President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency has moved one step closer to getting the job, but it came without Republican support.

Don't look for the outcry over the Internal Revenue Service's improper targeting of tea party groups to subside with the ouster of the agency's acting commissioner.

Faced with a trio of controversies, President Barack Obama is trying to halt a perception spreading among both White House opponents and allies that he has been passive and disengaged as unexpected developments consume his second term.

The nation's top defense leaders were summoned to the White House Thursday to talk about the military's escalating sexual assault crisis as the Pentagon's top general said women in uniform were losing confidence the problem will be solved.

Democrats rallied behind President Barack Obama in the long-running, bitter dispute over the administration's handling of the Benghazi attack, arguing that the White House's latest email disclosure undermines Republican claims of a cover-up.

While President Barack Obama quickly added his voice to the bipartisan outcry over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative political groups for extra scrutiny, it's hardly the first time a White House and the tax agency have been targets for claims of political meddling and bias.

House Republicans have moved to protect the Department of Homeland Security from the big cuts facing other domestic agencies under the party's slashing budget plan.

President Barack Obama said Thursday that the U.S. and Turkey will keep ramping up pressure to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, with his country's civil war having "wracked the region."

The United States remains in armed conflict with al-Qaida and its affiliates, a fight likely to last a decade or two, senior Pentagon officials told Congress on Thursday in arguing against changes to the 2001 military force law used in the war on terror.

Republican Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor whose extramarital affair derailed his political career, returned to Congress on Wednesday with his Argentine "soul mate" at his side.

The top U.S. military officer says women in uniform are losing confidence that the problem of sexual assault in the armed forces can be solved.

A Senate panel has endorsed the nomination of Justice Department official Thomas Perez to head the Labor Department despite opposition from Republicans.

The White House release of some 100 pages of emails and notes about the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year has failed to satisfy congressional Republicans, who are demanding more information.

The nation's top defense leaders were summoned to the White House Thursday to talk about the military's sexual assault crisis as the Pentagon's top general said women in uniform were losing confidence the problem will be solved.

Faced with a trio of controversies, President Barack Obama is trying to halt a perception spreading among both White House opponents and allies that he has been passive and disengaged as unexpected developments consume his second term.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday challenged Attorney General Eric Holder over the Justice Department's handling of the investigation of national security leaks and its failure to talk to The Associated Press before issuing subpoenas for the news service's telephone records.

Government information leaks and collisions with the media date back decades and decades. Think back to the Pentagon Papers.

Arctic states agreed Wednesday to let nations that are located nowhere near the Earth's north to become observers to their diplomatic council, boosting rising economic powers China, India and South Korea, which are seeking to mine the region for its untapped energy and other natural resources.

The Obama administration wants quick confirmation of five nominees to fill seats on the National Labor Relations Board, which has been mired for months in a controversy over recess appointments.

It's a better deal at first, but student loan rates could steadily climb and cost students more over the long haul under the plan House Republicans are considering.