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UNITY, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton joined forces at a carefully staged campaign rally on Friday, promising to bury the grudges from their bruising presidential nominating fight and work together to put Obama in the White House.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Militant protesters blocked trucks from leaving warehouses for a second day on Friday as South Korea resumed quarantine checks on U.S. beef imports, moving to bring the product to market for the first time in nine months.

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese mobile phone firm has halted an advertisement depicting a monkey as a political candidate after bloggers said the commercial was a racial slur against U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed a career community banker to the Federal Reserve Board on Friday, but left two other Bush nominees languishing in a compromise that brings the central bank only partway to full strength at a time of unusual economic stress.

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Friday he was spending a lot of time working on his choice for a vice presidential running mate but was not close to making a decision.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved $465 million to help Mexico and Central American countries battle drug cartels, clearing the measure for President George W. Bush to sign into law.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved $161.8 billion in new funds to continue fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next year, without timetables for withdrawing combat troops.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday approved legislation expanding benefits for the long-term unemployed who are struggling in an ailing economy, clearing the way for President George W. Bush to sign it into law.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday rejected opposition and said liability protection for telecommunication companies that participated in its warrantless spying program was vital to guard against another September 11-like attack.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain will travel to Colombia and Mexico next week to highlight his support of free trade with both countries, his campaign confirmed on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday rejected legislation that would have required energy companies to develop oil and natural gas supplies on federal leases they have held for years or be denied future drilling access on government acres.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic bill requiring oil, natural gas and mining companies to report payments to foreign countries where they do business would give investors more information about corporate risk, lobbyists and industry experts told lawmakers on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation that directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority, including the agency's emergency powers, to "curb immediately" the role of excessive speculation in energy futures markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican effort to force a vote on opening up more land to drilling on Thursday threatened to bring the annual appropriations process in the U.S. House of Representatives to a halt.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Members of the U.S. Senate sought on Thursday to pass bipartisan legislation to more than triple funds to fight AIDS in Africa and other countries, but some Republican foes vowed to block it because of its cost.

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday pushed a plan for $60 billion fund for road construction, bridge repair, high-speed rail and other projects, saying such spending was crucial to the economy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a July 15 hearing in connection with a federal auditor's recommendation the Air Force hold a new bidding competition for a $35 billion tanker refueling contract.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in four battleground states, according to a survey released on Thursday that pollsters said could point to a broad Obama victory in November.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The largest U.S. labor federation endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday and promised to launch a huge effort to get union voters to the polls on his behalf in November.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on Thursday on legislation that directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority, including the agency's emergency powers, to "curb immediately" the role of excessive speculation in energy futures markets.