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Monitor Breakfast Why Sen. Carl Levin backs military's position on sexual-assault cases

Sen. Carl Levin (D), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, believes military sexual-assault cases should remain under the control of the chain of command. Many in his party disagree. What's his rationale?
House GOP pushes through curbs on No Child Left Behind

The House bill rolls back much of the accountability requirements for the No Child Left Behind law. It also locks in lower levels of federal funding. The Obama administration threatened a veto.
Should Congress restore key part of Voting Rights Act? House hears both sides.

A House subcommittee hosted an exchange of views Thursday about the meaning of and potential fallout from the US Supreme Court’s decision last month that struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act.
In Senate, emotional appeal to restore 'heart and soul' of Voting Rights Act

Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a leader of the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to restore a key section of the Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court.
In filibuster deal, a glimpse of how the Senate could actually work

The filibuster deal to avoid the Senate's 'nuclear option' showed that when senators actually talk to each other (a rare thing nowadays), they’re not so bad at figuring things out.
Senate averts 'nuclear option,' but leaves deeper questions unanswered

After a rare, closed meeting senators agreed to confirm several controversial Obama nominees. The deal avoided a 'nuclear option' that would have changed Senate rules on filibusters.
Monitor Breakfast Sen. Carl Levin imagines NSA phone-tracking in hands of J. Edgar Hoover

The Michigan Democrat frames in vivid terms the potential for abuse of the NSA phone-surveillance program, invoking the memory of J. Edgar Hoover and his secret FBI files on public officials. But the program has pluses, too, says Sen. Carl Levin.
Pentagon girds for Senate fight over sexual assault bill

A bill to strip commanders of their authority in sexual assault cases has bipartisan support in the Senate. But Pentagon officials say it would make a bad situation worse.
'Nuclear option' 101: Why the big fight over the Senate filibuster? (+video)

The 'nuclear option' involves a rules change involving the Senate filibuster that may look to many Americans like another case of partisan bickering. But it would in fact change how Congress works. Here's what all the fuss is about.
Texas abortion vote mirrors Americans' divided view

Texas lawmakers have passed a restrictive abortion law that could sharply reduce the number of clinics. Over the years, the sharply divided public view has become more conservative.
Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner stage political comebacks. Redemption overload?

Not long ago New York Democrats Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner seemed to have killed their political careers with sex scandals. Now, each is attempting a comeback, but will New Yorkers forgive and forget?
House farm bill leaves food stamps in limbo

A House version of the farm bill took food stamps out entirely – leaving them to be taken up later and separately. But if cuts are what Republicans want, the tactic might backfire.
Immigration reform: House GOP consensus is to do something – but later

House Republicans emerged from a strategy session on immigration reform saying something needed to be done but seeming content to shelve the issue until the fall. What to do is still an issue.
Conceal-carry: Heeding court, Illinois becomes 50th state to allow it

Both chambers of the Illinois legislature on Tuesday overrode a veto on the matter by Gov. Pat Quinn. About 300,000 residents could apply for conceal-carry permits, although some details of the law have to be worked out first.
Senate back at student loans as pressure and rates mount, but deal elusive

A key student loan rate doubled last week after Congress refused to act, but the majority Democrats in the Senate are split and the party leadership is looking for a short-term fix.
Will GOP plan to cut food stamps save the farm bill ... or kill it?

After the farm bill's stunning defeat last month, House GOP leaders are feeling out whether they can strip out a massive food stamp program and win back enough conservative votes to pass the aid to farmers.
FBI nominee James Comey: Did he ace confirmation hearing?

James Comey, a Republican who served under George W. Bush, told the senators he considered waterboarding torture. The FBI nominee sailed through his confirmation hearing with bipartisan support.
'Sequester' at Pentagon: why furloughs may not be as harmful as predicted

As part of the sequester, the Defense Department began furloughs of civilian employees Monday. The Pentagon has warned of a devastating impact, but at least one analyst suspects that some of the undone work won't be missed.
Who coined 'United States of America'? Mystery might have intriguing answer.

Historians have long tried to pinpoint exactly when the name 'United States of America' was first used and by whom. A new find suggests the man might have been George Washington himself.
July 4 protests target NSA surveillance as Fourth Amendment violations (+video)

This year, on the Fourth, a coalition of activists is rallying to the cry of 'Restore the Fourth,' as in Amendment. Protests both digital and physical are planned against NSA surveillance programs.