National Election Wire

Military plans would put women in most combat jobs

WASHINGTON — A top general says cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than physical fitness requirements for women looking to move into the military's special operations units.

House, Senate on diverging paths on agency budgets

WASHINGTON — House Republicans have unveiled slashing cuts to a program that helps localities build community development projects. Their rivals in the Democratic-controlled Senate are moving to restore Republican cuts to international food aid and nutrition help for pregnant women.

Corps of Engineers won’t review climate change impacts of Northwest coal exports

WASHINGTON — The U.S Army Corps of Engineers will not review the broader climate-change impacts of proposed coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest, an agency official told Congress on Tuesday.

Farm bill is fertile ground for complaints

WASHINGTON — California dairy processors are still trying to squeeze a better deal from a big farm bill up for House debate this week.

Education Dept. offers more time to reach goals

WASHINGTON — States can ask for another year before using student test results to decide whether to keep or fire teachers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told school chiefs on Tuesday.

A look at US-Taliban relations

Word that the Taliban and U.S. will hold formal talks to find a political solution to end nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan comes after years of failed efforts at peace talks. A look at the evolution of U.S. relations with the Taliban:

Study finds housing bias against same-sex couples

WASHINGTON — A new study finds that same-sex couples are treated less favorably than heterosexual couples when seeking information about rental housing advertised online.

IRS tea party cases were referred to 'Group 7822'

WASHINGTON — Transcripts of an interview with a key Internal Revenue Service employee confirm that the agency put tea party organizations on a special track for extra scrutiny but still don’t make clear how that process was established.

The ins and outs of G-8 summit promises

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland — Group of Eight summit participants are powerful people: the leaders of the U.S., Russia, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan, plus top officials from the European Union. But they only make promises.

Inmates accused in prison killing seek separate trials

WASHINGTON — The two federal prison inmates accused of killing a guard at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, Calif., five years ago this week are now seeking to separate their trials.