Poll: Wealthy newcomers lead in Fla. primary races (AP)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:52:52 GMT
AP - Two wealthy newcomers to Florida politics who are self-financing their campaigns have taken double-digit leads in the state's Republican gubernatorial and Democratic Senate primary races, according to a poll released Thursday.
Jury of Rangel's House peers meets in ethics case (AP)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:46:20 GMT

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., gives thumbs up as he gets in the elevator to leave his office for a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 28, 2010.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)AP - A jury of Rep. Charles Rangel's congressional peers is ready to publicly discuss charges of ethical misdeeds. But the political discussions outside the room will be far more significant.


AP source: Intelligence nominee has smooth session (AP)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:57:06 GMT
AP - President Barack Obama's nominee to be chief of U.S. intelligence, James R. Clapper, is expected to be approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee when the panel meets Thursday.
House votes to eliminate cocaine sentencing disparity (McClatchy Newspapers)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:24:00 GMT
McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a historic bill Wednesday that narrows sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine convictions, which civil rights and civil liberties experts say contributed to the disproportionate imprisonment of African-Americans in recent decades.
How did Sharron Angle blow an 11-point lead on Harry Reid in seven weeks? (The Christian Science Monitor)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:11:59 GMT
The Christian Science Monitor - Just a few weeks ago, Senate majority leader Harry Reid seemed headed for political flameout.
Jurors in Blagojevich case enjoy cocoon (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:51:10 GMT

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and his wife Patti, right, arrive at the Federal Court for the beginning of jury instructions in his corruption trial, Wednesday, July 28, 2010, in Chicago. Blagojevich and his brother are accused of scheming to sell or trade President Obama's old Senate seat. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)AP - As jurors retired to deliberate Wednesday in the corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, they entered a cocoon of privacy not all jurors in high-profile cases enjoy.


Top Judiciary Republican calls Kagan 'dangerous' (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:06:19 GMT
AP - The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee is calling Elena Kagan "a dangerous, progressive, political" nominee for the Supreme Court.
Senate energy bill draws widespread criticism (Reuters)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:48:12 GMT

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., center, with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., left, and Director of the White House office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner, talk to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, July 22, 2010. Senate Democrats abandoned plans to pass an energy bill that caps emissions of carbon dioxide, saying Republicans refuse to support the measure.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Reuters - Republicans and some moderate Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday began picking apart a new energy bill that they complained goes too far in holding oil companies responsible for accidents like the massive Gulf of Mexico spill.


Congress narrows gap in cocaine sentences (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:18:53 GMT
AP - Congress on Wednesday changed a quarter-century-old law that has subjected tens of thousands of blacks to long prison terms for crack cocaine convictions while giving far more lenient treatment to those, mainly whites, caught with the powder form of the drug.
Democrats tie Republicans to Tea Party agenda (Reuters)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:17:01 GMT
Reuters - With memories of last year's bitter town hall meetings still fresh, Democrats vowed on Wednesday to go on the offense during the August congressional recess and aggressively link Republicans with the conservative Tea Party movement.
NH GOP Senate front-runner hits a few bumps (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:02:58 GMT

FILE - In this June 7, 2010, file photo, Republican Bill Binnie, right, is greeted by supporters after filing his declaration of candidacy papers seeking his party's nomination for U.S. Senate in Concord, N.H. Binnie is seeking the seat being vacated by Sen. Judd Gregg, who is not seeking re-election. New Hampshire Republicans who once worried about losing their tight grip on Sen. Gregg's seat are growing more confident by the day that they will not only keep the seat in GOP hands when he retires but will reverse the winning streak Democrats have enjoyed. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)AP - Kelly Ayotte, the tough former prosecutor and wife of an Iraq war vet, seemed to be on a glide path to the Republican nomination in New Hampshire and perhaps the Senate.


Senator: Panel will block mail delivery cut (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:09:17 GMT
AP - Sen. Jon Tester says the lawmakers who oversee the budget of the post office will block a proposal to reduce mail deliveries to five days a week.
House approves bills to boost manufacturing (Reuters)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:03:05 GMT
Reuters - Lawmakers moved closer on Wednesday to creating a commission to find ways to cut the huge trade deficit with China and other countries, while also pushing a strategy to promote U.S. manufacturing.
Aviation bill prospects dim in Congress (Reuters)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:50:07 GMT
Reuters - Prospects that Congress would enact a measure to overhaul U.S. aviation programs dimmed significantly on Wednesday as the House of Representatives moved to attach critical safety provisions to separate, must-pass spending legislation.
(AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:00:59 GMT
AP - Congress has passed a bill reducing sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine .
Congress ready to pass aviation safety measures (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:56:24 GMT
AP - Congress is getting ready to pass tough new aviation safety measures that were developed in response to a deadly commuter plane crash near Buffalo in early 2009.
GOP Sen. Snowe to support Kagan for Supreme Court (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:55:52 GMT
AP - Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe says she plans to vote to confirm Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court justice.
US senators want to vet long-term Afghan role (AFP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:16:12 GMT

US Senator Jim Webb, pictured on June 2010, urged President Barack Obama in a letter released Wednesday saying that any agreement setting up a long-term US military presence in Afghanistan should go to the US Senate for ratification.(AFP/File/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)AFP - Any agreement setting up a long-term US military presence in Afghanistan should go to the US Senate for ratification, two senators urged President Barack Obama in a letter released Wednesday.


SPIN METER: Warnings for Rangel between the lines (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:11:20 GMT

In this July 22, 2010, photo, Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., answers questions from the media on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Democratic leaders who promised to 'drain the swamp' of corrupt Washington are doing a delicate rhetorical dance around one of their own, 20-term Rangel, as he faces a public trial on ethical misdeeds during a high-stakes midterm election. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)AP - House Democratic leaders who promised to "drain the swamp" of corrupt Washington are doing a delicate rhetorical dance around one of their own, 20-term Rep. Charlie Rangel, as he faces a public trial on ethical misdeeds during a high-stakes midterm election.


Senate Race Heats Up (CQPolitics.com)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:29:07 GMT
CQPolitics.com - Video: Senate Race Heats Up