McClatchy Election News

President Barack Obama will unveil a spending plan Wednesday that he hopes will provide a compromise to the two feuding parties on Capitol Hill, offering Republican-friendly proposals – including those that cut Social Security and Medicare – tied to tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.

President Barack Obama will unveil a spending plan Wednesday that he hopes will provide a compromise to the two feuding parties on Capitol Hill, offering Republican-friendly proposals – including those that cut Social Security and Medicare – tied to tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.

In the hyper-partisan world of Washington politics, it’s not surprising that there are two competing narratives about Mark Begich’s four-plus years in office as a first-term senator.

While the rest of his classmates were stuck in school Thursday, Emilio Vega, 11, planted bread wheat seeds with first lady Michelle Obama in her garden on the South Lawn of the White House.

President Barack Obama’s job approval rating is a so-so 50 percent, as Americans continue to have serious concerns about whether the country is headed in the right direction, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

The 2016 presidential election is far off, but an early sign indicates that Republicans could face trouble if Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden becomes the Democratic nominee, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

A task force working for the National Rifle Association recommended Tuesday that at least one armed guard be stationed on every campus in America as part of a three-month review on how to make schools safer in the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Each year, lawmakers quietly tuck language into spending bills that restricts the ability of the federal government to regulate the firearms industry and combat gun crime.

A consultant hired by the National Rifle Association recommended Tuesday that at least one armed guard be stationed on every campus in America as part of a three-month review on how to make schools safer in the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

In the hyper-partisan world of Washington politics, it’s not surprising that there are two competing narratives about Mark Begich’s four-plus years in office as a first-term senator.

Sen. Mark Begich can marshal some impressive evidence to bolster his claim that he is a centrist more in line with fellow Alaskans than with many of his Senate Democratic colleagues.

Politics still might get in the way of a final agreement on a bipartisan immigration bill. Now that labor and business have agreed on an immigrant temporary-worker program, a bipartisan group of eight senators say they’ve cleared every major policy hurdle and are ready to introduce the most dramatic overhaul to the U.S. immigration system in decades. But first they have to write the bill, and that’s rarely an easy task.

Feisty ad tactics from Florida-based Spirit Airlines won’t become a First Amendment test for the Supreme Court, after all. In a case closely watched by the airline industry and free-speech advocates alike, the court declined Monday to hear Spirit’s challenge to federal mandates on how prices are advertised. The court’s decision effectively upholds Department of Transportation rules opposed by several airlines and civil libertarians who are concerned about government controls over commercial speech.

President Barack Obama will use the construction cranes and cargo containers at PortMiami as a backdrop Friday to speak about boosting the economy through investments in ports, roads and bridges.

North Carolina lawmakers on Thursday unveiled what they call the nation’s most comprehensive response to the Newtown shootings, a bipartisan package designed to add more law enforcement officers in elementary and middle schools and install panic alarms in every classroom.

The national leaders of both major political parties condemned Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young on Friday for calling Latino farm workers “wetbacks,” a slur that comes at a time that the Republican Party is desperately courting Latino voters.

The same-sex marriage battle won’t be settled with a Supreme Court decision, regardless of what the justices rule. Should the court stop short of recognizing gay marriage, gays and lesbians will still press for the right to marry in the court of public opinion, not to mention the halls of justice and government. And should the court grant the right, millions of Americans still will refuse to rally to the decision of a court of nine men and women.

President Barack Obama delivered an emotional plea Thursday for lawmakers to pass legislation intended to curb gun violence, saying Americans couldn’t possibly have forgotten the horror three months ago of 20 children shot to death in their elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

Florida Atlantic University has apologized for a controversial classroom lesson that led critics to accuse the school of religious intolerance. But that didn’t stop Gov. Rick Scott for stepping into the fray on Tuesday.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act will have implications far beyond how much same-sex couples might owe in income and estate taxes.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham called South Carolina ground zero in the fight for immigration reform as evangelicals join Republicans in pushing for change.

Sen. Kay Hagan said Wednesday that she supported the right of gay people to marry, saying “we should not tell people who they can love or who they can marry.”

Actress Ashley Judd will not challenge U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat in 2016, she announced late Wednesday.

Kentucky House Democrats voted Monday night to override a gubernatorial veto of controversial legislation known as the "religious freedom" bill.

President Barack Obama, a basketball devotee, displayed his soccer prowess and hockey knowledge Tuesday as he honored the National Hockey League Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and Major League Soccer champ Los Angeles Galaxy at the White House. The president bounced a silver-colored soccer ball – a gift from the Galaxy, along with a white team jersey – off his head as cameras clicked to capture the shot. “I hope you guys caught that,” Obama quipped. “That doesn’t happen very often.”

