but that it was necessary to see how the situation developed before deciding on what steps to take.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes excluding Russia from the Group of Eight industrial nations, as suggested by Republican rival John McCain, saying Moscow's cooperation was needed in the fight against nuclear proliferation.