Frustrated Sen. Murkowski takes heat as Alaska tribes get left out of new domestic violence law

Across the nation, Indian tribes cheered when President Barack Obama signed a new Violence Against Women Act last week, expanding the power of tribal courts to try non-Indians for crimes of domestic violence committed on reservations. | 03/15/13 16:30:21 By - By Rob Hotakainen

Sen. Portman: Government 'shouldn't deny' same-sex couples right to marry

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a leading conservative voice in the Senate, said Friday he now believes government should not stand in the way of allowing same sex couples to marry. | 03/15/13 08:38:09 By - David Lightman

Texas lawmaker wants to stop plastic grocery bag bans

Texas State Rep. Drew Springer embraces freedom.

Even for plastic bags. | 03/15/13 07:33:22 By - Anna M. Tinsley

Obama’s Capitol Hill charm offensive may not pay off

President Barack Obama’s three days of visits to Capitol Hill produced no serious thaw in the bitter partisan standoff that’s impeded progress on budget and fiscal matters for years. | 03/14/13 19:42:41 By - By David Lightman, Emma Kantrowitz and William Douglas

Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Tim Scott – young GOP stars – work to rally conservatives

A trio of rising Senate Republican stars – Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Tim Scott of South Carolina – rallied thousands of conservative activists Thursday in rousing speeches that signaled a passing of the torch to a younger, more diverse group of party leaders focused on winning back the White House. | 03/14/13 18:53:16 By - By James Rosen McClatchy Newspapers

Obama will face pressure on Middle East trip to do more on Syria

President Barack Obama will hear plenty about Syria when he steps off Air Force One in the Middle East next week, very likely facing new pressure from worried allies to help rebels oust Syrian President Bashar Assad but carrying no change in U.S. policy that could calm fears of the crisis spreading across borders and destabilizing the region. | 03/14/13 18:36:13 By - By Lesley Clark and Hannah Allam

Assault weapons ban clears Senate panel, with ‘uphill’ battle yet to come

After a couple of false starts, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would ban assault weapons, restrict the size of ammunition clips and require universal background checks on gun sales. | 03/14/13 19:42:05 By - By Curtis Tate

Parties change tune on deficit when they change power

The debate this week over the federal budget is essentially a clash over when politicians think the budget deficit matters, and whether it really does matter. | 03/14/13 15:01:00 By - By Kevin G. Hall

N.C. renewable energy program would end under state House bill

House Republicans on Wednesday introduced legislation that would roll back a sweeping energy program that has paid financial incentives to North Carolina homeowners for buying efficient appliances, solar panels and home energy audits. | 03/14/13 07:23:19 By - John Murawski

Alaska Senate debates oil-tax revenue's effect on state

New projections that show the latest version of a major oil tax overhaul could cost the state more than $9 billion over the next six years sparked sharp divisions Wednesday on a key Senate panel over whether that will be harmful. | 03/14/13 06:53:08 By - Lisa Demer

With Democrats finally submitting budget, it’s game on vs. GOP version

Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled their first budget plan in nearly four years, a proposal that sets up a lengthy fight with Republicans over the two parties’ stark differences on taxes, spending and the future of Medicare. | 03/13/13 19:04:41 By - By David Lightman and William Douglas

Kansas bill would allow school employees to carry guns

Christina Blair of Shawnee has twin daughters in high school, including an aspiring teacher.

She worries what might happen “if a madman comes in with a gun and you’re locked in a classroom. How do you defend against that? You can’t,” Blair said. | 03/13/13 07:00:26 By - Brad Cooper

House GOP proposes plan to balance budget; Democrats balk

Republicans in the House of Representatives on Tuesday proposed a plan to balance the federal budget in 10 years, their opening bid in a clash with President Barack Obama over how best to curb soaring budget deficits and eventually stop the debt from climbing. | 03/12/13 18:58:14 By - By William Douglas and David Lightman

Sequester doesn’t spare arts; check times before you go, ignore dust

Used to operating on a shoestring budget, the arts are, nevertheless, bracing for the latest hit as the capital’s constellation of federally supported museums, galleries and other cultural institutions grapples with governmentwide budget cuts. | 03/12/13 17:43:28 By - By Maria Recio

Republicans question structure of consumer agency as they query nominee Richard Cordray

Richard Cordray received polite questions – and even a few compliments – from a panel of U.S. senators at his nomination hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill. After two hours of testimony, however, his chances for being confirmed as director of Washington’s newest consumer watchdog agency looked grim. | 03/12/13 17:37:15 By - By Lindsay Wise

Poll: Americans want background checks for guns, ban on assault weapons

Americans overwhelmingly support tougher background checks for prospective gun owners, and a majority support bans on assault weapons and big ammunition clips, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. The survey also found that Americans have widely differing views on how to proceed on immigration, another issue that’s high on the Obama administration’s priority list. Guns and immigration are expected to provide some of this year’s most heated congressional debate. | 03/12/13 15:04:02 By - By David Lightman

Reid on Ryan budget: 'The same fuzzy math'

Paul Ryan's new budget? Sounds like the old Paul Ryan budget to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. | 03/12/13 13:31:08 By - David Lightman

Sen. Dianne Feinstein presses her decades-long crusade on guns

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s long pursuit of stricter gun laws began more than three decades ago on a day of bullets and bloodshed in San Francisco, when she was the president of the city’s Board of Supervisors. On Nov. 27, 1978, former supervisor Dan White walked into City Hall with a grudge and a .38 revolver. He fatally shot Mayor George Moscone, walked past Feinstein’s office and then turned his weapon on Supervisor Harvey Milk, one of the country’s first openly gay elected officials and a rising political star. The shootings recast her political career, becoming its consequential moment and one that’s forever defined her in the public sphere. | 03/12/13 12:21:45 By - By Curtis Tate

McClatchy-Marist poll shows Obama tumbling in voters’ eyes

If President Barack Obama had piled up political capital with his impressive re-election, it’s largely gone. His approval rating has dropped to the lowest level in more than a year, with more voters now turning thumbs down on his performance than thumbs up, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. The measure of how much people like him also has dropped. | 03/11/13 16:07:42 By - By Steven Thomma

Obama heads to Capitol Hill, where everything is uphill now

President Barack Obama will try to jump-start budget talks Tuesday as he kicks off a series of extraordinary meetings with congressional lawmakers with a huge obstacle to overcome: Personal relationships in Washington don’t matter as they once did. | 03/11/13 15:36:44 By - By David Lightman

Jeb Bush on immigration: ‘A lot of hair on fire —Mine isn’t’

Bush’s new book, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution, exploded on the political scene last week and left the former Florida governor uncharacteristically wobbly over how to legalize the status of the undocumented. | 03/11/13 14:49:55 By - Marc Caputo

Like Bush, Obama rebuffs pardon for boxing great Jack Johnson

For nine years, a pair Hill lawmakers have asked the president to posthumously pardon American boxing legend Jack Johnson. George W. Bush failed to act, but the congressmen thought they might be able to convince the nation’s first African-American president to do so on behalf of the world’s first African-American heavyweight boxing champ. But Obama hasn’t issued a pardon either, and his administration says it’s unlikely he will. That isn’t stopping the lifelong boxing fans from trying again. | 03/11/13 14:27:07 By - By Anita Kumar

Missouri bill would let health providers opt out of more reproductive services

Laws allowing health care workers to refuse to participate in an abortion have been on the books for decades.

