Search results for

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell has wanted to be Senate majority leader since grade school. Now, as he starts his sixth term in office, he'll finally get his wish.

When Congress returns to work in January, Sen. John McCain of Arizona is set to lead the committee, which deals with everything from the Pentagon budget to the U.S. war against the Islamic state.

John Boehner's inability to get fellow Republicans to line up behind him not only increases doubts about his future as House speaker; it also raises a more immediate question for President Obama: Who can he negotiate with in the effort to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff?

At the height of the housing boom, condominium towers popped up on the Miami skyline faster than you'd believe. Once the market crashed, those towers sat vacant. Now, led by foreign buyers, condos are selling again as developers try new, more stringent financing rules.

In Greece, hospital budgets have been slashed by more than half. Doctors say they lack basic supplies, including those needed to save lives. Both public and private doctors have seen their salaries cut, delayed or even frozen. Meanwhile, unemployment is taking a toll on patients' health.

Despite his re-election and bolstered Democratic numbers in Congress, President Obama has far from a free hand to make a comprehensive deal with House Speaker John Boehner that would include cuts to entitlement programs. Strong resistance to that notion is coming from the political left — and with a warning.

As the White House and Congress continue to wrangle over a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" and its billions in automatic spending cuts and tax increases, a look at who is spending big to influence the debate behind the scenes.

Not long ago, it seemed that the House of Representatives was a case of the tail wagging the dog, with Speaker John Boehner unable to keep in line many fellow Republicans, especially freshmen who came to Congress riding the 2010 Tea Party wave. Now, however, the big dog seems back in control.

Most of the ballots have already been cast in early voting in Nevada. Steve Inskeep checks in with Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston on voter turnout Tuesday and more.

On the final day of the 2012 campaign, President Obama and Mitt Romney are making a last push in states that could be critical to victory. Obama was scheduled to campaign in three swing states, while Romney had events planned in four. The only overlap was in Ohio, considered the linchpin of the election.