Politics

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a news conference at City Hall on April 25. The billionaire mayor has been spending from his personal fortune to provide a "political counterweight to the NRA," his policy adviser says.

Bloomberg Aims His Money At Gun Control Opponents

3:57pm April 27, 2013

by Ailsa Chang

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems determined to become the formidable adversary the NRA has never had. The billionaire mayor is spending from his personal fortune to help defeat lawmakers who voted against gun control proposals last week. His first target: Democrat Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

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Politics & Government

Congress Acts On Flight Delays, What's Next?

3:57pm April 27, 2013

It appears Congress decided not to leave town while airport delays pile up. The Senate miraculously approved a measure to restore funding for air traffic controllers, and the House followed suit on Friday. Considering this turn of events, could other sequester interventions be in the offing?

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Politics & Government

The Lollipop War

6:59pm April 26, 2013

by Zoe Chace

Candy makers and sugar farmers have been fighting for years in Congress. The sugar farmers are winning.

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Politics & Government

Presidents Overlook Differences At Bush Center Opening

6:59pm April 26, 2013

by Don Gonyea

All five living presidents were together in Dallas, Texas, Thursday, for the opening of the George W. Bush presidential library and museum. The new $250 million library is on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

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FAA Expected To Gain Flexibility On Budget Cuts

6:59pm April 26, 2013

The Senate has passed a bill to give the Department of Transportation more flexibility in how it makes the mandatory cuts of the sequester. Hundreds of flights were delayed this week after the FAA furloughed air traffic controllers, setting off a political storm.

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Last week, FBI investigators and a Watertown, Mass., police officer investigate the scene near the boat where bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was hiding. Democrats have argued that the way the government responded to the Boston attacks makes a case for

Politics & Government

Democrats Invoke Boston, West To Defend Government's Role

5:23pm April 26, 2013

by Ari Shapiro

Democrats are using the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas and the Boston Marathon bombings to argue that the government has an important role to play in keeping Americans safe. People who want smaller government say liberals are reaching the wrong conclusions.

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Pressure Builds On White House To Intervene In Syria

4:47pm April 26, 2013

by Tom Bowman

The White House says it still needs to corroborate information it has received that suggests Syria's government has used chemical weapons. That act would cross a "red line" drawn by President Obama. At that point, the question becomes: What might the U.S. do in response? The Pentagon is already planning.

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Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. (left), leads a news conference about the Marketplace Fairness Act on Tuesday. The legislation would provide states with the authority to require out-of-state retailers to collect and remit taxes on purchases shipped into the

Politics & Government

Shifting Retail Landscape Tilts Support For Online Sales Tax

2:46am April 26, 2013

by Yuki Noguchi

The U.S. Senate seems ready to let states collect sales tax from more online retailers. Support for the measure has increased as businesses have converged their online and offline sales. "We're looking for consistency" in how taxes are collected, says the owner of a St. Louis pet store chain.

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Should Air Traffic Controllers Be Included In Furloughs?

2:46am April 26, 2013

by Tamara Keith

As air travelers grumble about delayed flights, congressional Republicans have a new talking point: It's all President Obama's fault. They argue that he could make cuts in less critical parts of the FAA budget, but wants to inconvenience the public to force Congress to undo sequestration.

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Politics & Government

House Panel Examines Government Loan To Fisker Automotive

2:46am April 26, 2013

by Sonari Glinton

The founders of financially troubled Fisker Automotive were grilled by Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The electric car maker received a $529 million loan from the Department of Energy in 2009. The carmaker is now on the edge of collapse. Fisker has laid off most of its employees and hired bankruptcy advisers.

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