Missouri legislators, however, don’t think they go far enough. | 03/11/13 07:16:41 By - Jason Hancock

Rights groups urge Kentucky Gov. Beshear to veto religious freedom bill

Human rights and fairness groups are pressuring Gov. Steve Beshear to veto a bill that they say would make it easier to discriminate against gay, lesbian and transgender people in Kentucky. | 03/11/13 07:10:48 By - Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave

Poll: Sequester has not hit home

The budget cuts in Washington have not hit home in America, at least not yet. | 03/10/13 13:17:49 By - By Steven Thomma

Report: Obama still secretive despite transparency vow

President Barack Obama has relied on state secrets and secret laws to make national security decisions with little congressional or public oversight much as his predecessor did, according to a report being released Sunday by a liberal government watchdog group. | 03/10/13 00:00:00 By - By Anita Kumar

White House official who bettered Hispanic media access steps down

Luis Miranda is leaving to return to the private sector as a communications consultant. The White House’s director of Hispanic media, Miranda is credited with helping to provide access not seen in previous administrations. The outreach came as the White House was courting the growing Hispanic vote, which helped President Barack Obama win-re-election. | 03/08/13 17:39:00 By - By Lesley Clark

How right is too right for GOP? Virginia is next battleground

The split between hard-right conservative Republicans and mainstream party moderates will be on vivid display in Virginia over the next few months, a struggle that’ll be watched closely as key to the party’s hopes for a national revival. | 03/08/13 15:30:43 By - By David Lightman

Obama looks to reset relations with Benjamin Netanyahu in trip to Israel

President Barack Obama’s coming trip to Israel will focus as much on looking to restart a frosty relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as on any other issue. | 03/08/13 12:59:52 By - By Lesley Clark

NAACP vows to fight N.C. voter ID efforts

Critics of a proposed voter photo ID law vowed Thursday to launch a vigorous effort to fight the proposal, saying it amounted to a 21st-century version of the poll tax used to keep blacks from voting. | 03/08/13 07:19:25 By - Rob Christensen

Senate confirms CIA chief – after GOP senators rip Rand Paul for filibuster

The Senate confirmed John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency on Thursday after two Republican senators blasted Sen. Rand Paul’s 13-hour filibuster, which temporarily held up the vote on President Barack Obama’s choice to head the spy agency. | 03/07/13 18:20:01 By - By William Douglas and Lesley Clark

Obama changing course, talking to Congress

President Barack Obama is doing something he rarely does: Talking to Congress. | 03/07/13 18:09:09 By - By Anita Kumar

Hillary Clinton tops in 2016 presidential poll

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks like a strong 2016 presidential candidate, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. | 03/07/13 07:52:46 By - David Lightman

Kentucky's religious freedom bill advances in state legislature

A bill intended to clarify religious freedom in Kentucky advanced in the legislature Wednesday over the objections of groups who fear that the measure could be used to trample civil rights. | 03/07/13 07:03:46 By - Beth Musgrave

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky filibusters vote on Obama's choice for CIA, John Brennan

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Wednesday began a filibuster of President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the CIA, saying he would continue speaking from the floor of the Senate until he had guarantees that U.S. policy on the use of drones would not be applied to Americans at home. Editor's note: The filibuster ended at 12:39 a.m., Thursday, March 7th. | 03/06/13 19:23:29 By - By Matthew Schofield and William Douglas

What is a CR and what does it do?

It’s become an annual ritual: Congress can’t agree on a budget, so it adopts a “continuing resolution” to keep the government funded. | 03/06/13 17:29:23 By - By David Lightman

Eric Holder gets an earful on marijuana, promises quick decision

Attorney General Eric Holder is getting plenty of conflicting advice as he tries to figure out how the federal government should respond to the decision by voters in Washington state and Colorado to legalize marijuana for recreational use. | 03/06/13 16:55:06 By - By Rob Hotakainen

Statement glosses over Vicky Hartzler's votes on Violence Against Women Act

At first glance it seemed as though Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri had broken with the majority of her fellow conservatives in the House of Representatives last week to renew an expanded version of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, which funds programs to assist survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse. | 03/06/13 16:48:07 By - By Lindsay Wise

House passes bill to keep government open past March 27

The House of Representatives took the first step Wednesday toward keeping the federal government open after March 27, passing a bill to extend spending levels through Sept. 30 and preserving the automatic spending cuts that went into effect Friday. | 03/06/13 16:38:13 By - By David Lightman and William Douglas

Joe Manchin is man in the middle - of guns and Senate

When he jumped into the contentious debate over the nation’s gun laws, Sen. Joe Manchin learned quickly that he’d committed a crime in politically toxic Washington. | 03/06/13 14:01:09 By - By William Douglas

N.C. farmers, industry wary of federal cuts to meat inspectors

Looming federal budget cuts are threatening to temporarily shut down North Carolina's multibillion-dollar hog and poultry industry by disrupting federal meat inspections, according to state and federal officials. | 03/06/13 07:01:00 By - Rob Christensen

Kentucky Gov. Beshear says Ashley Judd would be a 'formidable candidate'

Gov. Steve Beshear said Tuesday that he has spoken with actress Ashley Judd about her potentially challenging U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2014, but he declined to give details of the conversation. | 03/06/13 06:44:48 By - Beth Musgrave

NRA to sponsor NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Texas

The National Rifle Association, a touchstone for gun-rights advocates in the national debate about gun control, is putting its name on the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway in April. | 03/05/13 07:10:38 By - Carlos Mendez and Mac Engel

Critics of Alaska abortion bill fear risks to poor women

A legislator's effort to restrict state-paid abortions in Alaska came under fire Monday during a hearing dominated by testimony from Planned Parenthood and other advocates worried that poor women may resort to dangerous back-room abortions if the state cuts off funding. | 03/05/13 06:40:52 By - Lisa Demer

Alleged prostitute recants story about sex with Sen. Menendez

A woman who allegedly appeared in a video in which she claimed to have been paid for sex with Sen. Bob Menendez is now saying the video was a setup. | 03/04/13 22:12:43 By - EZRA FIESER

Sequester starts, as does politicians parceling out blame

The federal government will start cutting spending as early as Saturday, with President Barack Obama and congressional leaders unable to bridge their fundamental disagreement over spending and taxes. | 03/01/13 18:40:45 By - By Lesley Clark and William Douglas

Americans’ reaction to sequestration might change course of politics

Already, a decade of budget deficits run up in war and economic crisis has saddled the government with a $16 trillion debt, a bill that will force the country to come to grips with how much government it wants and how much it wants to pay for it at the very time the aging baby boomers put new strains on the budget through such vast programs as Medicare and Social Security. Now the government is about to start cutting spending in some programs, offering a first look at how the American people will react. | 03/01/13 18:20:42 By - By David Lightman

