WASHINGTON — Struggling to avert an unprecedented national default, congressional leaders jettisoned negotiations on a sweeping deficit-reduction package Friday despite a plea from President Barack Obama to “do something big” to stabilize America’s finances. Instead, lawmakers embarked on rival fallback ...

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SAN DIEGO — A federal appeals court that has called for the immediate halt of the military’s ban on openly gay troops issued an order Monday requiring the U.S. government to state whether it will continue to defend the constitutionality ...

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett says he and three other House members are working together to reduce military oil consumption. Bartlett announced the formation of the Defense Energy Security Caucus on Tuesday along with fellow Republican Jack Kingston of ...

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NEW YORK — After days of denials, a choked-up New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed in a news conference that he sent a bulging-underpants photo of himself to a young woman. He also admitted that he had “inappropriate” conversations ...

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WASHINGTON — The GOP-led House is poised to reject a bill Tuesday to increase the nation’s debt limit without the big spending cuts that Republicans are demanding. The move is intended as an embarrassing reminder to Democrats that increasing the ...

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WASHINGTON — In the aftermath of Sunday’s devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo., a key House panel has approved a $1 billion aid package to make sure federal disaster relief accounts don’t run out before the end of the budget year ...

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WASHINGTON — On a bipartisan vote, the House Thursday passed a yearlong government funding measure cutting $38 billion from the budget and closing out sometimes quarrelsome negotiations between the Obama administration and Republicans dominating the House. The measure passed by ...

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WASHINGTON — In a postelection reversal, House Republicans are supporting nearly $450 billion in Medicare cuts that they criticized vigorously last fall after Democrats and President Barack Obama passed them as part of their controversial health care law. The cuts ...

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WASHINGTON — Republicans controlling the House have fashioned plans to slash the budget deficit by about $5 trillion over the upcoming decade, blending unprecedented spending cuts with a fundamental restructuring of taxpayer-financed health care for the elderly and the poor. ...

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Maryland’s economic strengths could make the state “particularly vulnerable” to belt-tightening in Washington as lawmakers debate cuts to defense, education, environmental protection and other spending, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said. The state’s junior senator, a 44-year veteran of elected office, ...

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