Obama’s address to pitch tax proposals to help middle class
By JULIE PACE President Barack Obama is turning to his biggest television audience of the year to pitch tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and put the new Republican Congress…
National governments
Russia appeals for calm as crisis forces it to cut budget
By JAMES ELLINGWORTH and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Russian government officials appealed for calm on Wednesday after predicting budget cuts and a further surge in inflation as the country faces its worst…
Ready, set, showdown: New GOP leader, Obama lining up fights
By CONNIE CASS Not wasting any time, new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Barack Obama are setting course for showdowns over health care, a big oil pipeline, immigration…
House rule sets up election-year battle over Social Security
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER Buried in new rules that will govern the House for the next two years is a provision that could force an explosive battle over Social Security’s finances…
Jury selection to get underway in Boston Marathon attacks
By DENISE LAVOIE People who lost loved ones or were injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings are clamoring for justice as jury selection gets underway in one of the…
GOP focus for Congress: Cut deficit, don’t stumble
By ALAN FRAM In the first Republican-dominated Congress to confront President Barack Obama, GOP leaders will focus on bolstering the economy and cutting the budget — and oh yes, avoiding…
PASADENA, Texas emerges as new battleground on voting rights
By PAUL J. WEBER When the movie “Urban Cowboy” made this refinery town famous in 1980, the honkytonk Gilley’s was booming and wannabe cowpokes from the white Houston suburbs flocked…
Boehner: Resignation of NY Rep. Michael Grimm ‘honorable’
By MATTHEW DALY and LARRY NEUMEISTER House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that N.Y. Rep. Michael Grimm made the right decision by resigning from Congress after pleading guilty to tax…