Supreme Court ready for 'high theater' with health care ruling

Judgment Day has finally arrived in Washington for President Obama and his health care law, which after two long years of court battles will earn a final legal decision Thursday from the nine justices on the Supreme Court.

Sides dig in as contempt vote on Holder looms

The House careened toward a Thursday vote to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress after Republicans rejected the Justice Department's final offer for turning over a limited set of documents, saying it wasn't sufficient to complete their investigation into Fast and Furious.

Payback could follow cyberattack

Recent news reports describing a U.S. role in a cyberattack against Iran's nuclear program will cost the United States dearly, warned the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Teens opt for nip, tuck as quick fix for body-image issues

It's no surprise that many young people don't like what they see in the mirror, but a significant number now think about going under the knife in search of the perfect body.

Democratic convention plagued

The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., is shaping up to be a rickety display of party unity, with labor boycotts, fundraising shortfalls, scheduling changes, official snubs, a major gay-rights embarrassment, a sex scandal and a Republican resurgence in the host state.

Maryland motorist takes his best shot at speed camera

Bruce May got nabbed twice in recent weeks by Howard County speed cameras.

McDonnell hints of being vetted for VP

Though Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has fallen out of the top tier in some pundits' rankings for potential vice-presidential picks, he signaled recently that he might be getting a fresh look from the one person who ultimately matters — Mitt Romney.

Tax cheats got $1.4 billion in stimulus loans

Tax cheats were given $1.4 billion in government-backed mortgage loans under President Obama's economic stimulus, and the government doled out at least an additional $27 million in tax credits to delinquents who took the first-time-homebuyer tax break, according to a government audit released Wednesday.

Maldives' former president says he resigned in coup, urges elections

Maldives' first democratically elected president says the United States must acknowledge that he was ousted in a coup and press the current government of the Indian Ocean island nation to hold presidential elections this year.

Inside the Beltway: Drooling over ruling

Journalists and pundits can't figure out if the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare is New Year's Eve, Halloween or Armageddon. Will the moment of truth be celebration, masquerade or destruction? Everyone is poised to strike, armed with talking points, implications, prognostications and wonkish complexities of every demeanor.

Health care decision will have great influence on campaign

On the eve of the Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of President Obama's federal health care overhaul, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney tried to erase any doubt about what he plans to do with any parts of the law that might survive.

Lawmakers close to deal on highways, student loans

Congressional leaders were poised Wednesday to reach a deal on stalled legislation to keep federal transportation, transit and rail projects running, as House Republican leaders prepared to bow to Democratic pressure to exclude a provision for a controversial oil pipeline.

House GOP escalates probe of AARP health care deals

A key House committee has officially demanded documents from the powerful senior citizens lobby AARP as part of a probe of its role in promoting President Obama's health care law, elevating the matter to an official House investigation.

China rising as big market for big U.S. films

With its population of approximately 1.3 billion, China has Hollywood salivating at the prospect of its vast potential as a market for American movies.

FDA approves first new weight-loss pill in decade

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Arena Pharmaceutical's anti-obesity pill Belviq, the first new prescription drug for long-term weight loss to enter the U.S. market in more than a decade.

Federal jury in Texas convicts Saudi in bomb plot

A Saudi man accused of buying chemicals online and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction was found guilty Wednesday in federal court in Amarillo.

Commentary

DECKER: Romney's pool of governors

Thomas Marshall, the former governor of Indiana who served as Woodrow Wilson's vice president from 1913-1921, quipped, "Once there were two brothers. One ran away to sea; the other was elected vice president of the United States. And nothing was heard of either of them again."

WHITFIELD: Can't buy me election love

Monday's Supreme Court ruling striking down a Montana campaign finance law that restricted corporate giving in elections represents a victory for free speech. But already the left is warning, in the words of the Nation's John Nichols, that "elections [are] for sale."

NAPOLITANO: Restraining Arizona, unleashing Obama

When the Obama administration decided it had no interest in preventing the movement of undocumented aliens from Mexico into the southwestern United States, Arizona decided to take matters into its own hands.

MILLER: If Democrats ran the House

November's battle for control of the White House may grab the most public attention, but the House of Representatives is arguably the more vital race. Republican control of the lower chamber since 2011 has slowed spending in Washington and blocked much of the big-government agenda. Losing the House would have significant consequences.

EDITORIAL: Holder: The case for contempt

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on a contempt of Congress citation against Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. This unprecedented action has been made necessary by the Obama administration's consistent refusal to reveal the whole truth about the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation and the cover-up that followed.