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Senate panel approves immigration bill

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:07:39 -0400

WASHINGTON - Far-reaching legislation that grants a chance at citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a solid bipartisan vote Tuesday night after supporters somberly sidestepped a controversy over the rights of gay spouses.

House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:46:35 -0400

WASHINGTON - Republicans controlling the House pressed ahead Tuesday with slashing cuts to domestic programs far deeper than the cuts departments like Education, Interior and State are facing under an already painful round of automatic austerity.

Senate panel approves immigration bill

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:38:43 -0400

WASHINGTON - Far-reaching legislation to grant a chance at citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a solid bipartisan vote Tuesday night after supporters somberly sidestepped a controversy over the rights of gay spouses.

Pentagon wants $450M for Guantanamo prison

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:51:11 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is asking Congress for more than $450 million for maintaining and upgrading the Guantanamo Bay prison that President Barack Obama wants to close.

IRS official to take the 5th at House hearing

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:49:57 -0400

WASHINGTON - Summoned by Congress, a key figure in the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups plans to invoke her constitutional right against self-incrimination and decline to testify at a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

Key senator to let Myanmar sanctions bill lapse

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:14:11 -0400

WASHINGTON - Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, easing up on his long-held tough stance on Myanmar, said Tuesday he planned to allow key sanctions legislation against the Southeast Asian nation to lapse because of the country's progress toward democracy.

Senate votes to make small cut to food stamps

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:02:04 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Tuesday to keep a $400 million annual cut - or roughly a half of 1 percent - to the food stamp program as part of a major five-year farm bill.

Apple's Cook faces Senate questions on taxes

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:49:19 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Senate dragged Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, into the debate over the U.S. tax code Tuesday, grilling CEO Tim Cook over allegations that its Irish subsidiaries help the company avoid billions in U.S. taxes.

White House: Reporters shouldn't be prosecuted

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:43:39 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama believes journalists shouldn't be prosecuted for doing their jobs, the White House said Tuesday, showing solidarity with First Amendment advocates alarmed by a pair of high-profile federal probes into national security leaks.

Senate panel approves weapons for Syrian rebels

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:25:54 -0400

WASHINGTON - A Senate panel voted on Tuesday to provide weapons to rebels battling the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the first time lawmakers have endorsed the aggressive U.S. military step of arming the opposition in the 2-year-old civil war.

AP Sources: Obama ok punting gay immigration idea

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:34:12 -0400

WASHINGTON - Two people familiar with the Senate immigration deliberations say the White House has suggested to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy that it would be best to put off a controversy over gay marriage until a bill goes before the full Senate.

China's Xi will meet Obama earlier than expected

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:56:39 -0400

BEIJING - China's new leader Xi Jinping will confer with President Barack Obama next month in California, months earlier than expected, as both sides seek to stem a drift in relations, troubled by issues from cyberspying to North Korea.

AP source: Treasury told WH of IRS disclosure plan

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:42:05 -0400

WASHINGTON - A Treasury official says the department told the White House twice that the IRS was preparing to make public its targeting of conservative political groups.

GW says new gym floor will feature DC landmarks

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:04:48 -0400

WASHINGTON - George Washington University is adding images of District of Columbia landmarks to the floor of the gym where the school's volleyball and basketball teams play.

Military Bowl moving from DC to Annapolis

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:31:27 -0400

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland - Military Bowl organizers announced Monday that the game will move this year from Washington's RFK Stadium to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, placing the sixth annual game in a setting designed to honor service members about 30 miles from the nation's capital.

Gov't presses ahead on another leak case

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:01:02 -0400

WASHINGTON - In another case of the Obama administration investigating classified information improperly disclosed to reporters, the government is prosecuting a State Department expert on North Korea in a probe that appears to step into uncharted territory - by declaring that a journalist is committing a crime in disclosing leaked information.

Education Department gives 3 more states waivers

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:14:50 -0400

WASHINGTON - Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced on Monday that three more states would join the ranks of those given permission to ignore parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law in favor of their own school improvement plans.

Carney: Senior White House staff knew of IRS probe

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:53:07 -0400

WASHINGTON - The White House says White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler was first informed about an audit of the IRS' inappropriate targeting of conservative groups on April 24 and that she notified senior staff, including Denis McDonough, the chief of staff to President Barack Obama. White House press secretary Jay Carney says Ruemmler "appropriately" decided not to tell Obama at the time because the audit was ongoing.

GOP ponders how to capitalize on Obama's woes

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:31:28 -0400

WASHINGTON - The scandals dogging President Barack Obama are a political gift to Republicans, who could use some good luck after recent election losses. It's not clear, however, how Republicans can best capitalize on Democrats' woes, legislatively or politically.

AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:04:46 -0400

WASHINGTON - The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government's secret seizure of two months of reporters' phone records "unconstitutional" and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department.

Crapo's campaign suffered from poor controls

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:34:57 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - As William Corbett was preparing a final federal elections disclosure for his boss, U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, in October 2008, he said there was something important he wasn't told.

Nikiski student gets national honor

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:07:30 -0400

KENAI, Alaska - A Nikiski Middle-High School student has been recognized as one of the nation's top scholars and will be honored with a medallion for her accomplishments in Washington, D.C, in June.

Obama urged to make economy a bigger, bolder topic

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:17:07 -0400

WASHINGTON - Five months into President Barack Obama's second term, allies and former top aides worry that his overarching goal of economic opportunity has been diminished, partly drowned out by controversies seized upon by Republicans in an effort to weaken him.

Obama agenda marches on despite controversies

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:49:43 -0400

WASHINGTON - Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.

OAS drug study eyes marijuana legalization

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:58:25 -0400

LIMA, Peru - An Organization of American States study released Friday is calling for a serious discussion on legalizing marijuana.