Working in secret, House has its own bipartisan immigration plan

A bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives is close to introducing its own immigration bill, which would grant legal status to many of the nation’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants but _ in a significant departure from similar proposals in the White House and Senate _ isn’t expected to include new paths to citizenship, according to those involved in the discussions. | 03/01/13 17:31:12 By - By Franco Ordonez

Republicans warn government against political use of furloughs

House Republicans, among them the head of a key oversight panel, threatened Friday to call Cabinet secretaries and other executive agency managers before congressional hearings on how furloughs are applied in the wake of forced spending cuts. | 03/01/13 17:53:04 By - By James Rosen

President Obama warns no budget deal means economic pain

President Obama took to a White House lectern to warn that he and Congress' failure to meet an agreement on avoiding $85 billion in spending cuts means "many middle class families will have their lives disrupted in significant ways." | 03/01/13 12:28:30 By - Lesley Clark

Karl Rove goes to California GOP convention dogged by new controversy

GOP strategist Karl Rove may be an unpopular figure among Republican volunteers, especially after launching a drive this year that tea party activists considered an attack on their brand of grassroots conservatism. | 03/01/13 06:53:53 By - Kevin Yamamura

Rep. Jim Clyburn celebrates Lincoln, MLK, but says Voting Rights Act under threat

House Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn, speaking Thursday at the cottage where Abraham Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation, celebrated its 150th anniversary but warned that one of the most important products of the slain president’s visionary leadership is under threat at the Supreme Court. | 03/01/13 06:25:30 By - By James Rosen McClatchy Newspapers

Automatic spending cuts set to start after Congress fails to act

Sometime Friday, the federal government will take the first step toward cutting spending in dozens of departments and programs after the two major parties each tried and failed to muscle partisan alternatives through the Senate. | 02/28/13 20:03:49 By - By William Douglas and Lesley Clark

Did Obama go too far in warnings of sequestration?

For weeks, President Barack Obama has warned Americans about the dire consequences of allowing the automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration to go into effect . | 02/28/13 19:17:38 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark

Tribes win new power to prosecute non-Indians for domestic violence

Ending a 16-month battle with the Senate, the House voted 286-138 to approve the plan as part of an expansion to the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. Republican opponents relented after failing to win enough votes to reauthorize the law without the provision. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama, who said he’d sign it. | 02/28/13 17:34:02 By - By Rob Hotakainen

Texas military bases await sequestration impacts

The federal budget ax is poised to chop $46 billion from defense spending, and communities around Texas military bases are bracing for the impact. | 02/28/13 11:58:41 By - Alex Branch

Alaska Senate panel rebuts abortion experts' testimony

An effort by an anti-abortion state senator to restrict state-funded abortions using state law, not a doctor's opinion, to define what is "medically necessary" was sharply challenged Wednesday during a legislative hearing. | 02/28/13 06:41:03 By - Lisa Demer

Back from Middle East, Sen. Marco Rubio urges more help for Syrian rebels

Sen. Marco Rubio, back from a Middle East trip, said Wednesday that the United States should start supplying ammunition to moderate Syrian opposition groups in order to protect U.S. interests by countering the rise of radical groups. | 02/27/13 19:27:43 By - By James Rosen McClatchy Newspapers

Now the parties don’t even agree on when sequester starts

Republicans said the spending cuts start Friday. The White House said it’s really Saturday. Either way, the seemingly trivial dispute underscored the inability of the two sides to avert spending cuts neither side wanted when they were first enacted and signed into law in 2011. | 02/27/13 19:00:08 By - By William Douglas and Anita Kumar

Heated Senate testimony on assault weapons brings sides no closer

More than two months after the horrific mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, the Senate on Wednesday held its second hearing on legislation to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips and to extend background checks to gun shows and private sales. | 02/27/13 18:16:02 By - By Curtis Tate

Supreme Court reviews whether parts of 1965 Voting Rights Act are out of date

The politically charged issue of race was before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in a case that could determine how the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act applies to the South. | 02/27/13 13:37:52 By - By Maria Recio

Obama to meet with congressional leaders about spending cuts

President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders Friday, the day across-the-board spending cuts are scheduled to take place. | 02/27/13 10:35:49 By - Anita Kumar

Texas lawmaker wants tax holiday for guns, ammo sales

Texans love their independence -- and their guns.

State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, is proposing to give Texans more of both. | 02/27/13 07:27:07 By - Anna M. Tinsley

Federal budget cuts would hit South Florida from ports to national parks

At PortMiami, federal dollars fund Customs agents, security operations and cargo inspectors. But with a historic cut in federal spending set to begin Friday, port director Bill Johnson must contemplate how to keep the place running with less help from Washington. | 02/27/13 07:01:33 By - Douglas Hanks and Martha Brannigan

Sens. Lindsey Graham, Dianne Feinstein push problem-solving over politics

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Lindsey Graham called Tuesday for an end to hyper-partisanship, saying the urgent issues the nation faces require lawmakers to focus on solving problems instead of assigning blame. Feinstein, a California Democrat, and Graham, a South Carolina Republican, expressed great respect for each other as each accepted the Prize for Civility in Public Life. | 02/26/13 18:45:39 By - By James Rosen McClatchy Newspapers

As Congress wrangles, Obama warns naval shipyard workers of defense cuts

President Barack Obama journeyed Tuesday to military-rich Virginia to prod Congress to halt looming federal spending cuts, warning of the potential consequences on America’s armed forces and economy. | 02/26/13 17:53:02 By - By Anita Kumar and William Douglas

Former Mississippi Gov. Barbour: 'I hope and believe' GOP allows sequestration

While South Mississippi braces for the effects of "sequestration," former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said in a recent nationally-televised interview he hopes the budget cuts go forward to help reduce the deficit. | 02/26/13 12:53:47 By - Michael Newsom

Alaska House passes bill challenging federal gun restrictions

In a chamber dotted with female legislators wearing new camo scarves, the Alaska state House on Monday passed a gun measure that is wildly popular among the GOP-controlled Legislature even though it raises serious constitutional issues. | 02/26/13 07:01:32 By - Lisa Demer

GOP will propose sequester changes; wary Democrats plan their own

In a last-minute bid to minimize the most painful impacts of federal spending cuts – and perhaps blame – Republicans will propose this week allowing the government to choose where to cut. | 02/25/13 18:57:40 By - By Anita Kumar and William Douglas

Sen. Ted Cruz’s crusade draws praise from allies, scorn from critics

He’s not your usual newbie senator. After just weeks on the job, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has managed to ruffle feathers on both sides of the aisle with his aggressive questioning of former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., the Obama administration’s nominee for defense secretary. Some critics said it contained echoes of the McCarthy era. | 02/25/13 17:40:21 By -

Obama urges governors to lobby their congressional delegations

President Barack Obama told the National Governors Association -- meeting today at the White House -- that members should lobby their members of Congress to avoid the looming series of spending cuts known as the sequester. | 02/25/13 14:24:08 By - Lesley Clark

Doc Hastings accuses Department of Interior inspector general of mismanagement

Congressman Doc Hastings in a letter to the White House accused a Department of the Interior official of mismanagement and called for President Obama to nominate a replacement. | 02/25/13 13:43:58 By - Michelle Dupler

N.C.'s Gov. McCrory likes 'pink licenses' aimed for immigrants

Gov. Pat McCrory says he signed off on the controversial “pink licenses” that will be issued to some young illegal immigrants who were granted protection from deportation for two years. | 02/25/13 12:19:41 By - Franco Ordonez

Will Mark Sanford's apology tour work?

