Politics

Ex-Ill. Gov. Ryan faces changed world after prison
When former Illinois Gov. George Ryan steps out of prison on Wednesday after serving five-plus years for corruption, he will return to a life altered ...
Sandra Day O'Connor steps carefully in NY gun case
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor warned Tuesday against a rush to judgment in a New York gun ownership dispute, citing the recent ...
Billionaire (not that one) announces NYC mayor bid
From one billionaire mayor of New York City to another? Businessman John Catsimatidis is hoping so. Catsimatidis, whose business interests include ...
Dems agree on candidate to challenge NJ's Christie
You might not have heard of New Jersey state Sen. Barbara Buono, though you've probably heard of the man she's itching to take on in the November ...
Mexico's new president mostly mum on drug violence
Two months after President Enrique Pena Nieto took office promising to reduce violent crime, the killings linked to Mexico's drug cartels continue ...
Senate confirms Kerry nomination for State Dept.
The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed President Barack Obama's choice of five-term Sen. John Kerry to be secretary of state, with Republicans and ...
Hagel supports nuclear arms cuts, then elimination
Chuck Hagel, the likely next secretary of defense, would be the first to enter the Pentagon having publicly advocated for sharply reducing the number ...
4 of Illinois' last 7 governors went to prison
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan will be leaving prison and heading to a halfway house after serving more than five years for corruption.
San Francisco nudity ban upheld in federal court
A federal judge cleared the way Tuesday for the city of San Francisco to ban most displays of public nudity, ruling that an ordinance set to take ...
Obama on immigration overhaul: 'Now is the time'
Declaring "now is the time" to fix the nation's broken immigration system, President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined broad proposals for putting ...
SD senator seeks to get rid of alienation lawsuits
A South Dakota state senator had hoped a sensational trial that aired details of a prosecutor's romance would help him in his decade-long quest to get ...
US eyes drone base in Africa with al-Qaida in mind
Plans to base unarmed American surveillance drones in the African nation of Niger highlight the Obama administration's growing concern about extremist ...
Scouts' future uncertain if ban on gays is dropped
The Boy Scouts of America's proposed move away from its no-gays membership policy has outraged some longtime admirers, gratified many critics and ...
NRA says more gun control not a serious proposal
Banning some assault weapons and requiring background checks for all firearms purchases aren't a serious attempt to reduce gun violence, a top ...
Judge weighs amount of access to secret Gitmo camp
A military judge was deciding on Tuesday how much access defense lawyers should have to a secret section of the Guantanamo Bay prison where five men ...
Ex-Michigan justice pleads guilty to bank fraud
A former Michigan Supreme Court justice pleaded guilty to bank fraud Tuesday for concealing assets, including a Florida home she and her husband ...
US military deaths in Afghanistan at 2,045
As of Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at least 2,045 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan ...
After gun crime, weapon history takes time to find
In the fictional world of television police dramas, a few quick clicks on a computer lead investigators to the owner of a gun recovered at a bloody ...
UN seeks major aid boost for Syrian 'catastrophe'
International aid officials are framing their latest gathering on Syria's humanitarian crises in terms not seen in the region since the height of the ...
Official: US may set up drone base in Niger
The Pentagon is moving toward setting up a military base in northwest Africa from which to operate surveillance drones to collect intelligence on ...
Obama's envoy for closing Gitmo prison reassigned
The State Department has reassigned its special envoy for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in another step away from one of President ...
At a glance: 3 months later, Sandy losses mount
The hurricane that merged with another weather system to form Superstorm Sandy spun ashore three months ago Tuesday, devastating coastal New Jersey ...
Graham threatens to block Hagel pick over Libya
A Republican senator is threatening to block the nomination of Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon unless Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies about ...
Obama authorizes $155 million more in aid to Syria
President Barack Obama authorized an additional $155 million in humanitarian aid for the Syrian people Tuesday, as his administration grapples for a ...
Wreckage believed to be US F-16 found in Adriatic
The Air Force says Italian rescue teams have recovered debris from the Adriatic Sea that is believed to belong to a U.S. F-16 fighter jet that went ...