Obama aims to shore up Jewish support

President Obama awarded the nation's highest civilian medal Wednesday night to Israeli President Shimon Peres as frustration mounts in Israel over the administration's handling of Iran and as signs emerge of a possible backlash among Jewish voters in the U.S.

Both sides deny there's civil war in bloody Syria

Syrian troops stormed a rebel-held area on the Mediterranean coast Wednesday, driving out opposition fighters and retaking the Haffa region as world leaders debated the mounting violence there and mulled how to quell it.

D.C. reformer meets with lobbyists he sought to curtail

D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie won office last month on a platform of restoring ethics to city government, swearing off so-called "bundled contributions" and eliminating pay-to-play politics.

White House retreats on endangered species protection for lizard

The Obama administration backtracked Wednesday and announced it will not declare the dunes sagebrush lizard an endangered species, saying voluntary efforts by New Mexico and Texas have headed off the need for the federal government to step in.

N.Y. set to join fracking-friendly states, with limits

New York is poised to become the latest state to cash in on the nation's natural gas boom.

Holder aide who erred on Fast & Furious leaves Justice

The senior Justice Department official who sent a letter to a Republican senator falsely claiming that the department did not allow guns to be "walked" to drug smugglers in Mexico during the Fast and Furious investigation left the department Wednesday to become dean of the Baltimore School of Law.

Arizona prepares to enforce strict immigration law

Arizona is already gearing up to enforce its strict immigration law as it anticipates a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court sometime this month, with Gov. Jan Brewer issuing an executive order this week telling police to bone up on the details of the law.

Democrats jubilant after holding Giffords' seat

Democrats held onto former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Arizona House seat when voters picked one of her aides to succeed her, fending off a special-election challenge Tuesday that they said presages bigger wins in November.

Romney to top CEOs: White House is anti-business

Showering business leaders Wednesday with promises of lower tax rates and a lighter regulatory environment, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney accused President Obama of trying to duck responsibility for embracing policies that have generated the nation's "tepid" economic recovery and left millions of people out of work.

Panetta fears 'another Pearl Harbor' in cyberattack

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta warned Wednesday that a cyberattack on the United States could cause "another Pearl Harbor" by blacking out private and government eclectic power grids and throwing the nation into a panic.

Spartan Death Race: Masochistic marathon for a 'soft society'

Founded by a pair of triathletes who found their pastime to be both too easy and, well, too boring, the Spartan Death Race is the premier event in a series of increasingly popular outdoor obstacle-course competitions that combine elements of "Survivor," Navy SEAL "Hell Week" and "Jackass."

Gay parenting studies disputed by association

Amid a firestorm of criticism over a pair of new studies on gay parenting, the world's largest organization of psychologists has affirmed its own position that sexual orientation is not a factor in parental fitness.

Governors state their case for growth

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, just one week removed from his victorious recall election, told a group of business leaders in Washington on Wednesday his state is now "open for business."

Russia, U.S. quarrel over aid to Syrian parties

The diplomatic battle between the U.S. and Russia over Syria escalated Wednesday, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calling on Russia to stop arming the embattled regime and Moscow charging the U.S. of providing weapons to the Syrian opposition.

Federal prosecutors drop case against John Edwards

Federal prosecutors have moved to drop all charges against John Edwards after his corruption trial ended last month in a deadlocked jury.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency charges Lance Armstrong

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is bringing doping charges against seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, threatening to strip his victories in the storied cycling race.

Commentary

WEISS: Islamically correct counterterrorism

The Department of Justice and the FBI are revising their counterterrorism training material to remove "inaccurate and biased information" at the direction of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller.

NUGENT: Attracting the Latino vote

Due to ever-shifting demographics, Americans of Latin descent are being courted by both the Republican and Democratic parties. The party that wins their support will be in the political driver's seat come November. The Democrats currently own that seat.

TYRRELL: Taking the measure of Lyndon Johnson

One of my favorite controversialists is back - Bob Woodward - with his sidekick, Carl Bernstein. Sunday in The Washington Post, they wrote that Richard Nixon was more hideous than we have heretofore known.

MILLER: Obama's blind spot

President Obama has a blind spot when it comes to understanding the will of the American people. The biggest legislative achievements of his first term - Obamacare and the so-called stimulus - were wildly unpopular. The public realizes these laws haven't made health care affordable nor have they produced any economic growth. Mr. Obama doesn't care.

EDITORIAL: Steven Chu is no Don Draper

A good product can sell itself. There's no reason for Uncle Sam to step in and serve as the chief marketing officer for any private corporation. So the House took a welcome step last week when it adopted a measure by Rep. Jeff Landry, Louisiana Republican, that pulls the plug on the Energy Department's authority to spend $20 million on a "national media campaign" against affordable energy.