Breaking News

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is expected to announce his candidacy for President Monday, several media outlets, including USA Today , are reporting, and that announcement could very take place in Iowa. Pawlenty is scheduled to be in Des Moines Monday morning, Eric Woolson, a senior consultant for Pawlenty confirmed

Most of the funding for the National Organization for Marriage, a 501(c)(4) grassroots group dedicated to opposing same-sex marriage, comes from a few

Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) bill overhauling the regulation of banks and financial firms has passed, 59 to 39. In short, the bill makes the financial system

It’s a historic night for South Carolina Republicans -- they nominated candidates who broke significant gender and racial hurdles, while a third incumbent

Based on reports from the D.C. media, it’s hard to judge whether freshman U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Corpus Christi) is filthy-rich, neck-deep in debt, or

Noel Hammatt has a bone to pick with the billions of federal and state dollars being thrown at poor kids in under-served communities. Put simply, too much

John Weaver and John Yob, two strategists for John McCain’s 2008 bid, are joining up with Democratic consultant Tad Devine to work for Tim Cahill,

The organizers of Friday’s prayer rally at Ford Field have targeted not only Muslims but also Freemasons, claiming that the group’s practices allow the Biblical false god Baal to control parts of the United States. Rachel Tabachnick at Talk2Action has been listening to the frequent conference calls that Transformation Michigan, the key local organizing group, has been hosting and reports on a pre-rally planning call from September.

Interest groups are already lining up to use the Supreme Court’s decision today in Ricci v. DeStefano in their favor, whether they support or oppose the

Despite improving economic indicators in GDP, consumer spending and business optimism, the United States’ unemployment rate remains high -- flirting with double

Charter school champion The Walton Foundation has released its 2010 giving breakdown for the group’s education donations. Seven geographic areas received

I see that Doug Hoffman has un-conceded in the NY-23 special election after some prodding from Glenn Beck. Unfortunately for the Conservative Party candidate,

A new abortion bill in the Iowa Senate could give a Nebraska abortion doctor a loophole to open a freestanding clinic in Iowa, in spite of Republican efforts to stop him. Senate Study Bill 1212 , sponsored by Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, would allow abortion doctors who want to practice late term procedures in Iowa to apply for a certificate of need before being allowed to open a clinic

Legal bloggers are abuzz about Sen. Arlen Specter’s (D-Pa.) swipe at Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in an exacting letter (pdf) Specter sent to

As with every year, the 2011 Minnesota State Fair will feature plenty of things on sticks — mainly food items — but one object may stand out: Condoms.

In a powerful and incisive show focused on the murder of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, Rachel Maddow interviewed George Washington University

Congress allotted $4 million on Friday to study and combat the outbreak of white-nose syndrome — a mysterious and menacing disease that is killing off North American bats by the millions. White-nose syndrome was first linked to a bat cave near Albany, New York, in 2006 and it has since spread to 16 states and four Canadian provinces, and the fungus that causes the disease has been found on asymptomatic bats in another three states. The little brown bat, as well as the northern long-eared bat and the eastern small-footed bat, are all potential candidates for federal endangered species listings, and the U.S

Deep in Karen DeYoung’s piece today in The Washington Post about what ongoing political instability in Pakistan means for its relationship with the Obama

Nearly all of Georgia’s immigration-enforcement state law, better known as H.B. 87, goes into effect today in the midst of protests over its provisions. # This week, a federal judge in Georgia granted a preliminary injunction against key provisions of the law that would allow police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects and a measure punishing those who knowingly harbor illegal immigrants.

It was announced Wednesday that Colorado is one nine states to be eligible to apply for the third round of Race to the Top funds to augment state local funding for Colorado schools. “Today’s announcement is good news – potentially even very good news – for Colorado,” Gov

This will shock only those who’ve never had to haggle with an insurance company, but a former employee of an insurance giant gave damning testimony yesterday

The Interior Department just sent over its statement reacting to a judge’s decision today to uphold a Bush-era rule making it easier for mining companies to

The Minnesota Independent covered a variety of issues this week, from in-depth looks at U.S.