US News

At the GOP's statewide convention, thousands of conservatives and tea party followers who dominated the Richmond Coliseum on Saturday roared their unanimous support for Ken Cuccinelli.

Networks unveiled their fall lineups this week in New York at their various upfront events, and although CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox all trumpet their new shows as the best of the best, not every pilot is destined to be a hit, or even worth your time.

The nation's tax agency has admitted to inappropriately scrutinizing smaller tea party organizations that applied for tax-exempt status, and senior Treasury Department officials were notified in the midst of the 2012 presidential election season that an internal investigation was underway.

Officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office say the governor will meet with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and Connecticut's two U.S. senators at the site of a Metro-North Railroad crash that injured 70 people.

Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.

Two commuter trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in an accident that sent about 70 people to the hospital, severely damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the congested Northeast Corridor.

The growing use of unmanned surveillance "eyes in the sky" aircraft raises a thicket of privacy concerns, but Congress is getting mixed advice on what, if anything, to do about it.

Seeking maximum political gain from the string of controversies swirling around the White House, Republicans are on the attack against Democratic lawmakers who accepted donations from the union that represents Internal Revenue Service employees.

The Illinois Senate approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes on Friday, sending the measure to the governor's desk.

A federal appeals court has upheld the 8-year prison sentence given to the longtime girlfriend of reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger for helping him during his 16 years as a fugitive.

"If you think it's uncomfortable sitting over there you ought to be a private individual when the IRS is across from you asking you questions" The gallery at the House Weighs and Means Committee Friday had to be called to order after it burst into applause and nearly a standing ovation following an impassioned diatribe against the IRS by ... (more)

Ousted IRS chief Steve Miller and J. Russell George, a Treasury inspector general, take the oath before testifying on before the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday.

Unemployment rates dropped in 43 out of the 50 U.S. states and in the District of Columbia in April from a year before, according to Labor Department data released on Friday.

A handful of states, including Illinois, Delaware, Indiana, Wisconsin, Mississippi and New Hampshire saw their jobless rates rise over the year. Illinois' rate fell in April to 9.3 percent from 9.5 percent in March but rose from 8.8 percent a year before.

Any confrontation over the nation’s debt ceiling is now unlikely until after Labor Day.

The government will hit the limit of how much it’s allowed to borrow this weekend, but Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a letter Friday that “extraordinary measures” likely would allow the nation to continue paying its bills without more borrowing “until after Labor Day.”

The Energy Department gave a terminal near Freeport, Tex., permission Friday to ship liquefied natural gas to Japan, providing a new outlet for rising U.S. production of shale gas despite qualms of environmentalists and many domestic manufacturers.

The permit marks another step in the sudden reversal of fortune in the natural gas business. Less than five years ago, anticipating a worsening shortfall in domestic supplies of natural gas, the Freeport terminal on Quintana Island began operations as an import facility.

Refiner Tesoro Corp. (TSO.N) has received formal approval from antitrust regulators in Washington and Sacramento on Friday to buy BP Plc's (BP.L) refinery and other assets in southern California for more than $2 billion.

Tesoro will not have to sell any of the assets anti-trust regulators said, but California officials demanded the company upgrade the refinery it was buying.

Stocks continued their climb into uncharted territory on Friday, racking up the fourth week in a row of gains as encouraging economic data prompted investors to buy shares of growth companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index finished at highs, driven by gains in energy and industrial shares. The indexes have pushed to a series of high levels as part of the rally that has lifted equities more than 16 percent for the year so far.

Americans felt better about their economic and financial prospects in early May as consumer sentiment rose to the highest level in nearly six years, an encouraging sign after other recent data had suggested broader U.S. growth is cooling.

A gauge of future economic activity released on Friday also suggested the expected slowdown will be temporary, with the index rising in April to a near five-year high.

After moving higher at the start of trading on Friday, stocks have continued to perform well throughout the session.

The markets have benefited from some upbeat economic data after a disappointing batch of data helped drag stocks lower on Thursday.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 59.65 points or 0.4 percent at 15,292.87, the Nasdaq is up 16.18 points or 0.5 percent at

The Conference Board said on Friday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.6 percent last month to a reading of 95. The index declined 0.2 percent in March.

The index is intended to signal economic conditions three to six months out.