U.S. lawmakers rebuked Moscow's leadership Wednesday for "manipulating" recent elections, and urged legislation to blacklist any Russian believed responsible for rights violations from traveling to the United States.

At a U.S. Senate hearing focused on corruption and rule of law in Russia, days after tens of thousands of demonstrators marched charging electoral fraud, State Department officials said they recognized a "national awakening" among Russian citizens calling for accountability of their government.

The United States said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was either disconnected from reality or "crazy" after he argued he was not responsible for killing thousands of protesters.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner reiterated the U.S. view that Assad has lost legitimacy and should step down after the Syrian leader said in a rare interview that "only a crazy person" would kill his own people.

Eccentric pop diva Lady Gaga took her anti-bullying campaign to the White House on Tuesday where she was lauded as a source of strength for many young people who are scared at school.

Her visit follows a White House bullying conference earlier this year, called to mitigate the plight of nearly a third of U.S. schoolchildren, or 13 million students, who are bullied each year, according to official figures.

Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday blasted President Barack Obama's approach to Israel, charging he has "immeasurably" damaged Middle East peace prospects and failed to confront Iran.

The former Massachusetts governor, in excerpts of a speech to be delivered on Wednesday to the Republican Jewish Coalition, also declared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "should be indicted for the crime of incitement to genocide."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed the need for a post-Assad Syria to protect the rights of minorities, ethnic groups and women as she met in Switzerland on Tuesday with Syrian opposition leaders.

Clinton made the points as she met for the first time with members of the Syrian National Council (SNC), which formed in October amid efforts to oust President Bashar al-Assad who is leading a deadly crackdown on protests.

A lawyer for John Hinckley Jr., the man who tried to assassinate ex-president Ronald Reagan in 1981, sought Monday to prove his client can be safely released 30 years after the attack.

Hinckley, 56, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of Reagan and three others, including White House press secretary James Brady.

A senior U.S. official on Monday urged South Korea and other allies to expand sanctions on imports from Iran for its suspected nuclear weapons program, calling the Islamic country "a pariah state".

Robert Einhorn, the U.S. State Department's special adviser for non-proliferation and arms control, said the allies should show a "clear and unified message".

Europe is reeling from warnings it faces a "deep depression" if the eurozone collapses and that every EU nation's credit rating could be hit without firm action to resolve the debt crisis.

An updated growth report from the OECD on Monday said the crisis was now just one step away from plunging advanced economies into an abyss of recession and could trigger waves of bankruptcies.

Pakistan decided Tuesday to boycott a key international conference on Afghanistan next month, ramping up its protest over lethal cross-border NATO air strikes that have plunged U.S. ties into deep crisis.

The decision was taken at a Pakistani cabinet meeting in the eastern city of Lahore, just days after Islamabad confirmed it was mulling its attendance in the German city of Bonn, where Pakistan's participation was considered vital.

The transfer of power to a civilian government in Egypt must be "just and inclusive" and take place "as soon as possible," the White House said Friday.

"Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.