CBO: 8 million to gain legal status in Senate bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 8 million immigrants living unlawfully in the United States would gain legal status under sweeping legislation moving toward a vote in the Senate, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, adding the bill would push federal deficits lower in each of the next two decades....

Military plans would put women in most combat jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top general says cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than physical fitness requirements for women looking to move into the military's special operations units....

Medicare: Cost-saving changes coming for diabetics
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar - but it also may cause some confusion as patients figure out the new system....

NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence led by lawmakers sympathetic to the spying....

Google asks FISA court to lift gag order
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Google on Tuesday sharply challenged the federal government's gag order on its Internet surveillance program, citing what it described as a First Amendment right to divulge how many requests it receives from the government for data about its customers in the name of national security....

Rural lawmakers push for farm bill votes in House
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Farm-state lawmakers are scrambling to win bipartisan support for a five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill on the House floor this week....

Obama opens 24-hour trip to Germany
BERLIN (AP) -- President Barack Obama is opening a 24-hour visit to Germany, the culmination of which will be a speech Wednesday at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate....

Civil rights groups sue NYPD over Muslim spying
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Police Department's widespread spying programs directed at Muslims have undermined free worship by innocent people and should be declared unconstitutional, religious leaders and civil rights advocates said Tuesday after the filing of a federal lawsuit....

Obama's influence, limitations on display at G-8
BERLIN (AP) -- Now a veteran of the international summit scene, President Barack Obama wielded significant influence over the agenda at this week's Group of Eight meetings, but had only modest success in achieving the results he sought....

House passes far-reaching anti-abortion bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican-led House has passed a far-reaching anti-abortion bill, giving conservatives a claim to progress in their campaign against legal abortions and Democrats another reason to claim that the Republican agenda is anti-women....