Jim DeMint

15 GOP lawmakers join Democrats in rejecting Senate earmark ban. The Senate on Tuesday easily killed a move by conservative Republicans to temporarily ban senators from earmarking spending bills with back-home projects like roads, water projects and grants to local governments.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday he will nominate a retired Army officer with intelligence community experience to lead aviation security efforts amid concerns about passenger planes being bombed or hijacked.

Obama wants a former Army senior intelligence officer to lead TSA. President Barack Obama said he wants a former senior Army official with a career in intelligence to lead the Transportation Security Administration.

In an age of rant, the anti-government anger of the masses can conceal hate that turns violent. The river of discontent running through America turned toxic in the fevered mind of the Pentagon shooter and others of his ilk. In a culture awash in conspiracy theories and raw anger at government, they are lone wolves who find a sense of community for their hate ? yet act alone.

Senate investigators' Toyota connections at a glance. Several senators on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which held a hearing Tuesday to investigate Toyota's safety issues and recall, have connections to the Japanese automaker.

Senators: Airline pilots exhausted from long commutes undermine safety, FAA should act. Senators are demanding that federal regulators do something about airline pilots who regularly make exhausting commutes of hundreds ? and sometimes thousands ? of miles to work.

Clinton laments domestic political disputes over nominees hurt America overseas. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton complained Wednesday that domestic political battles are hurting the president's foreign policy goals and damaging America's image abroad.

Union moves to represent airport screeners before government OKs collective bargaining rights. The nation's largest federal employee union pushed ahead Monday with efforts to represent about 40,000 airport screeners even though the government has not given them collective bargaining rights.

Running against GOP establishment, Rubio, Hayworth find allies among conservative activists. Marco Rubio and J.D. Hayworth have different styles and different backgrounds, and they're from opposite sides of the country. But both are hoping to win Senate seats by tapping into the energy of conservatives to defeat big-name, establishment-backed Republicans.

Fired-up conservatives assail Obama, but inner divisions could hamper November election gains. Conservatives seem more fired up than they've been in years, rallying against President Barack Obama. But energy alone won't herald a Republican revolution, and the excitement pulsing through the GOP base masks disputes and divisions the party faces ahead of critical midterm elections.

Several prominent social conservatives have bailed out of this year's CPAC convention because of the presence of a group of gay Republicans . Several prominent social conservatives have bailed out of this year's CPAC convention because of the presence of a group of gay Republicans. The three-day convention got started Thursday at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC and will feature such anti-gay figures as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, media personality Ann Coulter, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Conservative media personality Glenn Beck is the event's keynote speaker. Liberty University Law School, the Christian-based university founded by the late Jerry Falwell, backed out of the event after it was announced that the recently formed gay Republican group GOProud was a co-sponsor. The group's leader, Jimmy LaSalvia, will participate in a panel discussion Saturday morning on

Democrats say they never saw it coming, but the breakdown of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was abetted by their own mistakes.

Analysis: In health care breakdown, Obama gave free rein to Congress as public unease grew. Democrats say they never saw it coming, but the breakdown of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was abetted by their own mistakes.

Democratic senator says health care bill 'on life support' after Obama fails to break logjam. President Barack Obama's health care appeal failed to break the congressional gridlock Thursday, dimming hopes for millions of uninsured Americans. Democrats stared down a political nightmare ? getting clobbered for voting last year for ambitious, politically risky bills, yet having nothing to show for it in November.

President Barack Obama's health care appeal failed to break the congressional gridlock Thursday, dimming hopes for millions of uninsured Americans. Democrats stared down a political nightmare ? getting clobbered for voting last year for ambitious, politically risky bills, yet having nothing to show for it in November.

President Barack Obama's health care appeal failed to break the congressional gridlock Thursday, dimming hopes for millions of uninsured Americans. Democrats stared down a political nightmare ? getting clobbered for voting last year for ambitious, politically risky bills, yet having nothing to show for it in November.

WASHINGTON - Administration officials said yesterday that President Obama would emphasize economic issues in his State of the Union speech on Wednesday but that he would also continue pressing Congress to complete its yearlong effort to enact health care legislation. The officials acknowledged, however, that the bill's fate is uncertain and the final version may bear little resemblance to the proposal Democrats had been on the verge of passing when Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts Senate election gave Republicans the 41st vote they needed to block it. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, speaking on NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' said Democratic leaders are trying to gauge ``what the climate is, what's the art of the possible.'' Fanning out to defend Obama's first- year record on the Sunday news shows yesterday, White House aides blamed the Democrats' loss of the seat - held for nearly half a century by Edward M. Kennedy - on voter frustration with the economy and anger about special-in

WASHINGTON - Administration officials said yesterday that President Obama would emphasize economic issues in his State of the Union speech on Wednesday but that he would also continue pressing Congress to complete its yearlong effort to enact health care legislation. The officials acknowledged, however, that the bill's fate is uncertain and the final version may bear little resemblance to the proposal Democrats had been on the verge of passing when Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts Senate election gave Republicans the 41st vote they needed to block it. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, speaking on NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' said Democratic leaders are trying to gauge ``what the climate is, what's the art of the possible.'' Fanning out to defend Obama's first- year record on the Sunday news shows yesterday, White House aides blamed the Democrats' loss of the seat - held for nearly half a century by Edward M. Kennedy - on voter frustration with the economy and anger about special-in

A Bernanke defeat could raise risk of 'double dip' recession, but approval seems more likely. A defeat of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's quest for another four-year term could raise the risk of a "double dip" recession if political jousting over a successor were to drag on for months, economists warn.

Key senators assure Obama that embattled Bernanke will win second term as Fed chairman. President Barack Obama phoned Senate allies Saturday as two key senators predicted that embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be confirmed for a second term.