Former IRS chief: Can't say how targeting happened
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The man who led the Internal Revenue Service when it was giving extra scrutiny to tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status told Congress on Tuesday that he knew little about what was happening while he was still commissioner....

AP Sources: Obama ok punting gay immigration idea
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two people familiar with the Senate immigration deliberations say the White House has suggested to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy that it would be best to put off a controversy over gay marriage until a bill goes before the full Senate....

Senators agree to expansion of high-tech visas
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Officials say leading senators trying to resolve a key issue on immigration legislation have agreed to a compromise covering expansion of a high-tech visa program....

Policy, discretion guide media sources probes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It was a rare moment in relations between the media and the government: In 2008, FBI Director Robert Mueller called the top editors at The New York Times and The Washington Post to apologize because the bureau had improperly obtained reporters' telephone records four years earlier....

Court: US can keep bin Laden photos under wraps
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court is backing the U.S. government's decision not to release photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden during and after a raid in which the terrorist leader was killed by U.S. commandos....

O'Malley using agenda, fundraising to explore 2016
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- His latest legislative achievements put him in the vanguard of his party's liberal base. He's been a top fundraiser for President Barack Obama. And he's ramping up his travel to help fellow Democrats around the country....

Obama pledges urgent aid to Oklahoma town
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama pledged urgent government help for Oklahoma Tuesday in the wake of "one of the most destructive" storms in the nation's history....

Okla. Senator says tornado aid should be paid for
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Conservative Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn says that any additional federal aid to help tornado victims and to rebuild devastated areas of his state should be financed with cuts to other programs in the government's $3.6 trillion budget....

Senate to debate crop insurance in farm bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate is debating cuts to the federally subsidized crop insurance program as it considers a massive farm bill this week....

Apple's Cook to face Senate questions on taxes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate panel says Apple Inc. is avoiding billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by shifting profits to foreign affiliates and is prepared to question the company's chief executive Tuesday about the "loopholes."...