Big spending cuts mark tea party success, and risk
The pending $85 billion in federal spending cuts would seem like a tea partyer's dream. Why, then, are tea party activists and other conservatives so ...

Ga. Sen. Chambliss won't seek re-election in 2014
When Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced Friday that he wouldn't seek a third term in 2014, a race that already was likely to feature a contested ...

GOP shows signs of bending after election defeat
For years, Republicans have adhered fiercely to their bedrock conservative principles, resisting Democratic calls for tax hikes, comprehensive ...

'Fiscal cliff' leaves Boehner a wounded speaker
John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback that his own fractious Republican troops dealt him in their "fiscal cliff" ...

Obama to send Congress gun proposals in January
Declaring the time for action overdue, President Barack Obama promised on Wednesday to send Congress broad proposals in January for tightening gun ...

Classes resume in Newtown, minus Sandy Hook
Newtown returned its students to their classrooms Tuesday for the first time since last week's massacre and faced the agonizing task of laying others ...

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 ...

'Cliff' crash may clear way for deal in January
To get to "yes" on a "fiscal cliff" accord, Congress and the White House first might have to get to "no." That is, an impasse that sends them over the ...