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he wants to return to Congress to tackle the growing national debt, but first he is tackling his past. | 02/25/13 07:18:22 By - Andrew Shain

White House warns again of budget cuts

The White House on Sunday ramped up its campaign to avoid across-the-board spending cuts scheduled to take place in less than a week by releasing detailed estimates of what reductions could mean in every state. | 02/24/13 20:09:38 By - By Anita Kumar

White House Releases New State-by-State Reports on the Impacts of the Sequester

Today, the White House is releasing new state-by-state reports on the devastating impact the sequester will have on jobs and middle class families across the country if Congressional Republicans fail to compromise to avert the sequester by March 1st. | 02/24/13 20:01:20 By -

GOP governors turn pragmatic as election nears

Faced with tough re-elections and constituents clamoring for government services, Republican governors in some big swing states are turning pragmatic, pulling away from the conservative line that helped them win in 2010. | 02/24/13 15:32:59 By - By David Lightman

In efforts to tame deficits, Obama leans against spending cuts

President Barack Obama insists he wants a balance of more taxes and less spending to curb runaway budget deficits. His record suggests, however, that he leans against cutting spending. | 02/22/13 15:56:10 By - By Lesley Clark

Democrats ask: How can we drill, baby, drill if we let sequester happen?

The upcoming automatic federal budget cuts would mean a big hit to energy development, as well as to America’s national parks, according to the Interior Department, which says oil and gas leasing would be slowed and popular parks would see reduced hours and fewer services. | 02/22/13 07:22:15 By - By Sean Cockerham

No plans to remove Cuba from terror list, according to U.S. officials

A newspaper report that top State Department officials believe Cuba should be removed from the U.S. list of countries that support terrorism drew denials Thursday from the department and the White House. | 02/22/13 06:50:43 By - Juan O. Tamayo

Dianne Feinstein, Lindsey Graham to be honored for civility in partisan-prone D.C.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are being honored for displaying civility in politics, a rare Washington commodity they’ll need plenty of in the coming months as they champion the divisive issues of gun control and immigration legislation. | 02/21/13 20:00:00 By - By James Rosen

Not everyone will feel impact of automatic federal budget cuts

Don’t be too frightened by the doomsday talk about the automatic spending cuts that look more and more likely to kick in next week. | 02/21/13 16:32:43 By - By David Lightman

Looming federal budget cuts are bad news for Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park will not open the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center this season if Congress and the Obama administration fail to reach a budget deal by March 1. | 02/21/13 07:31:31 By - Jeffrey P. Mayor

Fla. Gov. Scott supports Medicaid expansion

Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday he supports expanding Medicaid and funneling billions of federal dollars to Florida, a significant policy reversal that could bring health care coverage to 1 million additional Floridians. | 02/21/13 07:10:38 By - Tia Mitchell and Steve Bousquet

Hagan plans bill that would encourage failing schools to improve

Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., on Wednesday said that she’ll introduce a bill in Congress next week that would reward high-poverty schools that improve their test scores and lower dropout rates. | 02/21/13 06:31:40 By - By Renee Schoof

Are congressmen worth $107,000 a year in retirement?

After retiring from a 36-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives last month, Norm Dicks has no doubt that he’s worth every penny of his new pension: It will allow the Washington state Democrat to cash a monthly check from the U.S. government for $7,365.82. Critics say the pension system is far too generous and that members of Congress should put their retirement money on the table as they look for ways to cut federal spending. | 02/20/13 17:29:46 By - By Rob Hotakainen

Poll: Obama's approval rating up to 62 percent in California

President Barack Obama's job approval rating among California voters has climbed above 60 percent for the first time since 2009, the year he first took office, according to a new Field Poll. | 02/20/13 07:03:20 By - David Siders

Rollback of cruiseship wastewater rules approved by Alaska Senate

The Alaska Senate on Tuesday approved a Parnell administration measure to roll back cruise ship wastewater standards that were approved by voters in 2006. The vote was 14-6. | 02/20/13 06:52:54 By - Lisa Demer

Obama calls Republican senators Graham, Rubio, McCain to talk immigration

After days of criticism that he was excluding Republicans from immigration talks, President Barack Obama on Tuesday reached out to several Republican leaders who are calling for an overhaul of the nation’s immigration system. | 02/20/13 06:23:39 By - By Franco Ordonez

Rich-poor spending gap on schools hurts kids, report says

America is failing too many of its children in public schools because it doesn’t spread the opportunity for a good education fairly to all, according to a report for the government released Tuesday. | 02/19/13 18:47:17 By - By Renee Schoof

Obama kicks off bid to stop automatic spending cuts

President Barack Obama is launching a public campaign to pressure Congress to avoid “brutal” spending cuts he said could hurt a still wobbly economy and increase the unemployment rate. | 02/19/13 18:44:53 By - By Lesley Clark

Every drug dog has his day – in court; even Supreme Court

Aldo the drug-sniffing dog and his canine colleagues won a big treat at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, as justices unanimously approved a sniff search that had led to a Florida bust. | 02/19/13 14:40:23 By - By Michael Doyle

Washington state’s new members of Congress fret over looming budget cuts

Federal spending cuts planned for March 1 could hit Washington state hard, costing 41,700 jobs and removing $3.4 billion from its economy, according to state estimates. | 02/19/13 18:55:34 By - By Rob Hotakainen

Mitch McConnell lampoons Democratic efforts to find a challenger for him

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign released its first video ad Tuesday, a parody highlighting the difficulty Democrats are having trying to recruit a viable candidate to run against him. | 02/19/13 13:18:59 By - Jack Brammer

Some Texas Democrats seek regulations for gun shows in Fort Worth

There's a new push to add regulations on gun shows held at city facilities.