While lawyers inside the majestic Supreme Court building argued over gay marriage Tuesday, hundreds of opponents and supporters gathered outside to dance, sing and pray – and debate the issue. For the opponents of California’s ban on gay marriage, which a federal court already had declared unconstitutional, the day was reason for near-celebration, as a cause that they said was so central to same-sex couples’ ability to enjoy what every other American can – but that they’ve been denied – had scaled to the top of the legal system.

Gov. Steve Beshear vetoed a controversial religious-freedom bill Friday afternoon, saying the measure was well-intended but would spark costly taxpayer-funded court cases and bring an array of unintended consequences.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and unemployed consultant Jason Wonacott both earned their way into the Supreme Court for Tuesday’s oral arguments over gay marriage. Wonacott’s way was more painful or, at least, wetter. He secured his seat in the courtroom by showing up outside four days earlier, enduring occasional snow just to hear one hour of argument about California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage. “I’m gay,” Wonacott explained, “and I would like to get married someday.”

Gov. Steve Beshear vetoed a controversial religious-freedom bill Friday afternoon, saying the measure was well intended but would spark costly taxpayer-funded court cases and bring an array of unintended consequences.

Republicans are touting a 100-page report full of lofty talk about reaching out to minority voters and projecting an air of tolerance. But three paragraphs spell out another way of doing business: Stalking Democrats.

Despite a strong push for tighter gun restrictions by the White House and others, common ground continues to elude lawmakers, even in the wake of the December massacre at a Connecticut elementary school that left 20 children dead and a nation horrified.

Rep. Marcia Fudge didn’t sugarcoat her feelings about the fact that President Barack Obama has not yet chosen any African-Americans to fill open high-level positions in his second term.

President Barack Obama is considering Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx for secretary of transportation, according to two people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.

Just weeks after Washington nearly went to war over automatic spending cuts, Congress scripted a peaceful ending to the clash Thursday as it backed the reductions while giving government managers flexibility to minimize the impacts on the public by finding the savings elsewhere in their budgets.

After getting word in December that she’d be heading the Senate Budget Committee in 2013, Democrat Patty Murray picked up the check when she had breakfast with Republican Rep. Paul Ryan in the Senate Dining Room.

Senators working on a comprehensive immigration plan are quietly talking about letting people into the United States by giving more weight to potential job skills and less weight to family connections than now exists – a departure from the current system and one sure to rile immigrant advocates while pleasing business interests.

Once hailed as the savior of food stamps, Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts has introduced a bill to cut $36 billion from the federal aid program over 10 years.

The Senate voted Wednesday night by the barest of margins to approve a massive tax cut for the oil industry in the hope that it would lead to more oil production in Alaska.

After getting word in December that she’d be heading the Senate Budget Committee in 2013, Democrat Patty Murray picked up the check when she had breakfast with Republican Rep. Paul Ryan in the Senate Dining Room.

The two men appeared chummy during the visit, joking easily and saluting one another in a sharp departure from the often frosty rapport they’ve exhibited in the past. They met privately at Netanyahu’s residence, then again over a working dinner into the evening, with reports of a chemical weapon attack in Syria and continued fears of Iran’s nuclear program topping their agenda.

President Obama landed in Israel Wednesday, pledging that the U.S. will remain a steadfast ally of Israel, amidst "winds of change" in the turbulent region.

House Republicans pressed White House officials for more answers Tuesday on the unexpected release last month of more than 2,000 illegal immigrants in anticipation of automatic across-the-board federal budget cuts.

President Barack Obama came into office four years ago skeptical of pushing the power of the White House to the limit, especially if it appeared to be circumventing Congress. Now, as he launches his second term, Obama has grown more comfortable wielding power to try to move his own agenda forward, particularly when a deeply fractured, often-hostile Congress gets in his way. He’s done it with a package of tools, some of which date to George Washington and some invented in the modern era of an increasingly powerful presidency. And he’s done it with a frequency that belies his original campaign criticisms of predecessor George W. Bush.

Republicans in the House of Representatives sought Tuesday to aggressively debunk dire claims by the Obama administration about some of the impacts of the across-the-board federal spending cuts known as sequestration.

The House of Representatives Ethics Committee is investigating Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young over allegations of wrongly taking gifts, using campaign funds for personal purposes and lying to federal officials.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s effort to ban assault-style weapons fizzled Tuesday, as Majority Leader Harry Reid did not include the measure in a larger package of legislation to address gun violence.

Tea party hero Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday backed a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s immigration system, a fresh, strong signal that Republicans are coming to accept broad changes – and that Paul wants to widen his appeal.

The road to confirmation will likely be long and difficult for the first Latino picked to serve in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet during his second term.

The Republican Party’s got a big image problem that won’t be easily overcome, as a new GOP study found it’s often viewed as the party of "stuffy old men” with a weak, ineffective message.