Panel: Apple uses firms outside US to avoid taxes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Apple Inc. employs a group of affiliate companies located outside the United States to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes, a Senate investigation has found....

More Obama aides knew of IRS audit; Obama not told
WASHINGTON (AP) -- White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior advisers knew in late April that an impending report was likely to say the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups, President Barack Obama's spokesman disclosed Monday, expanding the circle of top officials who knew of the audit beyond those named earlier....

Gov't presses ahead on another leak case
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In another case of the Obama administration investigating classified information improperly disclosed to reporters, the government is prosecuting a State Department expert on North Korea in a probe that appears to step into uncharted territory - by declaring that a journalist is committing a crime in disclosing leaked information....

Penn urges US to pressure Bolivia to free US man
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Actor Sean Penn on Monday urged the U.S. government to pressure Bolivia to free an American businessman detained without charge since 2011 in a case that has drawn accusations he was the victim of corrupt local prosecutors....

Democrats strike back at GOP voting measures
DENVER (AP) -- In a bitter fight, Colorado Democrats recently muscled through the Statehouse a massive elections reform bill that allows voters to register up until Election Day and still cast their ballots....

House passes bill on lying about military medals
WASHINGTON (AP) -- People who falsely claim they have received a military medal in order to obtain money or government benefits could face up to a year in jail under legislation that easily passed the House Monday....

GOP leaders say impeachment talk premature
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- The Republican National Committee chairman and a leading conservative, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, urged caution Monday for Republican critics calling for President Barack Obama's impeachment, but would not rule out impeachment altogether as new details emerged about the White House's role in the developing scandal at the Internal Revenue Service....

NYPD messages to Muslim informant: 'Get pictures'
NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York Police Department detective told a federal judge that he's seen no evidence that one of his informants brought up the subject of jihad as a way to bait Muslims into making incriminating remarks. But text messages obtained by The Associated Press show otherwise....

Obama vows US support as Myanmar leader visits
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Monday told Myanmar's president during a long-awaited White House meeting that he appreciates the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country on its sometimes difficult path to democracy and assured him of U.S. support....

GOP ponders how to capitalize on Obama's woes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The scandals dogging President Barack Obama are a political gift to Republicans, who could use some good luck after recent election losses. It's not clear, however, how Republicans can best capitalize on Democrats' woes, legislatively or politically....