U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday called Egypt's foreign minister to discuss the country's economic and political situation, as well as events in Syria, the State Department said.

It said the telephone call covered the same ground as President Barack Obama's discussion with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi on Friday, which the White House said was focused on Egypt's need for a democratic transition.

Support for Newt Gingrich is soaring as South Carolina votes in its Republican presidential primary, according to a new poll Saturday that shows him with a commanding lead over longtime frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Former House speaker Gingrich has the support of 40 percent of likely Republican voters in the state's primary, compared to 26 percent for Romney, the American Research Group reported in its poll released as voters trudged to the polls in the southern U.S. state.

Protestors linked to the "Occupy" movement apparently threw a smoke bomb over the White House fence on Tuesday, capping a day of protests in Washington, the Secret Service said.

No arrests were made after demonstrators from the Occupy DC group marched on the White House, and protesters were peacefully dispersed, as officers dealt with the device, a Secret Service spokesman said.

A tightened field vying for the Republican nomination took aim at frontrunner Mitt Romney in a fiery debate here just days before South Carolina's presidential primary.

Before a raucous audience late Monday, the four candidates lagging behind Romney in polls ahead of Saturday's key vote slammed the former Massachusetts governor and traded charges over a rash of nasty attack ads by outside groups.

U.S. President Barack Obama promised Saturday new tax incentives for companies that create jobs in the United States -- and punishment for those who export them overseas.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, the president said that in the next few weeks, he will "put forward new tax proposals that reward companies that choose to do the right thing by bringing jobs home and investing in America - and eliminate tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas."

The U.S. government is concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, and has stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday.

The newspaper said President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a series of private messages to Israeli leaders, warning about the dire consequences of a strike.

Myanmar has released more than 300 people deemed by the opposition to be political prisoners, a minister said Saturday, after the West hailed the move as a substantial sign of reform.

Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Ko Ko insisted however that none of them had been jailed for political reasons, saying: "We didn't take action against anyone because of politics or beliefs."

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone Friday with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the situation in Syria and Iran's nuclear program, the White House said.

"They agreed that the U.S. and Turkey should continue to support the legitimate demands for democracy for the Syrian people and condemned the brutal action of the Assad regime," it said in a statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama took a break from the affairs of state to rub shoulders with Hollywood royalty Wednesday, meeting Angelina Jolie and her beau Brad Pitt at the White House.

Jolie was in Washington for the launch of her new movie "In the Land of Blood and Honey" and the couple were seen through the paneled windows of the Oval Office by reporters and photographers.

President Barack Obama said Monday his chief of staff Bill Daley, brought into the White House to repair tarnished ties with big business, was stepping down in an early election-year staff shake-up.

"Obviously, it wasn't easy news to hear," Obama said, as he announced Daley wanted to leave for their mutual hometown of Chicago, and unveiled that Budget Director Jacob Lew would take over the powerful position.