Wildfires threatened hundreds of homes in the seaside hills and foothill canyons near Los Angeles early Friday, feeding on bone-dry brush in the midst of a heat wave expected to drive temperatures into triple digits. As many as 1,500 people had to leave the wealthy seaside community of Rancho Palos Verdes overnight, while residents... More

New Mexico’s top federal prosecutor confirms that no charges will be brought against Gov. Bill Richardson and his former top aides after a probe of an alleged pay-to-play scheme. But the U.S. attorney says that doesn’t exonerate the conduct of people involved. U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt made the comments in a letter sent... More

A freshman Kansas congress woman said Thursday that her remark about fellow Republicans seeking a “great white hope” was not a reference to someone who could challenge President Barack Obama or his political agenda. Rep. Lynn Jenkins said she was instead making a comment about GOP leaders in the House and was trying to reassure... More

Most Americans approve of the way President Obama is handling energy issues and support efforts by him and Democrats in Congress to overhaul energy policy — including the controversial cap-and-trade approach to limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Even as public support has slipped for Obama’s health-care proposals, support... More

Greg Sargent notes another document secured by the ACLU. (Yes, Greenwald is right that it’s bizarre the media in this country are second to the ACLU in demanding information from the government.) This document gives a detailed account of the torture techniques used by the Bush-Cheney administration in the elite CIA program.... More

Up to half of the population of the U.S. could come down with the swine flu and 90,000 could die this season, according to a dire report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The report, which claims as many as 1.8 million people could end up in the hospital seeking treatment for the H1N1 virus,... More

On Martha’s Vineyard, it’s golf today with the first lady and friends. Tomorrow, more golf. A pile of books to read. In between, the Fed chief is renominated. Then it’s back to relaxing. It’s just your average vacation schedule — a little reading, a little tennis and golf, a little briefing from the... More

The federal deficit will soar to nearly $1.6 trillion this year, miring the nation in the deepest pool of red ink since the end of World War II, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the White House reported Tuesday. The gap between spending and tax collections will amount to 11.2 percent of the overall economy, more than... More

Bloggers were all aflutter earlier this month when White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told C-SPAN that, for some reason, Twitter usage was blocked at the White House. However, he added, “I’m on camera enough that people have a decent sense of what I’m doing, minus Twittering.” His statement left the press corps wondering... More

Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department will award $1 billion in grants to help local law enforcement agencies hire about 4,700 officers. Boston is the biggest beneficiary in Massachusetts, with $11.8 million, enough for 50 officers. Other recipients include New Bedford,... More

They held the tutorial in the Capitol basement starting at 4 in the afternoon Monday. For the first two and a half hours, about 180 members of Congress had to do something for which they typically have limited affinity: Remain speechless. Sit still in a little folding chair. Listen to staffers. They couldn’t even ask questions,... More

President Barack Obama said he was open to imposing a surtax on high-income Americans as a way to help pay for health care reform. Legislation pending in the House would impose a surtax ranging from 1 percent for individuals making more than $280,000 to 5.4 percent for individuals with more than $1 million in income. “My understanding,... More

The mayors of three New Jersey cities, two state legislators and several rabbis were among more than 40 people arrested Thursday in a sweeping corruption investigation that began as a probe into an international money laundering ring that trafficked in goods as diverse as human organs and fake designer handbags. Among 44 people arrested... More

Good News for California. This just came out. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has apparently found a way to close the state’s $26 billion budget shortfall. Schwarzenegger says it won’t be pretty, but times like this call for a sequel to “Jingle All The Way.” Seriously, though, this is very good news. You should be happy. Schwarzenegger... More

Gun rights advocates sought to show their political muscle again Wednesday with a Senate vote giving people with concealed weapons permits in one state permission to carry their hidden weapons into other states with similar gun laws. Under an agreement of Senate leaders, 60 votes were needed to pass the measure, an amendment to a... More