Breaking News

Former U.S.

New Mexico has bested all but two other states and the District of Columbia on the math portion of the biennial National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), posting improvements among fourth- and eighth-graders. Known as the nation’s report card, NAEP far better gauges student subject comprehension than state standardized tests and is often used by researchers to point out the somber state of K-12 education in the U.S. The national average among fourth graders was 240; New Mexico students posted average scores of 233.

From a statement just released by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.): First, we are sending AIG a letter asking them to renegotiate the contracts that

The American Liberty Alliance has pulled out of the Tea Party Convention; it had been a gold level co-sponsor. ALA’s Eric Odom explains why, citing concerns

So the rumors were true. Moments ago, Defense Secretary Robert Gates officially announced that Marine Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant, will replace

Two Democratic lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would authorize federally-funded abortions for women in the military who have been impregnated as the

As Presidents Obama and Karzai emphasize the strength of their countries’ relationship, a source in Kandahar has a bleaker take on the war in Afghanistan.

ST. LOUIS -- Speaking to a packed hotel ballroom at the conservative How to Take Back America Conference, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said that exposes of

This morning, I wrote a quick update on the sweeping child-nutrition bill that might pass Congress soon, and the standoff on its pay-for, a cut to food stamps,

Here’s a quick recap of the midterm results from last night that have implications for energy/climate/environmental policy. It was mostly bad news for House

Several cities that planned to opt out of Secure Communities, an initiative that leads to illegal immigrant deportations, were surprised when federal officials announced the program was mandatory. But local officials aren’t about to give up.

In one technique, the detainee’s weight is borne by his legs and feet during sleep deprivation, ensuring that he had to keep awake, for if he los his balance from exhaustion he would feel the restraining tension of the shackles.

One of the major components of the post-Enron accounting reforms, and laughable so, was a provision requiring that all CEOs sign off on their company’s

Last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) gave a short talk and Q&A at at the National Press Club about his book Saving Freedom. DeMint told a room of around

Conservative blogger Tom Maguire takes issue with my story today, specifically the part about Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign checking the

In an effort to cut $58 billion from the federal budget for the second half of Fiscal Year 2011, House Republicans released a budget proposal late last week, one provision of which would mean steep cuts for food safety programs at both the FDA and USDA. Critics argue the reductions could cause a major hold-up on recently enacted food safety laws. # According to the Republican plan, 14 percent, or $3.2 billion, would be chopped from the budgets of the USDA and FDA.

When I ran into Howard Wolfson, the former message czar for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign, at the Democratic National Convention last week, I asked him

It came as little surprise when Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) yesterday moved to kill efforts to lower seniors’ drug costs by

Here is the full Gulf coast long-term recovery report, written by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. I wrote about the report earlier today here. According

The former Clinton-era State Dept. official shares with the president-elect a frustration with conventional foreign-policy thinking. Impatient with ideology, she focuses on transnational threats, challenges and opportunities -- befitting the emphasis of a new generation of global strategists. Her experience with Africa has taught her invaluable lessons.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the health reform bill unveiled today by House Democrats comes in under the $900 billion, 10-year threshold set