Updated: 7:22 AM State Rep. Joe Carr is proposing a state law to make it a crime in Tennessee for federal agents to enforce any effort to ban firearms or ammunition.

Updated: 12:30 PM President Barack Obama on Wednesday launched the most sweeping effort to curb U.S. gun violence in nearly two decades, announcing a $500 million package that sets up a fight with Congress

Posted: 6:49 AM The political tempest stirred up by Superstorm Sandy appears to have moved on after wreaking havoc among congressional Republicans divided over how much aid to allocate to the victims.

Updated: 6:47 AM City and federal officials are implementing measures intended to prevent calamities, such as a terrorist attack, and to address more mundane concerns, such as slow-moving security lines and cold weather.

Updated: 6:45 AM The IMF has been left largely on the sidelines as Democratic and Republican fights over the budget raise the specter of a U.S. default or another recession.

Updated: 6:43 AM U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the leader of the world's largest military, met Pope Benedict XVI, the world's best known advocate for peace, at the Vatican on Wednesday.

Posted: 6:41 AM President Barack Obama's private swearing-in will be a brief, sparsely attended ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House.

Posted: 6:38 AM The move came amid pushback from liberal organizations that called the game tasteless and its timing politically motivated. It was released Sunday.

Posted: 6:35 AM Chuck Hagel secured the backing of two of the staunchest pro-Israel Senate Democrats in a clear boost to the Republican's prospects of becoming President Barack Obama's next defense secretary.

Updated: 6:34 AM Nearly four years after his affair with an Argentine woman was exposed, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford plans to announce his return to politics and run for his old congressional seat.

Posted: 6:19 AM They're at the heart of two of the most heated current debates now before Congress — on restricting gun ownership and raising the government's borrowing ceiling to pay current bills.

Posted: 8:52 AM Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says House Republicans are making a mistake by using the issue of increasing the borrowing limit to challenge President Barack Obama on spending issues.

Posted: 8:05 AM The Republicans were discussing education initiatives Monday when Bush said he relished taking aim at the bigger issues facing his state even if it meant facing stronger resistance.

Posted: 7:48 AM The reason is simple. Americans embrace the general, abstract idea of reducing federal spending. Their support quickly fades, however, when specific programs are targeted.

Posted: 7:45 AM Facing powerful opposition to sweeping gun regulations, President Barack Obama is weighing 19 steps that could be taken through executive action alone, congressional officials said.

Posted: 7:43 AM Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, Obama's choice to be his new defense secretary, has reached out to all 100 senators and will be meeting personally with dozens of them starting this week

Posted: 7:35 AM Obama said he was willing to negotiate deficit reduction with GOP leaders but insisted that those talks be separate from decisions to raise the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling and avert a possible first-ever national default.

Posted: 7:34 AM At some point on Inauguration Day, if all goes as expected, the president's limousine will slow to a stop on its journey down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

Posted: 7:32 AM In his first news conference of the year and last of his first term, Obama said it's up to Congress, ultimately, to decide how to raise and spend money.

Posted: 7:18 AM Northeastern lawmakers hoping to push a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package through the House face roadblocks by fiscal conservatives seeking offsetting spending cuts to pay for recovery efforts

Posted: 7:15 AM President Barack Obama on Monday urged Americans not to rush to judgment about who he will appoint to replace departing members of his team.

Posted: 7:14 AM For U.S. troops, less combat is not translating to less stress. Members of the military committed suicide at a record pace in 2012 — almost one per day — and some experts think the trend will grow worse this year.

Posted: 1:25 PM President Barack Obama demanded on Monday that lawmakers raise the nation's $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly

Posted: 1:21 PM Stronger background checks, a meaningful ban on assault weapons and limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines are all on the table, Obama said.

Posted: 1:18 PM The Supreme Court has turned down an effort by the Republican National Committee to end a 30-year-old court order aimed at preventing intimidation of minority voters.