Politics

President Gerald Ford was born 100 years ago Sunday. He is best known for pardoning President Richard Nixon, but a little-known story from his college days might also serve to define his character.

Election officials in New York City, worried that electronic voting machines won't work in September's primary, are going back in time and back to warehouses to bring out their antique, lever-operated ancestors.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon argues that it's time to retire the phrase "this wouldn't be a scandal in Europe" when referring to American politicians embroiled in sex scandals. From former President Bill Clinton to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, such scandals no longer seem to end careers.

The race to succeed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is heating up. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a Bloomberg ally, has long been considered the front-runner. But recent polls show the race tightening, with fellow Democrat Anthony Weiner making a strong challenge.

A new U.S. facility in Afghanistan offers 64,000 square feet of space for more than 1,000 military personnel. Finished last November, it cost tens of millions of dollars. It will never be used for its intended purpose, a military inspector says, and it could be demolished.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, once viewed as having 2016 ambitions, is not having a good year. He's at the center of state and federal investigations involving $145,000 in questionable financial assistance from a political donor whose company McDonnell and his wife took steps to promote. That includes $15,000 to help pay for their daughter's wedding — a disclosure made by the former chef at the Executive Mansion, himself accused of stealing food.

House Republicans made a second run at passing a farm bill on Thursday, weeks after seeing dozens of their own party vote against it the first time.

The conservative Club for Growth is throwing its weight behind a GOP candidate challenging longtime Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho in 2014. The endorsement grew out of a website the club launched asking voters to suggest Republicans from safe seats who they deem not conservative enough.

The Florida senator was supposed to be one of the emerging leaders of the Republican Party. But his leadership role on the immigration overhaul has brought a lot of criticism from his party's anti-amnesty base. His experience illustrates the divides in the current GOP.

House Republicans huddled behind closed doors to consider their options on immigration on Wednesday. The Senate passed an immigration overhaul that includes a path to citizenship, but conservatives in the House reject the plan.