The House voted to end a quarter-century offshore drilling ban and allow energy companies to tap natural gas and oil beneath waters from New England to Alaska.

Prospects for a swift renewal of the Voting Rights Act faded as lawmakers called for new congressional hearings on the landmark civil rights law first approved in 1965.

Georgia voters must present government-issued photo identification to cast a ballot in the primary election, which is less than three weeks away, the State Election Board said Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris doesn't have overwhelming support among fellow Republicans in her bid to be their nominee for U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Friday, despite her reputation as being a party heroine for her role in the 2000 presidential recount.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to overturn a recently enacted law requiring safety trigger locks on all hand guns sold in the United States.

The left-leaning city of Berkeley (California) will let voters decide whether to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Supreme Court ruled that President Bush overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Your tax dollars are being used to fund a misinformation campaign about Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth.

A Tennessee mayor spewed racial slurs, attempted to set up foes for arrest, and tried to boost his town's traffic ticket revenue by specifically profiling soldiers and Hispanics, according to a lawsuit seeking the politician's ouster from office.

An amendment to ban the burning of the U.S. flag failed to pass in the Senate... by a single vote.

Sen. Barack Obama chastised fellow Democrats for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people," and said the party must compete for the support of evangelicals and other churchgoing Americans. "Not every mention of God in public is a breach to the wall of separation. Context matters."

President Bush said it was "disgraceful" that the news media had disclosed a secret CIA-Treasury program to track millions of financial records in search of terrorist suspects. The White House accused The New York Times of breaking a long tradition of keeping wartime secrets.

The White House on Tuesday defended President Bush's prolific use of bill signing statements, saying they help him uphold the Constitution and defend the nation's security.

"There's this notion that the president is committing acts of civil disobedience, and he's not," said Bush's press secretary Tony Snow, speaking at the White House. "It's important for the president at least to express reservations about the constitutionality of certain provisions."

Rush Limbaugh could see a deal with prosecutors in a long-running prescription fraud case collapse after authorities found a bottle of Viagra in his bag at Palm Beach International Airport. The prescription was not in his name.

Members of Congress on Sunday denounced any Iraqi plan that would grant amnesty to insurgents responsible for the deaths of U.S. troops.

Tokyo and Washington will deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles in Japan for the first time, officials said Monday amid concerns North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile.

Wanted: Face time with President Bush or top adviser Karl Rove. Suggested donation: $100,000. The middleman: lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The White House is nearing an agreement with Congress on legislation that would write President Bush's warrantless surveillance program into law.

Some Democrats are having second thoughts about Hillary Clinton as their 2008 presidential candidate, wracked by doubts about her cross-party appeal, and disappointed by her position on US troops in Iraq.

A Republican gubernatorial candidate's call for creation of a forced labor camp for illegal immigrants drew rebukes Friday from two GOP lawmakers, who labeled it a low point in the immigration debate.

President Bush is pushing Congress to give him more authority to slice and dice the budget with a line-item veto, an idea that's popular with conservatives who think the White House needs more muscle to restrict federal spending. "Under the current system, many lawmakers are able to insert funding for pet projects into large spending bills."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week rejected a request from the Bush administration to send an additional 1,500 National Guard troops to the Mexican border.

Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.

"Although unity is important it is not the most important value. It is, I think, a tribute to the Democratic Party at this moment in time that we are honestly and openly struggling with a lot of the difficult issues facing our country." -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

Defense Department Disavows Santorum's Iraq WMD Claims

The United States has found 500 chemical weapons in Iraq since 2003, and more weapons of mass destruction are likely to be uncovered, two Republican lawmakers said Wednesday.

The Republican-controlled Senate smothered a proposed election-year increase in the minimum wage Wednesday, rejecting Democratic claims that it was past time to boost the $5.15 hourly pay floor that has been in effect for nearly a decade.

The United States said Thursday that a U.S. missile-defense system under development has "limited operational capability" to protect against weapons such as the long-range missile North Korea is said to be near firing.

House Republican leaders postponed a vote on renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act after GOP lawmakers complained it unfairly singles out nine Southern states for federal oversight.

