President Obama will make his encore on the German stage with a speech at Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday, returning as a mere mortal rather than the rock star who captivated a country looking for a transcendent U.S. political figure five years ago. In 2008, then-candidate...

The Senate Tuesday defeated two amendments aimed at strengthening border security in the “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill, including a provision that would have required a double-layer fence on the nation’s southern border. The back-to-back defeat of the two provisions was a blow...

Vice President Joe Biden, angrily denouncing opponents of gun control, predicted Tuesday that senators who helped block an expansion of background checks for gun sales two months ago would pay a political price for their votes. “I would say to my friends in the House and Senate, the country...

As the Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting to determine monetary policy, there are signs cropping up that the markets are confused about what Chairman Ben Bernanke and company are saying  – or unconvinced that they will follow through with their promises. For the past six months, the...

Sen. Ted Cruz wasted little time in reacting to Monday's Supreme Court rejection of an Arizona law that demands would-be voters prove they are citizens, filing legislation hours later to allow the measure to return. The high court voted 7-2 to throw out Arizona's voter-approved requirement...

  The National Security Agency’s power to scrutinize the nation’s telephone records have helped to thwart more than 50 potential terrorist plots, including plans to bomb both the New York City subway system and the New York Stock Exchange, officials said Tuesday as they defended the...