As elected officials in Congress and the state Legislature consider whether to place additional restrictions on gun purchases, a local group is pressing for change at gun shows held on city property such as the Will Rogers Center. | 02/19/13 07:36:05 By - Anna M. Tinsley

Immigration plans from Obama and Rubio are similar

President Obama’s administration drafted legislation this month that could give undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship in eight years, require employers to check workers’ immigration status and increase penalties for those who break immigration law. | 02/19/13 06:59:56 By - Marc Caputo

Bill resisting federal gun laws gets OK from Alaska House panel

A controversial Alaska gun bill sponsored by House Speaker Mike Chenault that would put federal agents at risk of felony charges for enforcing certain future weapons laws cleared the lone committee assigned to hear it Monday, despite a legal opinion saying it is likely unconstitutional. | 02/19/13 06:49:09 By - Lisa Demer

As immigration vote looms, some southern Democrats get queasy

Immigration isn’t a touchy subject just for many Republicans. Southern and moderate Democrats also may be a bit skittish about the idea of granting a path to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants. | 02/18/13 15:52:43 By - By Franco Ordonez

Alaska bill would undo wilderness restrictions in state park

A bill moving through the Alaska Legislature would eliminate wilderness restrictions in a portion of a state park in the Bristol Bay region so a utility can study a hydroelectric project on a lake where such development now is banned. | 02/18/13 06:54:58 By - Richard Mauer

As budget crisis looms, Congress leaves town

Military readiness will be threatened. So will food inspections, teaching jobs, mental health services and more, all because of the automatic spending cuts due to take effect March 1. Congress, though, has left the building. | 02/15/13 15:04:46 By - By David Lightman

N.C. to give driver's licenses to immigrants in Deferred Action program

The state Division of Motor Vehicles will comply with a state attorney general’s opinion and issue driver’s licenses to thousands of young illegal immigrants who are eligible to drive because of a federal program that gives them temporary protection from deportation, Transportation Secretary Tony Tata said Thursday. | 02/15/13 07:18:45 By - Bruce Siceloff and Anne Blythe

GOP says it needs more time on Hagel for Pentagon

With Republicans balking, the Senate put off a confirmation vote on former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense. | 02/14/13 18:32:03 By - By William Douglas

Democrats pitch budget alternative to avoid pending automatic cuts

Senate Democrats proposed a $110 billion plan Thursday to cut projected budget deficits and replace automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect March 1. | 02/14/13 17:54:40 By - By David Lightman

SC Sen. Graham fights to keep guns from mentally ill

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he will propose legislation to prevent a repeat of an incident last week in which a Lady's Island woman, who once pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, passed a background check and legally purchased a gun. | 02/14/13 13:21:58 By - Gina Smith

Rep. Clyburn not interested in Transportation post

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn rejected Wednesday the possibility of serving in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as transportation secretary, saying he wants instead to help Obama show that an African American can lead the nation. | 02/14/13 11:33:37 By - James Rosen

N.C. bill leaves thousands with few health insurance options

The thousands of low-income North Carolinians denied health insurance in a Republican-drafted measure that passed the House on Wednesday are left with few options for coverage. | 02/14/13 07:17:57 By - John Frank

Come 2016, Sen. Rand Paul could be the anti-Rubio choice for tea party faithful

Sens. Marco Rubio’s and Rand Paul’s delivery of back-to-back rebuttals of President Barack Obama’s speech to Congress – Rubio as the Republican response, Paul as the tea party rejoinder – raises some tantalizing questions: | 02/13/13 17:27:00 By - By James Rosen McClatchy Newspapers

Republicans raise fears about border security in Senate immigration hearing

Senate Republican leaders on Wednesday demonstrated the fissures that continue to linger over proposals to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws. | 02/13/13 19:34:50 By - By Franco Ordonez

GOP’s complaints about looming spending cuts ignore its role in creating them

Republicans forced the budget crisis that helped create the pending across-the-board cuts in the first place. And Republicans provided crucial votes for the 2011 deal that ended that impasse, an agreement that’s about to trigger $85 billion in automatic spending reductions March 1. The idea of the budget cuts did come from the White House two summers ago, as a last-ditch effort to jump-start stalled negotiations. | 02/13/13 16:40:30 By - By David Lightman

Senators look for ways to restore six-day postal delivery

Senators are urgently trying to save the struggling U.S. Postal Service after its announcement that it will cut Saturday delivery starting in August. | 02/13/13 15:57:40 By - By Beena Raghavendran

Treasury nominee Jack Lew grilled over Citi bonus, tax haven

Senate Republicans pressed President Barack Obama’s choice to head the Treasury Department on Wednesday over an investment in a Cayman Islands fund as well as a bonus deal that came as his then-employer Citigroup was about to need a taxpayer bailout and just before he left the bank to return to the government. | 02/13/13 19:11:48 By - By Kevin G. Hall

In North Carolina, Obama urges boost for manufacturing

. President Barack Obama used a bustling engine-parts factory that came back from the dead as the backdrop Wednesday to pitch his plans to boost U.S. manufacturing, part of the second-term agenda he’d rolled out in his State of the Union address the night before. | 02/13/13 17:05:51 By - By Lesley Clark

Sen. Rand Paul gives tea party response to State of the Union

Sen. Rand Paul scolded Democrats and Republicans alike for spending money the government doesn't have as he delivered the tea party response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address to Congress. | 02/13/13 10:48:59 By - James Rosen

Sen. Marco Rubio's swig of water during GOP rebuttal goes viral

Sen. Marco Rubio was cruising along in his rebuttal to the president’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night when he couldn’t take it any longer. | 02/13/13 06:59:39 By - Marc Caputo

Sens. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul deliver blistering rebuttals to Obama

In English and Spanish, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Tuesday night delivered a scathing rebuke of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech, signaling a Republican battle for middle-class voters that could help re-energize his party and also propel a potential 2016 White House run. | 02/12/13 23:26:46 By - By William Douglas

Remarks made by President Obama at the State of the Union

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery - State of the Union Address | 02/12/13 22:45:16 By -

Sen. Marco Rubio Delivers the Republican Address to the Nation

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida Delivers the Republican Address to the Nation after President Obama's State of the Union address | 02/12/13 22:44:49 By -

Obama’s State of the Union speech more somber than lofty

Newly elected second-term presidents traditionally use their first State of the Union address to promote themselves as visionaries with sweeping plans to unite the nation behind an ambitious, common goal. | 02/12/13 22:41:38 By - By David Lightman

Senate panel recommends Hagel for defense secretary despite fireworks

A key Senate panel voted along party lines Tuesday to recommend the confirmation of former Sen. Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, sending his nomination to the full Senate despite opposition from Republican senators over his stances on Iran, Iraq and Israel. | 02/12/13 20:01:44 By - By James Rosen

Cayman account dogs Jacob Lew, Obama’s treasury pick

President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Treasury Department faces a tough grilling Wednesday from Republicans looking to spotlight his time at Citigroup, the troubled financial institution rescued by taxpayers. | 02/12/13 18:24:42 By - By Kevin G. Hall

Obama on State of the Union: ‘We can fix this’

President Barack Obama returned to the unfinished business of a still struggling economy Tuesday night, outlining a second-term agenda with proposals designed to create jobs, expand the middle class and spur financial growth. | 02/12/13 23:14:49 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark

GOP senators to Supreme Court: Uphold Defense of Marriage Act

Ten U.S. senators are urging the Supreme Court to overturn the rulings of multiple lower courts and to uphold a 1996 law that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman and freed states not to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. | 02/11/13 18:22:37 By - By James Rosen

Texas to revisit open carry for handguns

Bryan Hull hopes that the Ruger LC9 pistol holstered on his hip sends a clear message. He's not hiding the fact that he is armed and ready to protect himself. | 02/11/13 07:33:34 By - Anna M. Tinsley

As cuts loom, the political forecast is mostly hostile, with a (slim) chance of unity

After days of private strategy sessions, Republicans and Democrats are poised this week for the same kind of ugly partisan combat over spending and taxes that’s spawned fiscal chaos and sent Congress’ approval ratings plunging. | 02/11/13 00:00:00 By - By David Lightman

