Harry Reid announces his picks for deficit committee

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the first appointees to a congressional super-committee charged with tackling the federal...

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  Congressional deficit committee faces a rough road

2012 race ripe for third-party surprise, Carville says

For sheer tumult and unpredictability, the 2012 campaign may top them all, says James Carville.

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  Can Obama find success running against a 'do-nothing' Congress?

Boehner says Democrats to blame for credit rating downgrade

House Speaker John A. Boehner worked Tuesday to pin responsibility for the nation's credit downgrade elsewhere, telling rank-and-file...

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  Obama says U.S. remains 'AAA country'

Heavy turnout seen in Wisconsin Senate recall fight

Republicans and Democrats were locked in a furious and expensive battle for control of the Wisconsin Senate on Tuesday as voters went to the...

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  Republican control at stake in Wisconsin recall elections

Mitt Romney braces for new attacks — from left and right

Heading into this weekend's straw poll in Iowa, the standout moment of the GOP presidential campaign may be the attack that fizzled: Tim...

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  Rick Perry adds Iowa stop -- in Michele Bachmann's hometown

Obama honors U.S. forces killed in helicopter attack (updated)

President Obama traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Tuesday to pay tribute to 30 U.S. service members, including 22 Navy SEALs,...

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  SEAL Team 6 members among 38 killed in Afghanistan

Does Rick Perry's move make Iowa results irrelevant?

With a campaign rollout planned for South Carolina, New Hampshire and Texas, Rick Perry threatens to overshadow this weekend's Straw Poll in...

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  Iowa straw poll: A guide to the big week in GOP presidential politics

Conservatives rip Newsweek's 'crazy-eyes' Bachmann cover

Sting was the King of Pain. Is it fair to call Michele Bachmann the “Queen of Rage?” That’s what Newsweek has gone ahead...

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  Michele Bachmann woos Iowa Christians, attends anti-gay service

Rick Perry to shed light on political future in weekend speech

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will offer greater clarity about his political future -- and potentially upstage a high-profile presidential cattle-...

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  Rick Perry offers a prayer for Obama at 'The Response' rally

House to end page program, citing costs

House leaders announced Monday the end of an era: The House page program will be no more.

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  Congress overwhelmed with public input on debt debate

Republicans pan Obama's speech

Republicans immediately pounced on President Obama’s speech Monday as insufficient after the nation’s credit rating was...

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  Obama says more to be done to boost economy

Democrats seek to pin downgrade on 'tea party'

As stocks continued Monday to tumble in the wake of Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the United States’ credit rating,...

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  S&P lowers Fannie, Freddie citing reliance on U.S. government

Democrats seek to counter Republicans' Iowa blitz

Iowa will be ground zero for Republican politicking this week ahead of the Ames straw poll this weekend, the latest milepost in the...

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  Obama supporters already on the attack for 2012 election

Gov. Rick Perry leads Christians in prayer at Texas rally

With Rick Perry likely to enter the Republican presidential race within days or weeks, thousands of fundamentalist Christians cheered the...

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  Opinion: Texas Gov. Rick Perry's misguided day of prayer

As it diversifies, Nevada shifts its tone

Andy Sanchez had just moved to this dusty outpost near Las Vegas when a gust of anti-immigration furor tore the town asunder.

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  Wisconsin recall elections carry implications for 2012

Departing Obama advisor: Economy in a 'bit of a slog'

On his last day on the job, presidential economics advisor Austan Goolsbee conceded that the economy is in a “bit of a slog’&...

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  Republican candidates slam Obama after latest unemployment report

Homeland Security cancels immigration agreements with states

After months of protest from some Democratic governors, the Obama administration is cancelling more than 40 agreements it has signed with...

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  Secure Communities Letter to Governors [pdf]

Bad puns? Check. Standing in the polls? Not yet for GOP presidential hopeful Thaddeus McCotter

Thaddeus McCotter, a congressman from Michigan, wants to be president of the United States and he’s ready to use a plastic fork, sugar...

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  $1 million donation to pro-Romney PAC sparks questions

Tim Pawlenty: Climate change most likely due to nature

Tim Pawlenty said in an interview this week that the science of global warming remains unclear and that Earth's shifting climate is more...

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  Pawlenty struggles to prove himself

Obama signs temporary FAA extension; furloughed workers to return Monday

President Obama signed a temporary funding extension for the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday, ending a two-week impasse that...

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  Temporary FAA funding deal reached

Rick Perry makes high-profile call for prayer as he weighs White House run

One week before the first major test of the 2012 campaign, a Republican heavyweight who for now stands on the sidelines is making an...

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  Rick Perry contorts over same-sex marriage

DEA acknowledges supporting role in Operation Fast and Furious

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration has acknowledged to congressional investigators that her agency provided a supporting role...

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  Document: DEA acknowledges supporting role

Debt deal done, but public sours further on Congress

When Washington dithers -- and threatens federal default -- the public mood sours. That's a key takeaway from a new poll that shows...

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  Poll finds Americans united in their disgust over debt-ceiling process

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warns against defense cuts

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Thursday that deeper cuts in the defense budget risked hollowing out the military and would hamper...

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  Pentagon says projected spending cuts could undermine security

Deal struck to end FAA standoff -- for now

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday announced a deal to temporarily fund the Federal Aviation Administration, ending a standoff...

