Obama: 'Lives have been saved' by NSA programs
BERLIN (AP) -- Trying to tamp down concerns about government over-reach, President Barack Obama on Wednesday defended U.S. Internet and phone surveillance programs as narrowly targeted efforts that have saved lives and thwarted at least 50 terror threats....

Budget office view boosts Senate immigration bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supporters of a far-reaching immigration bill in the Senate see fresh momentum from a report by the Congressional Budget Office that says the measure would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits by billions of dollars....

Social issues still fire up GOP despite 2012 loss
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican lawmakers have a message for those who want the party to soften its emphasis on social conservatism in hopes of reaching a wider national audience: Not so fast....

Obama relying on untested oversight board on NSA
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence, stymied by congressional infighting and, at times, censorship by government lawyers....

Obama to renew calls for nuclear reductions
BERLIN (AP) -- President Barack Obama will renew his call Wednesday to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, the White House said....

House to consider cuts to food stamps
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A wide-ranging farm bill the House is considering would cut food stamps by $2 billion a year and make it more difficult for some people to qualify for the domestic food aid program....

Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator....

Capitol's Frederick Douglass statue to be unveiled
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass will once again stand tall in the U.S. Capitol....

Gov't report: Smooth launch unsure for health law
WASHINGTON (AP) -- There's no guarantee that President Barack Obama's health care law will launch smoothly and on time, congressional investigators say in the first in-depth independent look at its progress....

Military plans would put women in most combat jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Declaring "the days of Rambo are over," a top general said Tuesday that cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than tough physical fitness requirements for women looking to join the military's special operations units....