President Bush won a robust endorsement from European leaders for his tough approach to nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea, despite trans-Atlantic differences on Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and trade.

Dan Rather, the hard-charging anchorman who dominated CBS News for more than two decades but whose final months were clouded by a discredited story on the president's military service, is leaving CBS after 44 years.

The bodies of two U.S. soldiers reported captured last week have been recovered, and an Iraqi defense ministry official said Tuesday the men were "killed in a barbaric way."

"This will have been, from a historical turning point, the period that we'll be able to look at and say: That's when we turned the corner; that's when we began to get a handle on the long-term future of Iraq." -- Vice President Dick Cheney

North Korea has finished loading fuel into a long-range ballistic missile, a Bush administration official said Monday as signs continued that the reclusive communist state will soon test a weapon that could reach the United States.

Four Republicans considering running for president in 2008 courted activists and predicted GOP success in the November elections despite the party's sagging support in polls.

With the market for corn-based ethanol booming, lawmakers from sugar-producing U.S. states are hoping that beet and cane growers can soon jump onto the renewable fuel bandwagon.

A grand jury declined to indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney in connection with a confrontation in which she admitted hitting a police officer who tried to stop her from entering a House office building.

Stephen Colbert vs. Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA)

In a 256-153 vote, the GOP-led House approved a nonbinding resolution that praises U.S. troops, labels the Iraq war part of the larger global fight against terrorism and says an "arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment" of troops is not in the national interest.

Unfortunate President Bush Photo of the Day

Life after the White House has proven lucrative for former President Clinton, who made nearly $7.5 million in speaking fees last year and sometimes earned as much as $350,000 for a single appearance.

The man who has been putting (some of the) words in President Bush's mouth for the past seven years said Wednesday that he is leaving the White House.

President Bush, who often teases members of the White House press corps, apologized after he poked fun at a reporter for wearing sunglasses without realizing they were needed for vision loss.

2,500

Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe.

US President George W. Bush's triumphant return from his unannounced visit in Iraq found opposition Democrats more divided than ever on US policy in the wartorn country, and how best to capitalize on administration missteps there.

A jet leased by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in emergencies has instead been used to shuttle the secretary of Health and Human Services to appearances and meetings at a cost of more than $700,000 since January.

Bush’s typographic transgressions -- "Karl Rove may be a brilliant strategist, but he knows absolutely nothing about good typography. He’d better get his ascenders in gear if his White House minions plan to continue placing banners and digital backdrops above, behind, and below the President while he’s making those key speeches."

Top White House aide Karl Rove has been told by prosecutors he won't be charged with any crimes in the investigation into the leak of a CIA officer's identity, his lawyer said Tuesday, lifting a heavy burden from one of President Bush's most trusted advisers.

President Bush makes a suprise visit to Baghdad. "Obviously, when you're entering a situation where the enemy is so active we have to be extra cautious," White House counselor Dan Bartlett said.

Once again, Ann Coulter has a book in need of flogging, and once again, people are stunned by what a "vicious," "mean-spirited," "despicable" "hate-monger" they say she is.

"If you and your MySpace friends get five people apiece... Democrats will win in 2006." -- U.S. Senate candidate Jack Carter

President Bush announced in his State of the Union address that he backed funding for research into producing ethanol from corn and other farm products, with the goal of making a viable fuel alternative to gasoline for automobiles.

Critics have blasted the viability of ethanol. A central argument is that corn-based ethanol, the most-common form today, is literally a waste of energy. Detractors say that it takes more fuel to make ethanol -- growing the corn, bringing it to a processing plant and converting it to fuel -- than would be saved by using it.

Does Gore overheat global warming?

President Bush expressed "serious concern" over the suicides at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay and directed an aggressive effort by his administration to reach out diplomatically while it investigates.

Ohio's race for governor is a journey through the looking glass. The Democrat, Rep. Ted Strickland is a rural, pro-gun minister, which could make him appealing to some Republicans. The Republican, Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, is a black man who could draw votes from Democrats.

A federal appeals court sided with the Bush administration Friday on an electronic surveillance issue, making it easier to tap into Internet phone calls and broadband transmissions.

