Shutdown averted, Senate backs stop-gap spending bill

With less than hour to spare, the Senate late Friday backed legislation averting a government shutdown as coal-state Democrats retreated on long-term health care benefits for retired miners and promised a renewed fight for the working class next year. The 63-36 vote sent the stop-gap spending bill to President Barack Obama, who signed the measure early Saturday morning.

Trump not saying what hea ll do about Dakota Access pipeline

Industry leaders are urging President-elect Donald Trump to make approval of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline a "top priority" when he takes office next month, while opponents who have protested the project for months are vowing to stay put on their sprawling North Dakota encampment despite harsh winter weather and a tribal leaders' call to leave. The moves come after the Army declined to issue a permit for the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Republicans in Congress target governors for help in bid to ax Obamacare

Republicans are trying to rope the country's governors into their Obamacare repeal effort, soliciting feedback from the state executives Monday as they plot their strategy for early next year. While they've said dismantling the Affordable Care Act is their top priority in the new year, congressional Republicans are still sketching out what comes next, and the governors, who have grappled with the effects of Obamacare and the uninsured up close, could provide a lifeline for the GOP.

North Carolina Gov. McCrory concedes he lost re-election bid

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory conceded the governor's race Monday, clearing the way for Democrat Roy Cooper to be declared the winner nearly four weeks after Election Day. The win by Cooper, the state's outgoing attorney general, gives Democrats an important consolation prize after a disappointing election across the country.

Natalia Castro: “Going Nuclear” On Supreme Court Pick

One issue that helped shape the election was the debate over the next Supreme Court Justice nomination as a fear of a liberal replacement to the late Justice Antonin Scalia brought conservatives to the voting booth in droves. Now President-elect Donald Trump must remain true to his promise and deliver a strict constitutionalist to the Supreme Court, but his new enemy in this battle is not Hillary Clinton , but the Senate.

The Latest: Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, to meet with Al Gore

Ivanka Trump is meeting with former Vice President Al Gore, who is an aggressive advocate on the idea that humans are causing climate change. Ivanka Trump is a member of her father's transition team, and aides told reporters Monday that the session would take place later in the day.

Trump Taps Former Campaign Rival Carson As Housing Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump, moving to complete formation of his Cabinet and decide other key administration posts, chose former campaign rival Ben Carson on Monday to be secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Trump's decision, announced by his transition office, comes as the real estate mogul continues a series of interviews, meetings with aides and other deliberations aimed at forming his administration and following his announcement of several Cabinet appointees last week.

Supreme Court takes up cases about race in redistricting

This Nov. 15, 2016 photo shows a view of the Supreme Court from the Capitol Dome, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The eight-justice court is hearing arguments Monday in two cases that deal with the same basic issue of whether race played too large a role in the drawing of electoral districts, to the detriment of African-Americans.

Dakota Access Pipeline: What happens next?

The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline -- the $3.8 billion project expected to move 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day across the Midwest -- lasted long enough for the summer heat to give way to thick, white snow. For months, Standing Rock Sioux tribe members and their allies battled the energy project they referred to as a "black snake."

Green Party candidate says she’s cooperating in Russia probe

The Senate intelligence committee has asked for documents from former presidential candidate Jill Stein as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, adding another new thread to the panel's investigation as it heads into 2018. Stein said in a statement overnight Tuesday that she was cooperating with the probe and is providing documents to the committee.

Quotes from some leading voices in the oil pipeline dispute

Quotes from some leading voices in the Dakota Access oil pipeline dispute. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Sunday that it won't grant an easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in southern North Dakota, handing a victory to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and its supporters.

Big Labor threw tons of cash at Democrats, but workers voted red: report

Big Labor pumped $530 million of workers' dues into mostly Democratic Party groups and liberal causes over a four-year period - with dismal results, according to a new analysis. Despite the unions' massive cash infusion into Democratic causes, GOPer Donald Trump still won the union-heavy Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio in his presidential bid against Dem candidate Hillary Clinton.

Trump seen expanding top diplomat short list as Giuliani, Romney, Petraeus stars fade

President-elect Donald Trump is expanding his pool of candidates for secretary of state, leaving unclear whether former CIA Director David Petraeus' guilty plea for leaking classified information disqualifies him to serve as the nation's top diplomat. "There's not a finite list of candidates" for secretary of state, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters on Sunday.