House GOP higher education bill moves ahead, despite cries to slow down

President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., right, observes on Oct. 12, 2017, at the White House. Foxx is one of the authors of a comprehensive higher education bill that might be on the president's desk soon.

Lanny Keller: Confusing clash of interests with bonhomie

A decade or two ago, Louisiana's moderate-to-conservative Democrats like John Breaux in the Senate and Billy Tauzin in the House were shrewd, capable and willing to buck their party leadership as centrists in either chamber. They brokered deals with President Ronald Reagan or the Bushes across party lines, quite often winning special laws or tax provisions for Louisiana.

5 things to watch in Alabama’s high stakes Senate race

As Alabama votes to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the choice between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones has taken on outsized significance. Moore has faced allegations of sexual misconduct with teenagers, dividing the GOP and giving Democrats hope of picking up a seat in a reliably red state.

Tax package would lower top tax rate for wealthy Americans

Congressional Republicans on Tuesday rushed toward a deal on a massive tax package that would reduce the top tax rate for wealthy Americans to 37 percent and slash the corporate rate to a level slightly higher than what businesses and conservatives wanted. In a flurry of last-minute changes that could profoundly affect the pocketbooks of millions of Americans, House and Senate negotiators agreed to expand a deduction for state and local taxes to allow individuals to deduct income taxes as well as property taxes.

Franken back at Senate job despite soon-to-be-gone status – Tue, 12 Dec 2017 PST

Al Franken is the Senate's dead man walking, still doing his day job despite his soon-to-be-gone status. The two-term Minnesota lawmaker told a somber Senate last Thursday he would resign amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and in the face of vanishing support from fellow Democrats.

Merrill: Turnout about 25 percent today statewide

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said this afternoon it looked like about 25 percent voter turnout in today's special U.S. Senate race between Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore. The special election to replace Jeff Sessions, who became U.S. attorney general early this year, is expected to cost the state $15 million - $5 million each for the primary, runoff and general.

Sessions: terror attacks show immigration a security issue

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in a conference and official press release that he would recuse himself from any probe into Russian interference in the U.S. election. DAVID McFADDEN Associated Press BALTIMORE - A botched suicide mission on the New York City subway system showed in the "starkest terms" that the failures of the U.S. immigration system are a national security issue, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday during a stop in Baltimore with the new Homeland Security chief.

Female workers sue McCormick & Schmick’s over lewd behavior

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says attack on New York City subway system showed in "starkest terms" that the failures of the U.S. immigration system are a national security issue. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says attack on New York City subway system showed in "starkest terms" that the failures of the U.S. immigration system are a national security issue.

Republicans considering bumping corporate rate to 21 percent in tax plan as deal nears

House Speaker Paul Ryan arrives at a news conference regarding tax legislation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 12, 2017. Ryan here praised a one-page study released Monday by the Treasury Department showing the tax plan more than paying for itself, but only if high growth forecasts are met and if other Trump administration economic policies proposals are enacted.

Tax package would ease hit to residents of high-tax states

This Sept. 27, 2017 file photo shows Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., center, joining Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other GOP lawmakers to talk about the Republicans' proposed rewrite of the tax code for individuals and corporations, at the Capitol in Washington.

Alabama Senate: Turnout for vote could reach 25 percent

Alabama's top election official estimates that turnout for the hotly contested U.S. Senate election now underway will likely be around 18 to 20 percent of registered voters. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill tells The Associated Press there's also a chance that turnout for the special election could be as high as 25 percent.

House Speaker Ryan says he believes upbeat Treasury tax study

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday defended a one-page analysis by the Treasury Department that asserted a tax plan pushed by the Republican-led Congress would pay for itself in 10 years. FILE PHOTO: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan speaks during his weekly press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2017.

Ohio Congress members seek federal money to fight opioid abuse

Weeks after President Donald Trump officially declared opioid abuse to be a national public health emergency, a bipartisan group of Congress members from Ohio wants him to put the government's money where his mouth is. On Monday, Republican Rep. Dave Joyce of Bainbridge Township and Democrat Tim Ryan of the Niles area released a letter signed by 48 colleagues that urged the Trump administration to allot money to address a problem that kills an estimated 144 Americans every day.

NJ Politics Digest: Christie, Murphy Bicker Over State Budget

The incoming and outgoing governors of New Jersey are squabbling over the state budget, with Governor-elect Phil Murphy warning of a massive budget hole and Gov. Chris Christie accusing Murphy of using faulty math. It all started when Murphy asked Christie to freeze discretionary spending to ensure the state's fiscal woes aren't made worse, according to Politico.