Senate panel approves immigration bill

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved far-reaching immigration legislation that gives a chance at citizenship to millions living in the country illegally.

More Obama aides knew of IRS audit; Obama not told

WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior advisers knew in late April that an impending report was likely to say the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups, President Obama’s spokesman disclosed Monday, expanding the circle of top officials who kn…

Fitz Blog: Scandalrama days

To stop leaks the White House recently created a plumbers unit and in the name of in the name of national security called G. Gordon Liddy out of retirement to serve as a special counsel to the President. Liddy said, "I'm happy to be back at work doing what I love.I feel like a kid again!"

Obama taps Gabrielle Giffords to help pick Fulbright scholars

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is tapping former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for the board that selects recipients for Fulbright scholarships.

Obama tries to stem controversies, but GOP is unsatisfied

WASHINGTON — President Obama, seeking to regain his footing amid controversies hammering the White House, named a temporary chief for the scandal-marred Internal Revenue Service Thursday and pressed Congress to approve new security money to prevent another Benghazi-style terrorist attack.

Fitz Blog: Easter in the news

Headlines from around the world

Senate vote: OK $85 billion cuts, avert shutdown

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved legislation Wednesday to lock in $85 billion in widely decried spending cuts aimed at restraining soaring federal deficits — and to avoid a government shutdown just a week away.

Obama talks of resuming White House tours for kids

WASHINGTON — President Obama is opening the door to the possibility of a resumption of White House tours for student groups amid some confusion over who made the ultimate decision to cancel them.

Arizona braces for federal budget cuts

PHOENIX — Dirty bathrooms, closed trails and longer lines at Grand Canyon National Park. Furloughs for thousands of civilian defense workers. Reduced health care access.

Tucson girl invited to Obama's State of the Union speech

While the rest of Tucson sixth-grader Haile Thomas’ classmates have to crack open the books to learn about history, she gets to experience it first hand.

Former first dog Barney Bush dies at 12

Former First Dog Barney Bush — a black Scottish terrier known for chasing golf balls and taking America on video tours of the White House — has passed away after a battle with lymphoma. He was 12.

2 Arizona Dems in Las Vegas for Obama’s immigration speech

PHOENIX — Two leading Democrats in Arizona’s legislature headed to Las Vegas to hear the president’s speech on immigration reform.

White House: Texas must remain part of the US

EL PASO, Texas — Bad news for thousands of people who wanted to see Texas secede: The state is still in the U.S.

Officials: US may leave no troops in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — Administration officials said publicly for the first time Tuesday that the U.S. might leave no American troops in Afghanistan after the end of combat in December 2014, an option that defies the view of Pentagon officials who say thousands of U.S. troops could be needed there to …

Obama admonishes McCain, GOP over criticism of U.N. Amb. Rice

WASHINGTON — Setting an unflinching tone for his second term, President Barack Obama on Wednesday accused two top Republicans senators of lobbing outrageous criticism at his United Nations ambassador instead of confronting him directly over a deadly attack on Americans in Libya.

Fitz Blog: Random piffle

I had to laugh when Jay Leno said, "President Obama is brewing his own beer in the White House. Actually, the White House beer is a lot like the Obama administration – great buzz, weak finish."

White House told of Libyan attack claim within 2 hours

WASHINGTON — Two hours after the U.S. Consulate came under attack in Benghazi, Libya, the White House was told that a militant group was claiming responsibility for the violence that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

McCain: Time for Obama to feel political heat

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A fresh-faced Barack Obama buried Republican John McCain in anti-incumbent sentiment four years ago. Now the 2008 presidential nominee says it’s the president’s turn to feel the heat.

9/11 attacks play small role in election

WASHINGTON — For the first time in a decade, the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars that resulted are not the focus of the presidential campaign.

Lots of good news, heartening to read about recently

It gets our workday off to a good start when we check the letters-to-the-editor box and find a note from a reader thanking another Tucsonan for a good deed.