National Elections

A political tip sheet for the rest of us

WASHINGTON — A political tip sheet for the rest of us outside the Washington Beltway, Thursday, Feb. 9:

Obama birth control policy divides Democrats

WASHINGTON — Democrats are deeply divided over President Barack Obama's new rule that religious schools and hospitals must provide insurance for free birth control to their employees amid fresh signs that the administration was scrambling for a way out.

Conservatives: Romney's OK if Obama is alternative

WASHINGTON — If Mitt Romney needs some good news in an otherwise lousy week, he might find it in an improbable place: the packed hallways of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Judge slams critics of Texas school prayer ruling

SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge who was vilified by Republican presidential hopefuls for banning prayer at a Texas high school graduation delivered a scathing and unusually personal response Thursday, saying those who used the case to further political goals "should be ashamed."

A fourth defeat for Romney? Lack of ads could hurt

NEW YORK — Mitt Romney is in danger of losing his fourth straight state in Saturday's caucuses in Maine, where he and his allies have been all but absent from TV.

Farmers still fighting for immigrant guest-worker program

California and Southern farmers renewed their case Thursday for some kind of an agricultural guest-worker program, but they're sailing against the wind. Make that a hurricane.

House passes ethics bill after deleting one key section

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to curb insider trading by members of Congress and the executive branch, but not without the usual political acrimony that’s become a staple of Capitol Hill.

Santorum: Obama trying to allow Iran to have nuke

OKLAHOMA CITY — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Thursday accused President Barack Obama of actively seeking ways to allow Iran to gain a nuclear weapon and suggested that the administration had betrayed Israel by publicly disclosing what may be a plan to attack the Muslim nation.

Charleston port project gets funding infusion

Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday hailed the news that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had allocated $2.5 million to expand its study on deepening the Charleston, S.C., port to accommodate a new generation of super-tankers.

California’s ‘Valleycrat’ a rare find

The California Valleycrat could be an endangered species. Or maybe it was mostly mythical all along.