Politics & Government

Oakland and Berkeley demonstrators have broken into stores and blocked freeways and rail lines, part of a movement born of frustration about police shootings in Staten Island, N.Y., and Ferguson, Mo.

Utilities say consumers who put solar panels on their roofs should help pay to maintain the lines that carry the power they sell back into the system. Panel leasing firms say that's anti-competitive.

Black lawmakers at the North Carolina General Assembly say they'll file legislation next year requiring some or all law enforcement officers to wear body cameras.

The 1,600-page omnibus spending bill includes language that raises contribution limits to the national party committees, bringing them above the realm of merely wealthy donors. Under the provision, donors can give a party a total of $778,000 — each year, an eight-fold increase.

Material tacked onto the authorization bill adds 250,000 acres of new wilderness, expands national parks, and moves toward a national women's history museum. 'Ethically, it stinks,' says Sen. Coburn.

The Senate's "torture report" finds that the CIA conducted brutal interrogations of detainees in the years after 9/11, misled elected leaders, and got little useful information from the harsh tactics.

John Rizzo, who spent six years as acting general counsel for the CIA, says that while he believes intelligence gains justified the agency's interrogations, he understands those who feel otherwise.