Boehner regrets backing Scozzafava in NY race
6:51
The House Republican leader says he regrets that he and other members of his party spent time and money supporting the GOP nominee in a special House election in upstate New York. The candidate picked by GOP officials...
Correction: NY House race story
6:03
In an early version of an Oct. 31 story about the special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Republican candidate Dierdre Scozzafava had instructed her...
Taking down failures: Who pays, when and how much?
5:56
House Democrats are balking at an Obama administration plan that would put taxpayers on the hook for up to five years to dismantle any giant financial firm whose failure could repeat last year's Wall Street collapse. ...
Stakes are high in Maine's vote on gay marriage
5:50
Bolstered by out-of-state money and volunteers, both sides jockeyed Monday to boost turnout for a Maine referendum that could give gay-rights activists in the U.S. their first victory at the ballot box on the deeply...
Tight NJ governor's race goes down to the wire
4:47
New Jersey's candidates for governor darted through the state on the last day of a campaign being billed as a vote on President Barack Obama's popularity. Obama has made five appearances in New Jersey to make his case...
Bloomberg, lead shrinking, makes final pitch
3:21
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Democratic challenger spent the final day of the campaign shoring up support and readying their get-out-the-vote forces. Bloomberg on Monday greeted voters on the Staten...
Justices seem unwilling to get involved in fees
3:19
Several Supreme Court justices seemed unsympathetic Monday to calls for the courts to get involved in reining in what investors are calling "excessive" fees on mutual funds, a popular investment vehicle for millions of...
Congress extends benefits to military spouses
3:02
Congress is sending to the president a bill that allows military spouses to claim residency in the same state as their wives or husbands. Military spouses lobbied for the change. Under current law, service members can...
Health care plan hits rich with big tax increases
1:01
The typical family would be spared higher taxes from the House Democratic plan to overhaul health care, and their low-income neighbors could come out ahead. Their wealthy counterparts, however, face big tax increases...
High court won't review civil rights-era case
11:00
The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a judge's ruling that allowed prosecutors to charge a reputed Ku Klux Klansman with kidnapping more than 40 years after two black men were abducted and killed in rural...
What's at stake in Tuesday's elections
10:47
What's at stake in Tuesday's election: GOVERNORS: Voters in two states, New Jersey and Virginia, are electing governors. _The New Jersey race has centered on the economy and the state's highest-in-the-nation taxes....
Health care issues: Why so many health care bills?
10:40
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: Why are there so many different health care proposals being discussed on Capitol Hill, and what exactly does Obama support? THE POLITICS: Last week, Speaker...
Court won't stop release of church documents
10:13
The Supreme Court turned away another appeal to stop the release of documents generated for sexual abuse lawsuits against priests in a Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut. The court on Monday refused to hear an...
Diplomat: US engaged in 'civil war' in Afghanistan
7:25
A Foreign Service officer who resigned in protest over U.S. policy in Afghanistan says America shouldn't be bogged down in "a civil war" in South Asia. Matthew Hoh is a former Marine who fought in Iraq and became a...
Romney prods Obama to decide Afghan strategy now
7:15
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is accusing President Barack Obama of acting too slowly to decide what U.S. policy is needed in Afghanistan. Interviewed on CBS's "The Early Show" Monday, Romney...
Cheney FBI interview: 72 instances of can't recall
6:34
Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald famously declared in the Valerie Plame affair that "there is a cloud over the vice president." Last week's release of an FBI interview summary of Dick Cheney's answers in the...
Obama to meet with economic board, Swedish PM
5:17
President Barack Obama plans to meet with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. They'll discuss long-term, innovation-based ideas to sustain growth and create jobs. It's the second full meeting of the advisory board. ...
Future of GOP and moderate Republicans uncertain
11:07
In a Republican Party struggling to find its identity, the surprise withdrawal of the chosen GOP candidate for a New York congressional race _ forced by a rising conservative upstart _ renews a lingering national...
Obama says NJ governor is key to his own agenda
11:06
In a final campaign swing on behalf of the only governor seeking re-election this fall, President Barack Obama on Sunday pitched Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine's bid as a key component for the White House to make good on...
White House: Afghan troop decision within weeks
4:37
Top Obama administration officials pledged Sunday to work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, despite continuing doubts about his credibility that could have been eased had he won a runoff election against his top...
Mexico extradites 11 fugitives to US
4:13
Mexico has extradited 11 fugitives, accused of crimes including murder, sex offenses, drug trafficking and money laundering, to face trial in the United States, the Justice Department said Sunday. "The extradition of...
A few elections, a few clues about our politics
3:46
President Barack Obama isn't on the ballot. Neither are all members of Congress, nor most governors. But to varying degrees, the outcome of a few disparate elections Tuesday could provide clues about how people _...
Maine voters to pass judgment on gay marriage
1:20
Gay marriage has lost in every single state in which it has been put to a popular vote. Come Election Day, gay-rights supporters are hoping to make Maine the exception. In a referendum that is being closely watched...
Clinton: US to support next Afghan president
12:35
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says it's up to Afghan officials to decide the way ahead after the top challenger to President Hamid Karzai pulled out of next weekend's runoff election. Clinton said in a...
GOP House leader says moderates wanted in party
9:59
House Republican leader John Boehner says the GOP wants moderates in the party and calls the special election for a New York congressional seat an unusual situation. The Republican nominee in an upstate New York...
Third party challenges in NJ, NY are warning sign
9:09
Third party candidates are shaking up two major races in elections Tuesday, and the success of those candidacies is a warning shot fired at both major parties by voters angry at government and disillusioned by politics...
