Medicare now focal point of Obama-Romney debate

The Romney and Obama campaigns — both convinced that their man is more trustworthy with the future of Medicare — ramped up the debate this weekend, with operatives trading prickly barbs, the president dismissing Republican plans as "snake oil" and Paul Ryan bringing his 78-year-old mother into the fracas.

Unit's fight for better anti-IED software won after heavy casualties

Months before the Army's ill-fated 5th Stryker Brigade was to leave Washington state in the summer of 2009 for the war in Afghanistan, its commander became convinced that he needed a particular type of equipment to counter cunning bomb-makers.

On left and right, firebrands are hot on the Web

Thanks to the Internet, a revolution has occurred in the way local campaigns are financed. Outfits such as ActBlue on the left and Club for Growth on the right harness donations from partisans across the country, channeling them into campaigns where they are backing candidates who tend to be on the ideological wings of the two parties.

Denver company has city award rescinded for bucking Obama health law

The Newland family didn't spend 50 years building a business here for the plaudits, but when a Denver City Council member moved to recognize them with an anniversary proclamation, the clan was flattered. So it came as a disappointment last week when the Newlands learned that the council decided to cancel the honor, especially when they found out the reason: Their successful legal challenge against the Obama health care reform's birth control, sterilization and abortion mandates.

Armed with U.S. education, many leaders take on world

When U.S. officials were trying to broker a deal to end the bloody 20-year civil war between Sudan and South Sudan in 2005, they had an in with the elusive guerrilla fighter leading the south's shadowy rebel forces.

Mass. Sen. Brown tries  to straddle  allegiance

Persuading Massachusetts voters to elect a Republican to a full U.S. Senate term isn't easy, and it has left Sen. Scott P. Brown blazing a lonely trail in Washington, where he's spent much of the year voting with Democrats — or bucking both parties altogether.

Gu Kailai gets suspended death sentence for murder

The wife of a disgraced Chinese politician was given a suspended death sentence Monday after confessing to killing a British businessman by poisoning him with cyanide in a case that rocked the country's top political leadership.

Rep. Akin:  I 'misspoke'  in remarks  on rape

Rep. W. Todd Akin of Missouri, a conservative Republican U.S. Senate candidate, quickly backed off comments that aired earlier Sunday, in which he told an interviewer that a woman's body "has ways" to prevent pregnancy during rape and that such pregnancies are "really rare."

Young people's pro-gun rally alters debate in D.C.

It's hard to say whether it was a first, but it was certainly unusual: a pro-gun rally in the District of Columbia.

Voters in 'Solid South' up for grabs

The "Solid South" was a political fact, benefiting Democrats for generations and then Republicans, with Bible Belt and racial politics ruling the day. But demographic changes and recent election results reveal a more nuanced landscape now as the two major parties prepare for their national conventions.

Latest U.N. envoy for Syria not optimistic

The new U.N. special envoy to Syria admitted Sunday that he faces a difficult job trying to broker peace in Syria, and said his first task is overcoming divisions within the Security Council that stymied the efforts of his predecessor.

Mondays have history of making investors feel blue

Monday is the only day the stock market is more likely to fall than to rise.

U.S. drones kill 10 militants in northwest Pakistan

American drones fired a flurry of missiles in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing a total of 10 suspected militants, Pakistani officials said.

Rescuers search for Philippine interior minister, 2 pilots

About 300 rescuers searched Sunday for Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and his two pilots after their small plane crashed into the sea while attempting an emergency landing. An aide of Mr. Robredo's made a dramatic escape from the plane and was helping in the search, officials said.

Swimmer Nyad 'steady' in Cuba-Florida record attempt

Endurance athlete Diana Nyad forged ahead through the Straits of Florida with renewed vigor Sunday in pursuit of a record 103-mile unassisted open-water swim without the aid of a shark cage.

Syria's Assad makes rare public appearance

Syrian President Bashar Assad attended prayers in a Damascus mosque to mark the start of a Muslim holiday on Sunday, his first appearance in public since the bombing last month that killed four of his top security officials.

Commentary

DIAZ: Democrats continue to beat up Christians

Inch by inch, the Democratic Party continues to ostracize Christians. Its latest attack consists of forcing any Christian who would like to support the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) platform to betray his deeply held religious beliefs on the issue of marriage.

CHAVOUS: Obama must support school choice

Long time Washington residents no doubt are familiar with the constant stream of task forces, initiatives and other important-sounding enterprises that pledge to tackle a certain issue and give it the attention it deserves.

WOLF: Barack Obama: The welfare king

"They'll turn us all into beggars 'cause they're easier to please." So goes a Rainmakers song. Beggars also are easier to control. Just ask the drug dealer. It is not compassion that motivates him to give away the first hits of heroin for free; it is the promise of control.

DECKER: Hillary better for Obama than Biden

The only people who are defending Vice President Joseph R. Biden's race-baiting comments about the Republican ticket putting blacks "back in chains" are political hired guns and the liberal media. The claim that Mr. Biden wasn't stirring racial tensions would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous.

MILLER: Armed against tragedy

Liberals are anxious to talk about workplace or school shootings when it suits their political agenda. That's why the usual suspects are observing a vow of silence regarding Wednesday's armed attack on the Family Research Council (FRC).