Barbara Boxer News

Federal agents and the state fire marshal have effectively barred a federal safety panel from the site of a Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and injured about 200 others, hampering its investigation, the panel's chairman said.

TODAY'S THE DAY: Ernest Moniz officially becomes the 13th secretary of Energy today at 10 a.m. The Energy Department says no press will be allowed into the swearing-in ceremony, which is a "brief event for Department employees, but he'll be available to members of the media later in the day," the Energy Department said in a statement to POLITICO.

Either City Controller Wendy Greuel or Councilman Eric Garcetti will make history as the next mayor of Los Angeles: Greuel would be the city's first female mayor, while Garcetti would be the city's first Jewish mayor.

Either City Controller Wendy Greuel or Councilman Eric Garcetti will make history as the next mayor of Los Angeles: Greuel would be the city's first female mayor, while Garcetti would be the city's first Jewish mayor.

California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer blamed the tornado that devastated Oklahoma on global warming during a Senate floor speech Tuesday, using the opportunity to push her own plan to tax carbon dioxide emissions.

The race has attracted the attention of organized labor, Bill Clinton, and a longtime ally to President Obama.

Two US lawmakers hit back on Monday at criticism of their proposal to waive the visa requirement for Israelis who wish to visit the United States.

Or is it a case that Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, and Diane Feinstein, as well as others in the Obama Administration and the State of California -- engaged in a coverup.

Vermont seemed more likely than ever to become the first US state to mandate the labeling of genetically modified food after a bill passed the state house, though legislators worry about a lawsuit threat from biotech giant Monsanto.

President Barack Obama, center, meets with, from left, General Ray Odierno, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Gen.

Whether the food industry likes it or not, when it comes to GMO labeling, the " train appears to have left the station", according to former FDA associate commissioner of foods Dr David Acheson.

But a funny thing has happened on the way to the restart: a No Nukes groundswell has turned this routine rubber stamping into an epic battle the grassroots just might win.

The sight of a Marine holding an umbrella over his head only added to the weirdness of the event.

In a one-two punch from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue on Thursday, lawmakers introduced a sweeping revision to military sexual-assault law and the president summoned his uniformed service chiefs.

Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, the Senate's oldest member, returned to Congress on Thursday after being sidelined for months because of illness.

Has the narrative begun to turn on Barack Obama? Jon Stewart reacted last night to the string of scandals buffeting the White House over the past week, and the incredibly weak response they have generated.

Video: In a joint press conference with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Barack Obama called for an investigation into the IRS, saying, "We've got to make sure that it is doing its job scrupulously." President Obama said Thursday that he did not know about Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups before an ... (more)

Emphasis. Basically, we differ on emphasis. The environmentalists are right, in this case, but they're not emphasizing what I think is the most compelling part of the story.

In a gathering with reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the problem of rampant sexual assault in the military is something the military needs to handle but wouldn't yet endorse legislation to take reporting such crimes out of the chain of command.

The Senate on Wednesday put aside its partisan differences to extend the federal government's main water resources law, which promotes investment in port improvements, flood protection, dam and levee projects and environmental restoration.