WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House on Tuesday urged congressional Democrats to quickly embrace a contentious tax cut plan that President Barack Obama cut with Republicans, arguing that the rank and file need to move on to other issues before the party loses control of the House in January.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elizabeth Edwards is gravely ill and doctors have told her she only has weeks to live, according to a family friend who is among those who have gathered with Edwards at her North Carolina home.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments on whether California's same-sex marriage ban is constitutional in a hearing to be televised nationally.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider throwing out a massive lawsuit that claims Wal-Mart pays women less than men and promotes women less frequently.

The 40-year congressional veteran on Thursday became the 23rd House member in the nation's history to be censured for misconduct. As the final chapter of a more than two-year ethics investigation played out, Rangel moved through several zones of emotion: contrition, anger, relief, defiance

In a surprising setback, the nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent in November, a seven-month high, as hiring slowed across the economy.

A white man who pleaded guilty to six robberies in Ohio used a black mask so lifelike that police initially arrested a black man for one of the crimes, authorities said Tuesday.

Negotiators worked on a deal Thursday that would extend expiring tax cuts for everyone even as House Democrats moved toward a vote to show their commitment to letting taxes on the wealthy go up.
The House bill is a political maneuver to satisfy Democratic supporters who oppose extending tax cuts for the wealthy.

Rep. Charles Rangel faces an almost certain censure by the House, a devastating defeat for a 40-year veteran who insisted to the end that he never meant to violate House rules.
If the House votes for censure Thursday as expected, the New York Democrat will have to humbly walk to the front of the chamber to receive his punishment. He'll stand in front of his colleagues while Speaker Nancy Pelosi — in one of her most solemn duties — reads him a resolution condemning his ethical misbehavior.

Julian Assange's legal options narrowed Thursday as the WikiLeaks founder lost an appeal against a court order for his arrest and his British lawyer said authorities knew his precise location