Pressure on Obama to grant last-minute pardons, commutations

Under mounting pressure to free convicts as a last act, President Barack Obama is planning at least one more batch of pardons and commutations before leaving office in two weeks, but don't expect many famous offenders to make the list. The list of bold names appealing to Obama for compassion in his final weeks includes accused leaker Chelsea Manning, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Army Sgt.

Trump stalls bad ethics proposal

President-elect Donald Trump's reliance on Twitter to address complex issues - from trade policy with China to nuclear proliferation - is frightening. Occasionally, though, issues are simple enough to fit in a tweet, and that was the case with the House GOP proposal to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics.

12:48 Congress begins Russia hacking probe, Trump still skeptical of U.S. intelligence

Senior U.S. intelligence officials will testify in Congress on Thursday on Russia's alleged cyber attacks during the 2016 election campaign, even as President-elect Donald Trump casts doubt on intelligence agencies' findings that Moscow orchestrated the hacks, Reuters reported. The hearings come a day before Trump is due to be briefed by intelligence agency chiefs on hacks that targeted the Democratic Party.

Chuck Schumer Issues Warning to Trump

On Wednesday, the top Democrat in the Senate, New York Senator Chuck Schumer issued a warning to President-elect Donald Trump about his eventual Supreme Court choice. In an interview, Schumer said that Trump if Trump does not name a "mainstream" nominee, Democrats will oppose the individual "with everything we have."

Dayton to Chamber of Commerce: State needs call for new spending

Gov. Mark Dayton told a packed ballroom of business leaders Wednesday that even in the face of uncertainty over how the U.S. economy might perform under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, Minnesota should dedicate additional resources to health and human services and other major needs. "While Congress is pondering, the Minnesota Legislature must be active," Dayton said during the annual Minnesota Chamber of Commerce dinner, held in downtown St. Paul.

Tillerson Leaving Exxon With $180 Million Retirement Package

Rex Tillerson will get a $180 million retirement package from Exxon Mobil Corp. if he is confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state. Tillerson will give up more than 2 million Exxon shares he would have received over the next 10 years.

Elizabeth Warren rails against Donald Trump’s SEC pick

Senator Elizabeth Warren is railing against President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head up the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trump earlier on Wednesday said he wanted Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to be the SEC's chairman, calling him "a highly talented expert on many aspects of financial and regulatory law."

Republicans already jittery about quick Obamacare repeal

Republicans are just getting started on their years-long dream of repealing Obamacare, and already, there are fears that things are moving too fast. Some Republicans are cautioning against repealing the Affordable Care Act too quickly and urging the party take the foot off the accelerator.

With options limited, Obama to rally Dems on health care

President Barack Obama, anxious to preserve elements of his signature health law, travels to Capitol Hill Wednesday in a bid to fend off Republican efforts to repeal the measure outright. During his morning huddle with congressional Democrats, Obama plans to argue that a robust defense of the Affordable Care Act by lawmakers could help deter the promised GOP effort to scrap it as soon as Donald Trump takes office.

Nation 29 mins ago 5:36 a.m.NAACP president, members arrested protesting Jeff Sessions’ Attorneya

NAACP president Cornell William Brooks was arrested Tuesday night after staging a sit-in protest at the Mobile, Alabama, office of Republican senator Jeff Sessions, who is Donald Trump's Attorney General nominee. Alabama NAACP president Bernard Simelton and other NAACP members were also arrested.

Official: Charles Manson alive amid report he’s hospitalized

By The Associated Press Mariah Carey says she was "mortified" in "real time" during her disastrous live performance just before the ball dropped on ABC's "Dick Clark's Rockin' New... By The Associated Press Mariah Carey says she was "mortified" in "real time" during her disastrous live performance just before the ball dropped on ABC's "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's... Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive.

Search intensifies for missing 84-year-old man from Town of Beloit

The National Guard and the Wisconsin State Patrol are among the many agencies assisting in helping find a man from the Town of Beloit who went missing on Tuesday. A Silver Alert has been issued for 84-year-old Stuart Austin who was last seen in Madison leaving Triangle Super Services on Milwaukee Street.