Obama goes to NJ for final pitch of '09 elections
3:36
President Barack Obama is making a last-minute campaign appearance for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election bid. Obama's scheduled to appear Sunday at a pair of rallies for the only incumbent governor seeking...
Scorn for property taxes drives NJ governor's race
1:29
It sounds like another New Jersey joke. Except it's not funny if you actually live here. For the privilege of living in perhaps the nation's most-maligned state, New Jerseyans pay the highest property taxes in America....
No trick: 2,000 kids knock on White House door
12:22
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Saturday doled out presidential M&Ms and dried fruit mixes to more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters, marking their Halloween at a White House event partly aimed at...
Republican in NY House race suspends campaign
10:36
Fighting plunging support, Republican Dierdre Scozzafava abruptly suspended her campaign Saturday in a special election for a U.S. House seat that has exposed a rift among national factions of the party. Campaign...
Obama tempers economic news with caution on jobs
10:27
President Barack Obama on Saturday tempered excitement about a growing economy with a sober outlook that more people will lose their jobs. He called that a heartbreaking reality and cautioned that even a burst of upbeat...
Winfrey, Clooney among first White House guests
3:48
Celebrities George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey and prominent lobbyists, corporate executives and Democratic fundraisers were among the first to score visits with President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle or top aides at...
NJ governor's race: Candidates at a glance
3:42
Biographical details on the candidates for New Jersey governor: -- Democrat Jon Stevens Corzine AGE _ 62; born Jan. 1, 1947, in Willey's Station, Ill. HOME _ Hoboken. EXPERIENCE: Served in U.S. Senate from 2001-05;...
Cheney to FBI: No idea who leaked Plame's identity
3:32
Citing faulty memory, former Vice President Dick Cheney told federal investigators in a 2004 interview he had no idea who revealed to reporters that Valerie Plame, the wife of a Bush administration critic, worked for...
Obamas to greet more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters
6:00
President Barack Obama and the first lady will mark their first Halloween in the White House by handing out treats to trick-or-treaters. More than 2,000 children from the Washington area and their families will be...
Senate, White House agree on reporter protections
4:22
The White House, key senators and media representatives have reached a compromise on legislation to protect reporters from being forced to disclose their confidential sources in federal court. Senate supporters of the...
Obama administration: Toss wiretap lawsuit
3:47
Attorney General Eric Holder says a lawsuit in San Francisco over warrantless wiretapping threatens to expose ongoing intelligence work and must be thrown out. In making the argument, the Obama administration agreed...
Path clears for House to OK compromise health bill
12:42
They may not like it, but many House liberals look ready to accept a compromise health care bill, putting Democratic leaders well on the way to delivering on President Barack Obama's call for overhaul. After claiming...
New papers detail FBI, CIA wrangle over detainees
11:37
Newly released documents show the FBI interviewed a naked, chained terror suspect back in 2002 as the bureau struggled with the CIA over how to treat high-value prisoners. Details of the interrogation were contained in...
Obama lifts ban on US entry for those with HIV
10:27
President Barack Obama said Friday the U.S. will overturn a 22-year-old travel and immigration ban against people with HIV early next year. The order will be finalized on Monday, Obama said, completing a process begun...
US warily leans to new Iran sanctions over nukes
10:20
Frustrated by Iran's continued defiance of demands to come clean on its nuclear program, the Obama administration is leaning toward imposing new sanctions, even if it must act alone. Administration officials...
Obama gets fresh sense of state of armed services
7:18
President Barack Obama grappled Friday with the costs and consequences of a long-term commitment to Afghanistan, but reached no decisions about troop levels, a top aide said, as military advisers briefed the president...
House members under ethics scrutiny
6:13
The following House members have come under scrutiny from the House ethics committee for a wide range of issues. In some cases, there was only was a preliminary review, but in others a full investigation by a...
Senate, White House agree on reporter protections
5:29
The White House, key senators and media representatives have reached a compromise on legislation to protect reporters from being forced to disclose their confidential sources in federal court. Senate supporters of the...
Review defends spending on small border stations
5:19
An internal review of the Obama administration's own plan to spend tens of millions of dollars upgrading little-used border checkpoints ahead of busier ones justified its choices, but a senior Democratic senator said he...
Democrats have edge in Calif. congressional race
4:51
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a fixture in state and national politics for 35 years, is expected to maintain the Democratic Party's hold Tuesday on a congressional seat that stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area...
Iran grants Swiss access to detained US hikers
4:33
Iranian authorities this week allowed a Swiss diplomat a second visit with three detained American hikers arrested for illegal entry near the Iraq border in late July, the State Department said Friday. Spokesman Robert...
US: Mass. can't force gay marriage benefits
3:57
States that allow gay marriage can't force the federal government to provide benefits to those couples, the Obama administration argued Friday in court papers in a lawsuit by Massachusetts. The Justice Department is at...
Va. governor's race: Republican Bob McDonnell
3:04
NAME _ Robert F. McDonnell. AGE _ 55; born June 15, 1954, in Philadelphia. HOME _ Richmond. OCCUPATION _ Lawyer, partner at Huff, Poole and Mahoney. EXPERIENCE _ Virginia attorney general, 2006 to February 2009;...
Va. governor's race: Democrat R. Creigh Deeds
3:01
NAME _ Robert Creigh Deeds. AGE _ 51; born Jan. 4, 1958 in Richmond, Va. HOME _ Bath County. OCCUPATION _ Lawyer, private practice; state senator. EXPERIENCE _ Won three-way primary for Democratic nomination for...