'Days of Rambo over' in military special ops

Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Declaring "the days of Rambo are over," a top general said Tuesday that cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hu…

NSA: Surveillance programs foiled Wall Street bomb plot

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate…

Survey: College teacher training barely adequate

Philip Elliott The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The nation's teacher-training programs do not adequately prepare would-be educators for the classroom, even as they produce almos…

CBO says 'Gang of 8' bill would help the economy

David Espo and Erica Werner The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Sweeping immigration legislation moving toward a vote in the Senate would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits, the Cong…

Tea-party scrutiny originated in Ohio, says IRS manager

Alan Fram The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - An Internal Revenue Service manager and self-described conservative Republican said the close scrutiny of tea-party groups' tax f…

House votes to cut food stamps by $2 billion

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

The House voted on Wednesday to cut food stamps by $2 billion a year as part of a wide-ranging farm bill.

Oversight board concerned about NSA surveillance

By STEPHEN BRAUN

The chairman of the federal oversight board that President Barack Obama said will meet with him to discuss the National Security Agency's secr…

Senate backs Froman as next trade representative

By JIM ABRAMS

Michael Froman, a senior White House economic adviser and classmate of President Barack Obama at Harvard Law School, on Wednesday won Senate c…

Bipartisan proposal on student loans circulating

By PHILIP ELLIOTT

Students applying for financial aid for the coming school year could find some comfort in a bipartisan student loan compromise taking shape in…

Dem senator presses Pentagon on Guantanamo feeding

By DONNA CASSATA

The force-feeding of terror suspects at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, runs counter to international standards, medical …

US calls out China, Russia over human trafficking

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON

The U.S. accused China and Russia of failing to meet minimum standards in fighting human trafficking, ranking them on a par with North Korea a…

Pruitt: DOJ broke rules in phone records seizure

By JENNIFER C. KERR

The Justice Department violated its own rules when it secretly seized records for thousands of phone calls to and from journalists for The Ass…

Kerry calls Karzai to ease anger on Taliban office

Secretary of State John Kerry called the Afghan president twice in the past 24 hours to ease Hamid Karzai's anger over the way the Taliban ann…

GOP targets high-speed rail, transportation grants

By ANDREW TAYLOR

House Republicans are pushing to eliminate money for high-speed rail and a popular grant program for transportation projects.

Republican Sen. Murkowski supports gay marriage

By HENRY C. JACKSON

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she now supports gay marriage, becoming the third Senate Republican to do so.

Senators seek cost cuts for F-35 fighter jet

By BRADLEY KLAPPER

Senators sought cost-cutting opportunities Wednesday in the Pentagon's $400 billion program for the next-generation F-35, a fighter jet with a…

Capitol's Frederick Douglass statue to be unveiled

By VALERIE BONK

The 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass will once again stand tall in the U.S. Capitol.

Social issues still fire up GOP despite 2012 loss

By CHARLES BABINGTON

Republican lawmakers have a message for those who want the party to soften its emphasis on social conservatism in hopes of reaching a wider na…

Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes

By JIM KUHNHENN

Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to hist…

Tucson-raised transgender candidate could become a first in NYC

By Jennifer Peltz The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Mel Wymore is a typical city council candidate in many ways, campaigning as a community board appointee, ex-PTA chair and founder o…

McCain presses Obama on use of secret email

Jack Gillum The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John McCain on Monday questioned President Obama about his political appointees' use of secret government email a…

Obama might veto farm bill over big cuts in food stamps

Mary Clare Jalonick The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The White House is threatening to veto the House version of a massive, five-year farm bill, saying food-stamp cuts included in th…

Rowhani's 'path of moderation' grounded in pragmatism

The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's newly elected president showcased his reform-leaning image Monday by promising a "path of moderation" that includes grea…

Peña Nieto plans an end to 75-year Pemex monopoly

Eric Martin, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez and Helder Marinho Bloomberg News

MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said Monday he's negotiating support to break the state monopoly over oil and gas explorati…

IRS worker: No political bias against tea party

By Alan Fram The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — An Internal Revenue Service manager and self-described conservative Republican said the close scrutiny of tea-party groups’ tax f…