As the nation prepares to mark Memorial Day, outrage has been building on Capitol Hill and beyond over the military's failure to repair a system that has placed service members in more danger of sexual assault than of battlefield injury.
The presidential salute actually breaks with military decorum and was started by Ronald Reagan in 1981.
President Obama banned enhanced interrogation techniques, but he's largely avoided discussing whether the tactic ever produced valuable information. He might not be able to avoid it forever: The CIA is preparing an official response to a report that concluded the techniques were worthless.
Seriously, with E.W. Jackson in Virginia and Anthony Weiner in New York, what more do NPR's Ron Elving and Ken Rudin need for their podcast? OK, maybe throw in the ongoing IRS controversy, Lois Lerner pleading the Fifth, an immigration deal coming out of Senate Judiciary and a new mayor in LA.
The partisan war over judicial nominees has accelerated in recent years. It took nearly a year to win Senate confirmation for Sri Srinivasan to the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, though he had no formal opposition.
Rep. Marcia Fudge, the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, says any immigration overhaul significantly boosting the numbers of highly skilled immigrants could negatively affect African-Americans with similar skills.
President Obama spoke at the National Defense University on Thursday about his views on the next stage in combating terrorism. Read his speech as released by the White House.
Abortion opponents are hoping the recent murder conviction of Pennsylvania abortion provider Kermit Gosnell will lead to more scrutiny of second trimester abortions. They're working on a bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy — nationwide.
The state is turning down an estimated $100 billion in federal funds that would have paid for health care coverage for more than 1 million poor Texans. For Gov. Rick Perry and the state's Republican-dominated Legislature, the potential appearance of supporting "Obamacare" was too much.
The Chicago school board voted to close dozens of schools, despite community protests that the closings disproportionately affect minority students. Now the teachers union and community activists want to change the system and oust the elected officials who disagreed with them.
BOSTON — Lt. Gov. Tim Murray headlined Worcester week in Boston, becoming the first lieutenant governor since Secretary of State John Kerry to step down from the post mid-term.
BOSTON — Gomez objected to a Markey Web video juxtaposing a picture of Gomez with Osama bin Laden.
A special election for the state Senate seat in the First Suffolk District is next Tuesday. Republican candidate, Joe Ureneck, is hoping voters are willing to look beyond party lines.
President Barack Obama is signing the Congressional Gold Medal Bill today to posthumously honor the four little girls killed in one of the worst acts of violence in the civil rights era.
We discuss the week’s top stories, including the fatal shooting of a man in Orlando with connections to Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, an increasingly ugly Senate race, and the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray.
BOSTON — Mayor Thomas Menino wields a potent political organization in Boston that could help Markey’s get-out-the-vote effort in the June 25 election.
Oklahoma’s monster tornado. The president on counterterrorism. A vote on gay Boy Scouts.
BOSTON — Both Ed Markey and Gabriel Gomez are courting Stephen Lynch primary voters, and they are up for grabs.
BOSTON — An affluent state spends less than it might.
BOSTON — Californian environmental activists are descending on Boston in an effort to prevent Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez from winning the seat.
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