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House, Senate reach agreement on defense bill
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement Tuesday on a $633 billion defense bill that would tighten sanctions on Iran, increase security at ...
First groups get invitations to inaugural parade
Spouses of those serving in the armed forces, military and civilian colleges, gay musicians, service dogs trainers and a drill team from President ...
Analysis: Fiscal compromise _ and broken promises
In a town of broken politics, the path to compromise is littered with broken promises. It's called governing. The rush to avoid economic calamity on ...
Congressional backing grows for gun control debate
Congressional gun rights supporters showed an increased willingness Tuesday to consider new legislation to control firearms in the aftermath of the ...
White House defends offer as 'good faith effort'
The White House is defending President Barack Obama's proposal to set a higher threshold for tax increases than what he vowed to do during his ...
AP sources: New Obama offer moves toward Boehner
President Barack Obama has agreed to curtail future cost-of-living increases for recipients of Social Security and softened his demand for higher ...
Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii dead at 88
Recovering from war wounds that left him with one arm, Danny Inouye wanted a cigarette and needed a light. The nurse at the Army hospital in Michigan ...
Gun control gets unlikely backers on Capitol Hill
Prominent gun-rights advocates in Congress are now calling for a national discussion about restrictions to curb gun violence, signaling that the ...
Movement seen in 'fiscal cliff' talks
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House on Monday in hopes of continuing to make progress on a plan to deal with ...
Obama, Boehner meeting at the White House
A White House official says President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (BAY'-nur) are meeting at the White House to discuss the pending ...
GOP official: SC Gov Haley to tap Scott for Senate
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has chosen Rep. Tim Scott to replace Jim DeMint in the Senate, a move that will make him the first African-American ...
On foreign policy, Kerry is Obama's good soldier
Democratic Sen. John Kerry stands tall as President Barack Obama's good soldier. The Massachusetts lawmaker has flown to Afghanistan and Pakistan ...
Lieberman, Democrats want ban on assault weapons
Democratic lawmakers and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that military-style assault weapons should be banned and that a national ...
Big price for inaugural pomp; much private money
The pomp surrounding the inauguration of the president of the United States can carry a hefty price tag, from the glitzy galas to all those inaugural ...
High court fight looms over right to carry a gun
The next big issue in the national debate over guns — whether people have a right to be armed in public — is moving closer to Supreme Court review.
President's pot comments prompt call for policy
President Barack Obama says he won't go after pot users in Colorado and Washington, two states that just legalized the drug for recreational use.
Could shooting be a gun-control tipping point?
The question surfaces each time a mass murder unfolds: Will this one change the political calculus in Washington against tougher gun control? The ...
Crop insurance juicy target in 'fiscal cliff' deal
Rural lawmakers worry that $9 billion in annual federal crop insurance subsidies are an easy target for spending cuts in a "fiscal cliff" deal so ...
Time for Plan B on 'fiscal cliff?'
It's beginning to look like it's time for Plan B on the "fiscal cliff." With talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner ...
Rice withdrawal sparks gender concerns on Cabinet
The top contenders for the "big three" jobs in President Barack Obama's second-term Cabinet are all white men, rekindling concerns among Democratic ...
Military families worried by US fiscal cliff cuts
Emerging from more than a decade at war, military families are confronting a new worry at home: the prospect that a deal between Congress and the ...
Tearful Obama calls for action after shooting
A tearful President Barack Obama said Friday he grieved first as a father about the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, declaring, "Our ...
Kerry, Hagel front-runners to lead State, Defense
Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 2004 and has pined for the job of top diplomat, vaulted to the head of ...