Year of living dismally  —  Heading into an election year, Democrats and Republicans are trying to figure out how to salvage their brands after a bruising 2013.  —  The political year has seen a succession of angry standoffs, starting with the fiscal cliff fight last New Year and ending …

Obama tells a whopper on IRS scandal  —  ANALYSIS/OPINION:  —  Fact: The IRS targeted conservative and tea party groups requesting tax-exempt status in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election.  That's a fact.  —  Congress held hearings — embarrassing hearings.

Worries about Hillary Clinton  —  Hillary Clinton may be the overwhelming front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, but she's going to have to deal with some knotty problems sooner or later.  She can't ignore forever either her party or the media's entreaties to talk on important subjects.

The Punishment Cure  —  Six years have passed since the United States economy entered the Great Recession, four and a half since it officially began to recover, but long-term unemployment remains disastrously high.  And Republicans have a theory about why this is happening.

Budget deal expected this week amounts to a cease-fire as sides move to avert a standoff  —  House and Senate negotiators were putting the finishing touches Sunday on what would be the first successful budget accord since 2011, when the battle over a soaring national debt first paralyzed Washington.

McClatchy-Marist Poll: 68% of Americans expect no budget deal by shutdown deadline  —  McClatchy Washington BureauDecember 8, 2013 Updated 16 hours ago  —  Facebook Twitter Google Plus Reddit E-mail Print  —  WASHINGTON — A Congressional budget deal expected this week might not be a grand bargain …

Among ‘Obama Coalition,’ Obama approval plunges  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL BARACK OBAMA POLLS APPROVAL RATINGS  —  President Obama won re-election with the rock-solid support of what has become known as the “Obama Coalition” — young people, minorities, women, and low-income voters.

Gillibrand sees assault vote slip away  —  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is headed back to the drawing board with her controversial proposal to take sexual assault cases outside the chain of command.  —  Gillibrand had been assured a vote on her plan during work on the Defense authorization bill.

Merrill Newman said he was comfortable during detention in North Korean hotel room  —  SANTA CRUZ — A relaxed Merrill Newman walked outside his Santa Cruz home on Sunday morning and was immediately greeted by a neighbor with a giant hug.  —  The neighbor told Newman how she “just knew” …

ATF uses rogue tactics in storefront stings across nation  —  By John Diedrich and Raquel Rutledge of the Journal Sentinel  —  Aaron Key wasn't sure he wanted a tattoo on his neck.  Especially one of a giant squid smoking a joint.  —  But the guys running Squid's Smoke Shop in Portland …

Amid the Uproar Over the Health Law, Voices of Quiet Optimism and Relief  —  Since his chronic leukemia was diagnosed in 2010, Ray Acosta has paid dearly for health insurance: more than $800 a month in premiums, plus steep co-payments for the drug that helps keep him alive.

Whose sarin?  —  Barack Obama did not tell the whole story this autumn when he tried to make the case that Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attack near Damascus on 21 August.  In some instances, he omitted important intelligence, and in others he presented assumptions as facts.