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  Obama presses lawmakers to end FAA standoff

Michael Bloomberg becomes more overt with his philanthropy

Since he was elected to City Hall nearly 10 years ago, Michael R. Bloomberg has usually made large charitable donations anonymously —...

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  Petersen Automotive Museum gift valued at $100 million

Durbin volunteers for duty on new deficit-reduction panel

The jockeying to serve on Congress’s debt-reduction super committee is well under way -- and one person letting it be known he wants...

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  Did debt-ceiling drama damage Obama?

Huntsman backs strategist amid reports of campaign chaos

Jon Huntsman offered a vote of confidence Thursday on his top campaign strategist amid reports that his flagging presidential effort is...

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  Huntsman camp again misspells candidate's name

Grim economic news as Obama marks birthday at White House

A plummeting stock market is proving an inauspicious omen for President Obama as he turns 50 on today.

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  Obama visits Chicago for birthday benefits, turning page on his 40s and debt fight

David Wu officially resigns seat amid sex allegations

Embattled Rep. David Wu had said he would leave office as soon as the debt-ceiling crisis was resolved. Wednesday night, the Oregon Democrat...

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  Party leaders confident David Wu will be replaced by a Democrat

Obama's support slips in Florida despite debt-ceiling deal

President Obama’s approval rating in Florida has declined, according to the Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday, the...

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  Conservative ad spree pins debt on Obama [video]

Backers of Maryland DREAM Act challenge referendum effort

Immigration advocacy group Casa de Maryland and several undocumented students and concerned citizens filed a lawsuit this week against the...

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  In Maryland, an immigration battle redux

In New Hampshire, Huntsman reconnects with his rock 'n' roll roots

Jon Huntsman toured Manchester's Elm Street with Mayor Ted Gatsas -- trying some old-fashioned retail politicking in his campaign to be...

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  Jon Huntsman plays the theme to Charlie Brown

Pivoting from debt fight, Obama plans jobs-focused bus tour

President Obama plans to barnstorm the Midwest later this month in an effort to shift his focus back on the economy and boost his sagging...

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  Obama 50th birthday: More Clinton than TR

Racially tinged remarks prompt hasty backtracking

For those who still think the election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first African American president has ushered in the era of...

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  Mitt Romney's birthday gift to Obama: Attacks on the Chicago economy

Liberals still in Obama's corner, latest Gallup poll shows

Liberals, the small but often important electoral group, seem to be holding fast in their support for President Obama, according to the...

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  With debt debate over, Obama urges focus on jobs

Sarah Palin jabs at Mitt Romney over debt ceiling

Sarah Palin still isn’t running for president, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still want to stir up the race.

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  Mitt Romney comes out against debt-ceiling deal

White House debt negotiations: A slideshow

The White House on Tuesday released a series of photos showing President Obama working with top aides and congressional leaders to reach...

Trade groups tell Congress: Stay out of FDA salmon probe

A coalition of nearly 30 organizations in the animal agriculture industry sent a letter to the heads of the House and Senate on Tuesday,...

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  FDA launches Web page on recalled foods

Senator vows to block surveillance bill over privacy concerns

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will seek to block passage of an intelligence bill that extends the government’s eavesdropping authorities...

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  David Petraeus says he won't bring his own brain trust to CIA

Obamas to attend 9/11 commemorations

President Obama and his wife, Michelle, will attend the 10th-anniversary commemoration of the three 9/11 terrorist attacks that reshaped U....

Senate approves debt-ceiling increase; Obama to sign

The Senate gave final approval Tuesday to legislation to raise the nation's debt limit by $2.4 trillion while cutting federal deficits,...

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  Debt ceiling deal casts a bleak light on the future

Huntsman says Bachmann makes for 'good photography'; no slight intended

Many candidates who go head-to-head with female rivals have ended up in verbal somersaults after delivering offhand comments about the...

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  'Tea party' terrorists? Bachmann tries to cash in on alleged Biden dig

Passage of debt-ceiling deal won't curb consequences

Even as the Senate began debate Tuesday morning on the debt-ceiling compromise, expected to easily pass by midday, the economic and...

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  Debt ceiling deal accomplishes little

Gabrielle Giffords' supporters prepare for possible reelection bid

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords hasn't yet decided to run for reelection, but if she does, her supporters want to make sure she's primed and ready...

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  Gabrielle Giffords returns to Congress for debt-ceiling vote

Insiders describe tense weekend before debt deal

A bipartisan bill to increase the nation's debt limit and cut as much as $2.4 trillion in government spending passed the House of...

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  Biden denies likening Republicans to terrorists in debt talks

House easily passes debt-ceiling accord

With the nation on the razor’s edge of a government default, the last-ditch, bipartisan deal to raise the federal debt ceiling and...

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  The debt-ceiling deal: Who wins and who loses?

Almost all GOP presidential hopefuls oppose debt deal

The almost unanimous opposition by Republican presidential contenders to Washington's bipartisan debt limit deal reflects the pull of...

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  Highlights of the bipartisan debt-ceiling deal

Rich and famous funnel millions to 'super PACs'

With no contribution limits standing in their way, Hollywood bigwigs and finance executives shelled out top dollar to outside political...

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  In latest salvo, Crossroads plays on voters' economic angst [Video]

Jon Huntsman: Mitt Romney failed to lead on debt ceiling

Voicing his support for the debt-ceiling compromise as an imperfect but necessary step to avoid default, Republican presidential candidate...

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  House vote first test of debt-ceiling bill