Breaking News

Michigan State Police Capt. Gary Nix says troopers arrested 11 people Wednesday night during protests at the state Capitol.

Please make it this wonderful FireDogLake exchange between Rand’s Seth Jones -- author of a new book tracing how the Afghanistan war became a fiasco --

First she exposes her ignorance on interrogations at CPAC. Now this: There is no polite way to put this: Obama’s incompetence is getting people

Calculated Risk has an excellent roundup today of local efforts to fight vacancies and blight caused by banks that abandon their foreclosed homes. Cities and

The United States has officially handed over control of the Green Zone back to the Iraqis. From The Washington Post: When the clock struck midnight on

The day after voting his nomination out of committee, the full Senate confirmed Leon Panetta last night as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Immigrants rights advocates in Michigan say they are hopeful about reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has ended a policy of arbitrarily searching mass transit in the interior of the country.

Even as Senate Finance Committee Democrats are patting themselves on the back over a damn fine cost estimate for their enormous health reform proposal,

The 12-member congressional super committee has been tasked with removing $1.5 trillion from the national budget, and the Center for Responsive Politics has taken notice of Washington’s revolving door and is crunching numbers in order to provide a more accurate picture of who might be influencing the committee members. As the New York Times reported , based on the Center’s data , more than 100 former staffers of the members have moved on to lobbying entities. In addition, currently about a dozen former lobbyists are now employed in key congressional positions that may be called upon to help with research and positions.

Today’s news that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) cut a deal with Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) to remove the bailout fund -- a $50 billion pool taxed from banks to

It turns out that expanding your contracts with the government after killing people and paying hush money can attract congressional scrutiny. The New York

In advance of a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the Department of Homeland Security Wednesday morning, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has

A conservative front group is calling on the Federal Election Commission to look into Emily’s List-endorsed Lois Frankel’s campaign finances.

OK, it’s possible to read too much into this news. Or, more properly, news. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin recently welcomed the crew from Orange County

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving senator in American history and a steadfast fighter for West Virginia’s interests, died early this morning at

Nell Nere sat on the steps of the Capitol Thursday night, hours before her state government shut down indefinitely. Robert Benson of Hugo (left) and Nell Nere, an employee at the Department of Labor and Industry. Photo: Kathy Easthagen Nere, a worker in the state’s Department of Labor and Industry and a member of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, began chatting with a student representative from Minnesota College Republicans about the numbers behind the budget dispute that has caused a historic shutdown

Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) changed his party affiliation last year from Republican to Democrat ahead of this year’s difficult primary race. Republican Gov.

The prospects for a public option -- a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers -- appeared dim after Senate Democrats decided they could

The Huntsville Times reports on a speech made on Saturday by Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R-Auburn), in which the co-sponsor of the state’s new