WASHINGTON - If the gender gap becomes a chasm that swallows Republicans this fall, it will be no fluke. It will, however, have something to do with Sandra Fluke.

You're in America. Speak English. That's what my parents say. And it's exactly what they did when they came to this country from Czechoslovakia more than four decades ago, knowing nothing more than the lyrics to the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B.

A weak labor market, like the one we've experienced since the 2008 financial crisis, imposes enormous stress on people. Given the added anxiety created by a weak economy, you might think life expectancy would decline.

WASHINGTON -- In terms of sizzle, Sen. Rob Portman makes Mitt Romney look like Lady Gaga.

The White House's economic achievement checklist looks better each day. Unemployment rate back in the low 8 percent range? Check. The Dow Jones Industrial Average back above 12,000? Check.

Cuba's first deepwater oil rig, Scarabeo 9, began drilling last month 70 miles south of Key West, Fla. Cuban officials believe the rig may tap as much as 20 billion barrels of oil. (U.S. officials estimate a quarter to half that amount.

WASHINGTON - Can civility be saved? This has become the question du jour among scholars, journalists and others who fret about such things at dozens of programs popping up around the country.

NEW YORK - Out. Everywhere. Yesterday. Those three words sum up the mood here at home when it comes to American military presence outside U.S. borders.

WASHINGTON - You might think that Sen. David Vitter would observe a lifetime moratorium on public moralizing after his phone number was found in the little black book of a prostitution ring's madam.

WASHINGTON - Gene Sperling's sports metaphors collided so often during the White House budget rollout that it's a wonder the man didn't pull a hamstring.