WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Ohio Republican Rep. Michael Oxley, could announce his retirement as early as Tuesday, sources close to the congressman said on Monday.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte is expected to face lawmakers next week to answer concerns about whether his new office is meeting the goals Congress envisioned in a 2004 intelligence overhaul, congressional officials said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Monday that Washington wanted him to win elections in April, though this did not mean the United States was interfering in Italy's domestic affairs.

AP - Samuel Alito, the conservative federal appeals judge nominated to the Supreme Court, could make an immediate difference on abortion and death penalty cases once on the court.

AP - Chosen to find a simpler way to tax the nation, a presidential panel is set to recommend two designs that would rewrite virtually every tax law for individuals and businesses.

SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Brazil this weekend will give a glimpse of the complicated relationship between two giant nations of the American continent who cannot seem to decide if they want to be friends or competitors.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaigning ahead of election day next week has hurt rather than helped efforts to win support for his four favored ballot initiatives, a poll released on Tuesday found.

AP - Hurricane Wilma has delayed Miami's mayoral election for two weeks.

AP - The White House got the reaction it wanted out of its third Supreme Court nominee, federal appeals judge Samuel Alito: immediate acceptance from the conservatives who helped torpedo President Bush's previous pick.

AFP - The United States has invited three UN human rights rapporteurs to its controversial Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention center to show that detainees there "are treated humanely", the State Department said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. Michael Oxley, chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee and an Ohio Republican, said on Tuesday he would not seek re-election in 2006, after serving 25 years in Congress.

AP - Attorneys defending Republican U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay are hoping they can convince a judge that Democratic state district Judge Bob Perkins should not oversee DeLay's criminal trial. On Tuesday, Visiting Judge C.W. Duncan was to hold a hearing on whether Perkins should be removed from DeLay's politically charged case because of alleged bias.

AP - Details of a television ad beginning Tuesday by the conservative interest group Progress for America Inc., calling for the confirmation of President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California ballot measure intended to curb the massive political power of state public-employee unions represents an epic showdown between Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and big labor that could trigger a push for similar reforms across the country.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco on Tuesday called on state lawmakers to approve business tax relief, a takeover of New Orleans troubled public schools and a consolidated system of managing levees to protect against future hurricanes.

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied on Tuesday he had misrepresented George W. Bush by saying the U.S. president wanted him to win general elections in April.

AP - Attorneys for Republican U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay told a judge Tuesday that a Democratic jurist should be removed from DeLay's criminal trial to avoid an appearance of bias.

AP - Republican Mike Oxley, who wrote legislation to improve investor confidence after corporate scandals, said Tuesday he will retire from Congress at the end of his term after serving 25 years.

AP - The judge in Rep. Tom DeLay's conspiracy case was removed at the congressman's request Tuesday because of his donations to Democratic candidates and causes.

AFP - The US Senate held a rare secret session to discuss a scandal that led to the resignation of a top White House official last week and the intelligence used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

AP - A 2-cent boost in the price of a postage stamp was approved Tuesday by the independent Postal Rate Commission.

AP - The Supreme Court debated Tuesday whether to let a small congregation in New Mexico worship with hallucinogenic tea, the first religious freedom dispute under Chief Justice John Roberts.

Reuters - The commander of NATO's mercy mission for earthquake survivors in the mountains of Kashmir said on Saturday he was relying on the Pakistan military to identify where the need for relief was greatest.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress is trying to move forward this week with its first deficit-reduction legislation in eight years as the Senate aims to approve about $35 billion in net spending cuts and the House of Representatives set its sights on even deeper cuts.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least three top executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.'s American unit will testify at a Senate hearing next week about soaring oil industry profits, an industry source said on Tuesday.

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A judge presiding over the money laundering and conspiracy case involving U.S. Republican Rep. Tom DeLay, one America's most powerful politicians, was ordered to step aside on Tuesday after DeLay's attorneys said the judge was too staunchly Democrat to give a fair trial.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday disputed accusations that Italian intelligence in a 2002 meeting passed off fake documents, showing Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger, that formed part of U.S. President George W. Bush's case for war against Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. Michael Oxley, the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee and co-author of a 2002 law aimed at cleaning up corporate America, said on Tuesday he would not seek re-election in 2006.

AP - The building blocks of President Bush's career — his credibility and image as a strong and competent leader — have been severely undercut by self-inflicted wounds, leading close allies to fret about his presidency. They say he's lost his way.

AP - Only minutes after Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman asked blacks to consider supporting the GOP, NAACP President Bruce Gordon talked about his deep concerns about the Bush administration's nominee to the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito.

AP - President Bush said Tuesday that granting vaccine manufacturers protection from civil lawsuits would go a long way to spur the development of medicine needed to fight a potential pandemic.

AP - Republican senators joined Democrats in telling the National Park Service on Tuesday to back off proposed new guidelines that could allow Segway scooters and more cell phones, noise and air pollution in the national parks.

AP - Don't look for a bumper sticker saying 'Question Authority' on Samuel Alito's car.

Reuters - Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem toured the Gulf on Sunday to enlist Arab support ahead of a UN meeting to discuss possible sanctions against Damascus over the killing of Lebanon's former prime minister.

AFP - A little-known religious sect pleaded with the US Supreme Court not to ban the import of hoasca, a hallucinogenic tea, from Brazil that its devotees say brings them closer to God.

USATODAY.com - After two false starts, the battle over the Supreme Court's future that conservative and liberal interest groups raised millions of dollars to fight has begun. Soon after President Bush chose conservative federal judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on Monday, groups from the political right and left began slugging away at each other.

AP - With less than a week to go in Virginia's very close race for governor, former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder will endorse fellow Democrat Tim Kaine, an adviser said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan expert panel appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush recommended on Tuesday eliminating most tax deductions and lowering tax rates to make the U.S. tax system simpler and more efficient.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaigning ahead of Election Day has hurt rather than helped efforts to win support for his four ballot initiatives, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

AP - In a gubernatorial campaign already notorious for its negative ads, Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine and Republican Doug Forrester traded conflict-of-interest allegations in a radio debate Tuesday night.