White House cites threat to Israel in explaining decision not to arm Syria’s rebels

The White House on Friday defended its decision not to endorse a CIA plan to arm the Syrian rebels, saying it was worried that U.S. weapons could “fall into the wrong hands” and worsen the situation in the civil war-torn country. | 02/08/13 18:21:13 By - By Lesley Clark

State of the Union could be ‘call to action’ on jobs, energy and immigration

A confident President Barack Obama is expected Tuesday to unveil an aggressive agenda in the first State of the Union address of his second term, calling for a rewrite of the nation’s outdated immigration laws, steps to prevent gun violence and ways to bolster a still fragile economy. | 02/08/13 15:45:11 By - By Lesley Clark and Anita Kumar

DOE weighs sequestration furloughs at Hanford

The Department of Energy is closely examining contracts as the threat looms for sequestration-driven spending cuts March 1, according to a new memo from Daniel Poneman, deputy energy secretary. | 02/08/13 12:58:33 By - Annette Cary

Obama administration embraces major new cut in nuclear weapons

Senior Obama administration officials have agreed that the number of nuclear warheads the U.S. military deploys could be cut by at least a third without harming national security, according to those involved in the deliberations. | 02/08/13 04:00:00 By - By R. Jeffrey Smith

Panetta, military wanted to arm Syrian rebels, Senate panel told

America’s two top defense leaders acknowledged Thursday that they’d supported a CIA plan, opposed by the White House, to arm Syrian rebels . | 02/08/13 10:59:18 By - By Matthew Schofield

Senators use Brennan hearing to air decade of CIA controversies

The confirmation hearing Thursday of John Brennan to be CIA director reopened scrutiny of a wide range of controversies that have dogged the country for more than a decade, ranging from the Obama administration’s embrace of targeted killings to the Bush administration’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques many equate with torture. | 02/07/13 23:22:49 By - By Jonathan S. Landay

Congress’ ‘Problem Solvers’ say it’s time to commit to compromise

For the past three years, some Republican and Democratic lawmakers have sat next to each other during President Barack Obama’s annual State of the Union speech to Congress in a largely meaningless one-night show of bipartisanship. | 02/07/13 18:14:05 By - By James Rosen

Majority want stricter gun laws, strong support for background checks

Voters want stricter gun control laws--but not by an overwhelming majority.

A new Quinnipiac Polling Institute national survey shows that by a 52-43 percent margin, people want tougher laws. | 02/07/13 08:09:19 By - David Lightman

Rep. Jim Clyburn touted for transportation secretary by Congressional Black Caucus

The head of the Congressional Black Caucus is urging President Barack Obama to nominate House Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn of Columbia to become the next U.S. secretary of transportation. | 02/07/13 07:34:04 By - James Rosen

Medicaid expansion being embraced by some Republican governors

Cracks continue to develop in the Republican Party’s concrete opposition to Obamacare’s state expansions of Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor. | 02/07/13 07:23:05 By - Dave Helling

Sen. Marco Rubio will give bilingual GOP response to State of the Union speech

Marco Rubio won’t just give the Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.

The Florida Senator will give two. | 02/07/13 07:07:39 By - Marc Caputo

On gun control, Reid feels tug of both state and statesmanship

At Wild West Guns, where stuffed caribou and Dall sheep adorn the walls, customers know Harry Reid as someone who understands guns. | 02/06/13 17:03:43 By - By Anita Kumar

Former Sen. Jim DeMint forms think tank in South Carolina

Retired U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, president-elect of one of the nation’s prominent conservative think tanks, has formed a conservative think tank in South Carolina. | 02/06/13 07:25:50 By - Jamie Self

Missouri's voter ID bill inspires pushback over 'voter suppression'

Republican lawmakers are taking another swing at insisting Missouri voters show a government-issued photo ID at the polls. And they’re meeting fierce resistance. | 02/06/13 07:15:05 By - Jason Hancock

Ex-aide to Sen. Bob Menendez could benefit from contract tied to donor under FBI scrutiny

A former aide to Sen. Bob Menendez might benefit from a major overseas port deal that’s supported by the powerful Democrat and is tied to a South Florida donor whose offices were raided last week by the FBI. | 02/06/13 07:06:59 By - Marc Caputo

Obama urges short-term budget fix, but GOP balks at more revenue

President Barack Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a package of modest cuts and tax changes as a way to delay drastic, across-the-board federal spending reductions that could harm the economy. | 02/05/13 17:51:37 By - By Anita Kumar and David Lightman

House Republicans hold hearing on immigration, warn of past mistakes

Republicans in the House of Representatives kicked off their first hearing on immigration with a stated goal of harmonizing the principles of humanity and the rule of the law. But the gathering emphasized how many House Republicans still oppose granting a path to citizenship, which several Judiciary Committee members referred to as “amnesty.” | 02/05/13 16:57:19 By - By Franco Ordoñez

Govs. Jerry Brown and Rick Perry battle over who has better state for business

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is on the radio in California this week, criticizing the Golden State in a new advertisement and urging businesses to flee to Texas. | 02/05/13 07:01:06 By - David Siders

Bill loosening cruise ship discharge rules passes in Alaska House

The House decided Monday to roll back pollution standards voted into law by the 2006 cruise-ship initiative, allowing cruise vessels to dump ammonia, copper and other contaminants into Alaska waters. | 02/05/13 06:45:44 By - Richard Mauer

Essie Mae Washington-Williams, daughter of late U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, dies

Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the long-unrecognized daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, died Monday at 87. | 02/04/13 19:17:38 By - Jamie Self

In Washington state, mental health funds sought as help falls short

It’s nothing new: horror stories about people whose mental illnesses turned them into killers; a safety net that failed to catch them; and now, politicians in Olympia, Wash., vowing to do something. | 02/04/13 12:58:28 By - Jordan Schrader

Gloria Steinem calls Texas Gov. Rick Perry 'dictatorial, unacceptable American'

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem said Gov. Rick Perry has without a doubt created a lasting legacy in Texas. | 02/04/13 07:23:44 By - Anna M. Tinsley

Trail of Sen. Bob Menendez investigation leads to dead end in Dominican Republic

The shadowy tipster who made explosive allegations involving U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic named names. He gave descriptions of the women, and in some cases, phone numbers and addresses. | 02/04/13 07:06:13 By - Kathleen McGrory and Melissa Sanchez

Republican energy plan calls for more drilling, nothing to rein in greenhouse gases

The Senate’s top Republican on energy issues, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, has crafted a blueprint for U.S. energy policy that calls for increased drilling while opposing laws to cap greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming. | 02/03/13 22:08:53 By - By Sean Cockerham

Obama honors scientists, researchers at White House

President Barack Obama honored 23 scientists Friday at the White House. | 02/01/13 18:43:24 By - By Anne-Kathrin Gerstlauer

Obama: Women should get free contraception but church groups shouldn’t have to pay

After months of criticism and legal challenges, President Barack Obama’s administration proposed Friday that religious institutions no longer be required to provide their employees with health insurance coverage for birth control. | 02/01/13 18:22:35 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark

Chuck Hagel pledges to help Camp Lejeune water victims

Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, said Thursday that he was committed to providing Marines with answers about the water contamination that occurred at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. If he’s confirmed, he pledged, he’ll work to overcome bureaucratic hurdles that may obstruct findings about the impact of the contamination on Marines and their family members. | 02/01/13 13:41:35 By - By Franco Ordonez

S.C. health officials consider food stamp soda ban in obesity battle

Seeking to slow the childhood obesity epidemic, South Carolina health leaders would like to limit the purchase of sugar-filled drinks with food stamps. Catherine Templeton, director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and Lillian Koller, director of the Department of Social Services, have exchanged thoughts on the subject. | 02/01/13 07:19:48 By - Joey Holleman

As immigration debate changes, will Kris Kobach's influence wane?

