Politics and more at play in painful job numbers

Just when the American economy was looking like a global bright spot, a spate of bad news last week showed that the U.S. also has succumbed to a major slowdown - sending President Obama and his team scrambling to explain Friday's disappointing unemployment numbers.

Pivotal victory from 'the dungeon' turned the tide of World War II

It was during the spring of 1942 that the tide of the Pacific War began to shift – not in a battle at sea, it turned out, but in the depths of "the dungeon."

In Walker recall, road to White House runs through Wisconsin

National Republicans think that if Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survives his recall election Tuesday, it will be much harder for Mr. Obama to keep the state in the Democratic column in the November election.

HALLOW: In Oregon, chemist offers GOP a unifying formula

Republicans looking to ease the friction among party stalwarts, tea party activists and Ron Paul supporters headed into this year's election say they may have found a model of unity in Art Robinson, a scientist who is the GOP candidate for a congressional seat representing an Oregon district.

Delta Force: Army's 'quiet professionals'

As Navy SEALs bask in the limelight for daring missions, some in the Army are wondering whether the other half of the nation's counter-terrorism covert warriors - Delta Force - is being upstaged and left in the shadows.

Highway bill talks sluggish on Capitol Hill

Congress has hinted it's in danger of once again missing a self-imposed deadline on a critical spending measure, as House and Senate negotiators appear far from reaching a long-term deal to keep federal highway, rail and transit programs funded beyond June.

CURL: This sure isn't the McCain campaign

Historians may well look back, when they dissect Mr. Romney's landslide victory in November 2012, to last week — a week when the Republican candidate not only showed that he's ready to mix it up in the octagon, but the Democratic incumbent looked like an overrated palooka finally matched against someone his own size.

More than 150 people killed in Nigeria plane crash

A passenger plane carrying more than 150 people crashed in Nigeria's largest city on Sunday, killing all passengers and crew aboard, an emergency official said. Several charred corpses could be seen in the rubble of a building damaged by the crash, as firefighters searched for survivors and pulled a dead body from the wreckage.

Barrett predicts recall win over Wisconsin governor

His gubernatorial campaign may be trailing incumbent Gov. Scott Walker in the latest polls, but Wisconsin Democrat Tom Barrett said Sunday he has the momentum going into Tuesday's bitterly contested recall election.

Inside the Beltway: Courting the Vogue voter

Why yes, President Obama has three private fundraisers in New York City on Monday alone, but perhaps none can compare to the most hoity-toity of all his Manhattan money moments, this one scheduled June 14, which is Flag Day, incidentally.

Bill would ban therapies to 'change' young gays

The California state Senate has passed a bill that supporters say could be the first in the nation to ban a form of psychotherapy aimed at making gay people straight.

International song contest shines light on changing Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan's hosting of the Eurovision Song contest last month exemplified just how far the predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic has come since the days of communism, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Washington says.

Court gives Clinton four months to decide on MEK terror label

A U.S. appeals court on Friday ordered Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to decide within four months on removing an Iranian dissident group from the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Former car czar Rattner defends Obama economy

A former Obama administration official admitted Sunday the president is creating jobs at an "unacceptably low rate."

Zimmerman back in custody after bail is revoked

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, surrendered to police Sunday and was booked into jail after having his bail revoked two days earlier.

U.S. tries not to make waves with 'Pacific pivot'

As the United States moves to bolster its military position in Asia, it faces severe budget cuts from Congress, an increasingly powerful rival in China and a hornet's nest of regional political sensitivities.

Commentary

KNIGHT: Leftist assault on free speech and conscience

Have you heard of SWATing? Someone calls 911 falsely claiming that a person has killed someone or is about to do so. It can bring down a world of hurt, complete with sirens and a SWAT team with drawn guns.

DECKER: 5 Questions with Franco Beretta

Franco Beretta is the vice president and managing director of Beretta in Italy, executive vice president of Beretta USA (the manufacturing, distribution and marketing arm of Beretta in the United States) and one of two sons of Ugo Beretta, president of Beretta Holding.

ORIENT: Obama's poor Julia

Thanks to President Obama's advertising campaign, almost everybody must have heard about "Julia" by now. Her story invites a comparison with "Jane," born in 1946, long before Mr. Obama.

GHEI: When cops become robbers

Something is desperately wrong with our legal system when the government can take property from innocent people who have never been charged with a crime. It's happening all over the country thanks to the surreal doctrine of civil forfeiture, through which courts hold inanimate objects guilty of crimes, instead of going after the actual owners who - as actual people - would be entitled to the presumption of innocence.

EDITORIAL: More Obama, fewer jobs

President Obama really needs to stop scapegoating his predecessor for all the bad news. Nobody's buying into the blame game anymore. After three years and more than a trillion in "stimulus" that was supposed to create millions of jobs, we're seeing the trend moving in the opposite direction.