Political News

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AP Top Political News At 4:43 a.m. EDT

Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes
BERLIN (AP) -- Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement....

Obama to renew calls for nuclear reductions
BERLIN (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Wednesday will renew his call to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, a senior administration official said....

Budget office view boosts Senate immigration bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supporters of a far-reaching immigration bill in the Senate see fresh momentum from a report by the Congressional Budget Office that says the measure would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits by billions of dollars....

Social issues still fire up GOP despite 2012 loss
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican lawmakers have a message for those who want the party to soften its emphasis on social conservatism in hopes of reaching a wider national audience: Not so fast....

Obama relying on untested oversight board on NSA
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence, stymied by congressional infighting and, at times, censorship by government lawyers....

House to consider cuts to food stamps
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A wide-ranging farm bill the House is considering would cut food stamps by $2 billion a year and make it more difficult for some people to qualify for the domestic food aid program....

Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator....

Capitol's Frederick Douglass statue to be unveiled
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass will once again stand tall in the U.S. Capitol....

Gov't report: Smooth launch unsure for health law
WASHINGTON (AP) -- There's no guarantee that President Barack Obama's health care law will launch smoothly and on time, congressional investigators say in the first in-depth independent look at its progress....

Military plans would put women in most combat jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Declaring "the days of Rambo are over," a top general said Tuesday that cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than tough physical fitness requirements for women looking to join the military's special operations units....

AP Photo
US President Barack Obama, right, waves next to German President Joachim Gauck after he was welcomed with military honors at the presidential residence Bellevue castle in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. On the second day of his visit to Germany Obama is meeting with German President Gauck and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before delivering a speech at Brandenburg Gate. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer) AP Photo/Gero Breloer

Up to the Minute
NC Sen. Hagan facing powerful GOP force in 2014

Religious conservatives asked to back GOP plans

2014 Senate Democrats firm up health care support

Christie maintains a political balancing act

US Rep. Mike Rogers of Mich. won't run for Senate

Rand Paul's NSA rebukes could help or hurt in 2016

Obama tests political might in Boston, Miami

Daley set to challenge Democratic governor in Ill.

Daley forms committee to explore Ill. governor run

For Christie, long-term benefits trump GOP gripes

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