Shares in Kris Kobach’s political future — buy, sell, or hold? Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, built a national profile on immigration issues. In court, in print, and on television, Kobach often serves as the face of Republican support for tougher policies toward illegal immigration. | 02/01/13 07:07:30 By - Dave Helling

Analysts: Hillary Clinton’s record as top U.S. diplomat falls far short of greatness

When Hillary Clinton joined the Obama administration’s famed “team of rivals,” political observers were abuzz with the possibilities of a secretary of state who was already a powerful global celebrity, a former first lady, and a hardened presidential candidate. Despite the star power and political savvy, however, analysts four years later say they can’t identify an enduring diplomatic approach that would add her to the list of the all-time greatest secretaries of state. | 02/01/13 06:28:14 By - By Hannah Allam

Chuck Hagel, Senate Republicans clash at confirmation hearing

The left came to praise former Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican whom Obama nominated to be his next secretary of defense. The right came to, if not bury him, keep him on the hot seat all day as it explored his views and past, sometimes controversial, statements on Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and nuclear weapons. | 01/31/13 19:12:04 By - By Matthew Schofield

White House jobs council is now out of a job

President Barack Obama’s high-profile jobs council went out of business Thursday, despite reports that the economy shrank at the end of last year and the unemployment rate remains stuck at 7.8 percent, exactly the same as it was four years ago when the president first took office. | 01/31/13 18:47:12 By - By Emma Kantrowitz

Senate faces pay-cut threat, but its millionaires may not care

Can you make a wealthy person do something by temporarily withholding a relatively tiny part of his or her income? America is about to find out, after the Senate approved a bill on a 64-34 vote to suspend the nation’s debt limit until mid-May, enabling the federal government to continue to borrow money to pay its bills. | 01/31/13 17:48:13 By - By William Douglas

Pushing gun control a problem for red state Democrats

For members of Congress from big cities, the West Coast and the Northeast, gun control has jumped to the top of the agenda. For those elected in red state America, the issue is regarded very differently. | 01/31/13 17:21:41 By - By David Lightman

McConnell raises $715,000 for campaign, bringing total to $7.4 million

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell raised $715,000 in the last three months of 2012 for his re-election campaign, bringing his campaign total to $7.4 million, campaign manager Jesse Benton said. | 01/31/13 13:40:04 By - Jack Brammer

N.C. Gov. McCrory's comments link college funding to employment

Should public universities and colleges in North Carolina be judged and funded primarily by how well they groom students for the job market? | 01/31/13 07:23:29 By - Caroline McMillan

Union dues collecting is examined by Missouri, Kansas lawmakers

Republicans say it’s a simple change, from opting out to opting in. But by making it more difficult for public employee unions to collect dues, GOP lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri could weaken a chief political nemesis. | 01/31/13 07:15:43 By - Jason Hancock and Brad Cooper

Senators think bipartisanship will work in immigration overhaul

Two authors of the Senate bipartisan agreement on immigration from both parties see their work as a hopeful sign of a new wave of bipartisanship in Congress. | 01/30/13 21:01:39 By - By Franco Ordonez

S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he'll take heat over immigration reform

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is wading into the immigration thicket again, less than six years after a titanic battle over the same issue left the Seneca Republican badly bruised and on the losing side. | 01/30/13 07:27:41 By - James Rosen

Sen. Mitch McConnell says liberals are infiltrating conservative groups in Kentucky

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign is contending that Democratic liberals are trying to infiltrate conservative groups in the state to oust McConnell next year. | 01/30/13 07:11:22 By - Jack Brammer

California lawmakers called on to toughen state gun, ammunition laws

Two former California Senate leaders sat before lawmakers Tuesday and warned them about the death threats sure to come their way as they embark on new gun control efforts – death threats that, ironically, drove one of of them, Don Perata, to arm himself for protection. | 01/30/13 06:51:29 By - Kim Minugh

Immigration divides GOP

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took his case for an overhaul of the nation’s immigration system straight to one of the most influential voices in Republican politics, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. | 01/30/13 06:25:58 By - By David Lightman

Kerry wins 94-3 Senate vote to become Obama’s 2nd-term secretary of state

With only three “no” votes, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed veteran lawmaker and former presidential candidate John Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as the secretary of state for the Obama administration’s second term. | 01/29/13 18:57:46 By - By Hannah Allam

Obama joins bipartisan Senate group on immigration, best shot at overhaul in decades

President Barack Obama proposed to rewrite U.S. immigration laws Tuesday, echoing a bipartisan group of influential U.S. senators in a one-two step that signaled a changing political landscape and the best chance in a generation to change the way the nation treats those who arrived here illegally. | 01/29/13 18:56:25 By - By Anita Kumar and Franco Ordonez

Battle over guns makes N.C. dangerous political ground for Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan

As a Democrat from a swing state, Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina already faces a tough re-election fight next year. | 01/29/13 17:16:29 By - By Renee Schoof

Are the Democratic and Republican parties captives of their extremes?

America’s two major political parties are prisoners of their images, stifling their ability to broaden their appeal. Democrats are routinely portrayed as liberals and Republicans as conservatives, and movement toward the center, where elections are usually won, is difficult to detect. | 01/29/13 06:31:33 By - By David Lightman

Florida’s Marco Rubio, Mario Diaz-Balart will be key on immigration deal

All roads to immigration restructuring run through Florida, and the "tough but fair" approach that’s being discussed this week has at its center two of the state’s Republicans: Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami. | 01/28/13 17:45:01 By - By Erika Bolstad

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, 'Gang of Eight' unveil immigration deal

A group of eight Democratic and Republicans senators, including Florida’s Marco Rubio, will officially release a wide-ranging immigration plan Monday that could give a pathway to citizenship, tighten border security and increase guest-worker permits. | 01/28/13 07:04:46 By - Marc Caputo

Turning tide? Lawmakers look to Pentagon for budget cuts

As another debt-deal deadline looms this winter in Congress, an unusual alliance of lawmakers has joined forces to put the Pentagon budget under greater scrutiny and to end the almost carte blanche status it enjoyed in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. | 01/28/13 00:00:00 By - By James Rosen

Obama names longtime aide as new chief of staff

When it came time to select a new chief of staff, President Barack Obama didn’t look very far. | 01/25/13 18:55:55 By - By Anita Kumar

Obama will unveil immigration plans next week

According to the White House, Obama will introduce a plan that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, which many Republicans oppose and liken to “amnesty.” | 01/25/13 18:51:27 By - By Franco Ordonez

Georgia GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss won’t run again; Democrats see opportunity

Citing frustration with the Obama administration and congressional gridlock, Georgia’s senior senator, Republican Saxby Chambliss announced Monday that he won’t seek re-election next year, dealing a blow to Senate Republicans while bolstering Democratic hopes of regaining the seat after a 12-year absence. | 01/25/13 18:37:53 By - By Tony Pugh

Obama’s second term – lead from ahead this time?

