US Politics News

A minimalist U.S. budget deal that congressional negotiators hope to reach in coming days will do almost nothing to tame rising federal debt, but it could usher in a nearly two-year fiscal truce, minimizing the risk of future funding crises and government shutdowns.

Canada is running out of time to offer U.S. President Barack Obama a climate change concession that might clinch the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, as the country's energy industry continues to resist costly curbs on greenhouse gas emissions.

The share of the unemployed who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more-a group known as the long-term unemployed-has swelled over the past few years to its largest level since World War II .

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan , R-Wis., left, speaks with Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday Nov. 13, 2013.

Virginia Republicans are in the midst of a three-day gathering to sort through what happened in their across-the-board losses at the ballot box in 2013.

FILE: Dec. 6, 2013: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks at the Detroit Economic Club held at the Motor City Casino, in Detroit, Mich.

President Nicolas Maduro faces his first electoral test since being elected nearly eight months ago, as Venezuelans go to the polls on Sunday to judge his government's response to their nation's mounting economic troubles.

President Obama on Saturday told an influential audience in Washington that his pursuit of a comprehensive diplomatic deal to end Iran's development of a nuclear weapon is as likely to fail as succeed, but he defended it as the best option to protect U.S. and Israeli national security with respect to the issue.

Video: Lawmakers can't seem to agree on anything these days. Except ... sugar? Here's how a relatively small industry manages to win big in Washington.

Millions hunkered down for icy conditions expected to last through the weekend from Texas to Ohio to Tennessee as a cold snap covered much of the nation, knocking out power and making roads treacherous Saturday.

South Africa is readying itself for the arrival of a flood of world leaders for the memorial service and funeral for Nelson Mandela as thousands of mourners continued to flock to sites around the country Saturday to pay homage to the freedom struggle icon.

President Barack Obama, battered by weeks of turmoil over the malfunctioning HealthCare.Gov website, turned to a fresh item on his agenda on Saturday as he pressured Republicans in Congress to extend benefits for jobless Americans.

It's budget time again: Lawmakers from the House and Senate are trying to nail down an agreement to keep the government funded before they leave for the holidays on Dec. 13. And, while nothing's final just yet, a deal to avert another shutdown may be in reach.

Former U.S. Republican Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on March 15, 2013.

As millions of people shop online for new insurance plans under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, about 10 percent of applications to the main website are not being accurately transmitted, a government spokeswoman said on Friday.

Wreaths Across America, the group behind the annual holiday wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, will lay an evergreen wreath at the Capitol on Dec. 9, with a Civil Air Patrol honor guard standing over it all day.

U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran will run for re-election in 2014, setting the stage for a bruising primary fight that will pit the six-term senator against the more conservative wing of his party.

Speaker John Boehner's decision to hire a well-known advocate of immigration reform is raising concerns among the House's most ardent opponents of legislation.

U.S. officials say efforts have stalled to capture about a dozen people secretly charged in the 2012 attack on the American compound in Benghazi that claimed the lives of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

President Barack Obama said on Thursday he expects a blue-ribbon panel to soon propose reforms that both parties can back to address concerns over the long waiting times some American voters experienced at the polls in 2012.