George Bush performing U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday: The Video

NBC News reported back in 2004, U.S. military planners drew up plans to take out Zarqawi three times in 2002 and 2003, but the Bush administration killed the plans each time. Why? Because, military officials told NBC, the Bush administration feared that destroying Zarqawi's terrorist camp in Iraq "could undercut its case for war against Saddam."

US politicians have rejected attempts to enshrine the principle of net neutrality in legislation. Some fear the decision will mean net providers start deciding on behalf of customers which websites and services they can visit and use.

The Texas Democratic Party won a temporary restraining order blocking the process that would name a replacement for Republican U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the November ballot.

"For all its faults, it is partisanship -- based on core principles -- that clarifies our debates, that prevents one party from straying too far from the mainstream and that constantly refreshes our politics with new ideas and new leaders." -- Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay

"There are those here in Washington who say, `Why don't we just find the folks and send them home. That ain't gonna work." -- President George W. Bush

"As you see here, and I think this is maybe the most important prop we'll have during the entire debate, my wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I'm really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we've never had a divorce or any kind of homosexual relationship." -- Senator James Inhofe (R-OK.)

President Bush said that killing terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq was "a severe blow" to the al-Qaida terrorist network and a decisive victory in the U.S.-led war against terrorism.

The next raunchy expression or inappropriate show of skin could cost a radio or television broadcaster up to $325,000 in fines under a bill heading toward congressional passage.

The Senate rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, but supporters said new votes for the measure represent progress that gives conservative Republicans reason to vote on Election Day.

The 49-48 vote fell 11 short of the 60 required to send the matter for an up-or-down tally by the full Senate. The amendment's failure was no surprise, but supporters said the vote reflected growing support among senators and Americans.

Voters in eight states go to the polls Tuesday, with the most-watched congressional contest the only one that will actually put someone in office -- a special election in southern California to replace jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

A package of incentives presented Tuesday to Iran includes a provision for the United States to supply Tehran with some nuclear technology if it stops enriching uranium -- a major concession by Washington.

Was the 2004 election stolen? No.

"George is doing a hell of a job during very difficult times, more power to him. Screw all them people who don't like him." -- Actor Mickey Rourke

Iowa politics aren't as corny as you thought.

The Supreme Court said it will decide the extent to which public schools can use race in deciding school assignments, setting the stage for a landmark affirmative action ruling.

One of the candidates in Alabama's gubernatorial primaries Tuesday is a former governor whose campaigning is limited because he's on trial on corruption charges. Another is the "Ten Commandments judge" who was booted from the Supreme Court for ignoring a federal court order.

As Cuban President Fidel Castro nears his 80th birthday, US authorities are reportedly planning for the fallout in Florida from his eventual death fear a dangerous mass migration of Cubans.

"Ages of experience have taught us that the commitment of a husband and a wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society." -- President George W. Bush

"We know that 99.9 percent of our forces conduct themselves in an exemplary manner. We also know that in conflicts things that shouldn't happen, do happen." -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld

The United States warned Iran it will not have much time to respond once offered an international package of rewards designed to encourage Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment, suggesting that the window could close and be replaced by penalties if it doesn't act quickly.

George Bush has stressed the role of volunteers in rebuilding New Orleans. He visited volunteers at various rebuilding sites in New Orleans on April 27 as part of promoting National Volunteer Week. At the time he stated, "If you are interested in helping the victims of Katrina, interested in helping them get back on their feet, come on down here."

Don’t pack your bags though. FEMA has announced that on June 1 it will be closing the last 4 camps that house and feed volunteers coming to Louisiana to aid in recovery. The move will likely shut down the volunteer work Bush was promoting.

A veteran who lost both arms in the war in Iraq is suing filmmaker Michael Moore for $85 million, alleging that Moore used snippets of a television interview without his permission to falsely portray him as anti-war in "Fahrenheit 9/11."

President Bush promised that any Marines involved in the alleged murders of Iraqi civilians will be punished. A senior officer said the case could undermine Iraqis' support for the presence of American troops.