Anywhere you look, President Barack Obama looks different heading into his second term. | 01/24/13 15:00:04 By - By Lesley Clark

McCaskill again tries to ban earmarks

Sen. Claire McCaskill is making another run at ending earmarks after the Missouri Democrat tried but failed during her first term in Congress. McCaskill will reintroduce legislation today designed to halt the practice of earmarking, which enables lawmakers to designate funds for special projects back home without legislative scrutiny. | 01/24/13 12:15:17 By - Lindsay Wise

House votes to extend debt ceiling; Senate expected to follow

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to suspend the nation’s debt limit until May, allowing the federal government to continue to pay its bills and removing an immediate threat to the economy as it struggles to gain strength. | 01/23/13 17:30:41 By - By William Douglas and Kevin G. Hall

Emotional and defiant, Clinton answers Congress on Benghazi attack

Defiant in one of her final appearances in office, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress on Wednesday that she accepts responsibility for security lapses in the deadly Sept. 11 attack on U.S. posts in Libya, but she also stressed that the assault was part of a broader war the United States faces against extremists in North Africa. | 01/23/13 18:43:55 By - By Hannah Allam

Will Charlotte host GOP convention in 2016?

It worked for Democrats. Could it work for Republicans? With national Republican Party officials gathering in Charlotte this week, it’s a natural question: Will the party return for its 2016 convention? | 01/23/13 13:04:09 By - Jim Morrell

California early abortion provider bill revived by Democratic lawmakers

More medical professionals, including nurses and midwives, would be permitted to perform certain early abortions in California under a bill unveiled Tuesday. | 01/23/13 06:58:59 By - Jeremy B. White

House to vote on extension of debt ceiling, some conservatives call it a sellout

The House plans to vote Wednesday on a Republican proposal to extend the government’s debt ceiling for three months, but conservatives were waging a last-minute effort to defeat the bill because it would not force spending cuts. | 01/22/13 19:08:14 By - By William Douglas and Lesley Clark

Several Kentucky Tea Party groups seek to defeat McConnell in 2014

Many of Kentucky's Tea Party leaders are plotting a strategy to defeat U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in the 2014 Republican primary, a spokesman for a group calling itself the United Kentucky Tea Party said Tuesday. | 01/22/13 18:30:20 By - Jack Brammer

At National Cathedral, prayers for Obama

More than 2,000 people filled the National Cathedral on Tuesday to offer a prayer for President Barack Obama as he enters his second term in office. | 01/22/13 17:14:31 By - By Anita Kumar

In trouble, GOP will gather to decide what next

The Republican Party is in turmoil, confused about its future and disliked by huge numbers of voters. | 01/22/13 15:46:53 By - By David Lightman

Obama’s inaugural speech a call to a new liberal era

No doubt anymore where President Barack Obama wants America, and history, to place him: As a tough-minded liberal. | 01/21/13 18:38:36 By - By David Lightman

Inaugural crowd is smaller than four years ago, but no less hopeful

The crowd that jammed the National Mall on Monday for President Barack Obama’s second inaugural may have been smaller and less ebullient than the 1.8 million people who attended his historical first swearing-in, but by no means was it somber. | 01/21/13 17:51:31 By - By William Douglas and Maya T. Prabhu

California freshmen add diverse mix to a changing Congress

The new Congress looks like a changing country, and California’s delegation looks a lot like the change. | 01/21/13 17:40:39 By - By Curtis Tate

Idaho's Labrador says Obama is 'shameful' to use children to drive his anti-gun agenda

Idaho Republican Congressman Raul Labrador is critical of President Obama's news conference and executive order prompted aimed at curbing gun violence. The president had children attend his announcement last week of executive orders and a legislative agenda prompted by last month's Connecticut school shooting that left 20 elementary students dead. | 01/21/13 15:22:13 By - Dan Popkey

Obama summons nation for 2nd term: ‘We are made for this moment’

“America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive, diversity and openness, an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention,” he said on a crisp, sun-filled afternoon. “My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it, so long as we seize it together.” | 01/21/13 22:22:52 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark

Sen. Mitch McConnell says Medicare, Social Security must change to fix U.S. debt

The nation's debt is its biggest problem, and the only way to fix it is to make changes in entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said Friday. | 01/21/13 07:17:04 By - Jack Brammer

Obama and weather don’t always get along

From a frigid 2009 Inauguration Day to a soggy 2012 Democratic convention, Mother Nature hasn’t always been kind to President Barack Obama. And meteorologists say that Monday’s inauguration is likely to be another chilly affair. | 01/20/13 12:39:42 By - By William Douglas

It’s official: Obama sworn in for second term

President Barack Obama was officially sworn into office for a second term Sunday in a small ceremony at the White House as the nation’s capital geared up for a full inauguration on Monday. | 01/20/13 22:35:21 By - By Anita Kumar

Obama, Biden kick off inauguration with volunteer work

President Barack Obama said Saturday his inauguration will be a symbol of U.S. democracy, as well as an “affirmation that we’re all in this together." | 01/19/13 16:22:11 By - By Lesley Clark

Kansas’ Black & Veatch, with history of problems in Afghanistan, now has another

An American contractor that came under fire several years ago for cost overruns and delays during the construction of a major U.S.-funded power plant in Afghanistan faces renewed criticism on another, much smaller project. | 01/19/13 00:00:00 By - By Lindsay Wise

Sen. Claire McCaskill leaps hurdles to overhauling wartime contracting

When Claire McCaskill set out to crack down on waste and fraud in wartime contracting six years ago, the newbie Democratic senator from Missouri figured that finding ways to save taxpayer dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan would be a no-brainer project, even in the highly partisan halls of Congress. “I learned quickly that that was very naive,” she said in a recent interview. | 01/19/13 00:00:00 By - By Lindsay Wise

House GOP leaders offer vote on small hike for debt ceiling

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, hoping to avert another politically costly showdown with President Barack Obama over fiscal issues, plan a vote next week on increasing the debt ceiling enough to cover three months of additional borrowing to pay the government’s bills. | 01/18/13 18:01:47 By - By David Lightman

In second term, Obama will govern a nation worried about economy, anxious about safety

As President Barack Obama prepares to begin his second term, he will govern a nation where people feel insecure about their economic futures, worried about their personal safety and concerned that international threats are spiraling out of the United States’ control. | 01/18/13 15:29:36 By - By David Lightman

Obama’s second term: Guns, immigration, taxes – and warnings of hubris

Four years ago, President Barack Obama used his inaugural address to declare “an end to the petty grievances, and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.” | 01/18/13 15:22:27 By - By Lesley Clark and Anita Kumar