The effort had been seen by opponents as a possible new front in the national debate over the matter.

The antipoverty group Acorn has not received direct federal grants since 2002, but some federal money has made its way to the organization or its affiliates.

A South Carolina legislative committee will convene to begin preliminary impeachment proceedings against Gov. Mark Sanford, according to the chairman of the state’s House Judiciary Committee.

Dr. Crewe, a University of Chicago physicist, developed the high-resolution electron microscope that captured the first image of an individual atom.

Michigan had the highest jobless rate at 15.1 percent, followed by Nevada at 13 percent and Rhode Island at 12.9 percent.

If it survives an appeal, the verdict late Thursday would be the nation’s largest award of damages to an individual suing a tobacco company.

Mr. Miller Jr. was a Justice Department lawyer in the 1960s who relentlessly pursued James R. Hoffa. Later he helped negotiate the unconditional pardon of former President Richard M. Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal.

One in five Americans needed help paying for basic needs, according to a 2005 census survey.

The Senate majority leader’s deep personal involvement in assembling the overhaul of the health care system has led the measure to the brink of a historic Senate debate.

An attorney for the Army psychiatrist charged in the mass shooting at Fort Hood says his client will have his first court hearing in his hospital room on Saturday.

A thorough, well-wrought political history of James K. Polk’s presidency and the triumph of Manifest Destiny.

Advocating civil disobedience to resist laws compelling institutions to perform abortion or recognize unions.

Amid concerns over an aging stockpile, federal advisers have concluded that programs to extend the life of the nation’s nuclear arms ensure their destructiveness for decades to come.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said on Thursday that the government would close the $700 billion program “as soon as we can,” and that part of it would be used to lower the federal debt.

The Preventive Services Task Force, which urged women to get less-frequent screening for breast cancer, was created to be apolitical.

The commander of military forces protecting North America has ordered a review of the costly air defenses intended to prevent another Sept. 11-style terrorism attack.

Senator Harry Reid scheduled the first crucial procedural vote on the major health care legislation for Saturday, after what is expected to be two marathon days of debate.

After a rocky start hurt their bottom line, Chicago’s new parking meter operators are raking in more than $1.1 million a week and expect even more revenue next year.

Backers of science-driven medicine cheered the new recommendations on cancer screening, while many patients still believe that more is always better.

A new wing is giving the Art Institute of Chicago room to breathe.