EMS responses delayed by GWB lane closures in Fort Lee  —  FORT LEE - Emergency responders were delayed in attending to four medical situations - including one in which a 91-year-old woman lay unconscious - due to traffic gridlock caused by unannounced closures of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge …

Dennis Rodman apologizes for North Korea outburst, says he'd been drinking  —  Rodman, ex-NBAers play North Korea  —  (CNN) — Former NBA star Dennis Rodman apologized Thursday for his much-criticized outburst about an American citizen imprisoned in North Korea, saying he was stressed …

Bill targeting environmental regs threatened with veto  —  The White House issued a veto threat Wednesday against House legislation meant to slash environmental red tape and give states more sway over federal facilities.  —  The chamber is poised to vote Thursday on a consolidated package …

Republicans call for a new approach to fight poverty  —  On the 50th anniversary of President Johnson's War on Poverty, Republicans seek to address voter anxiety about an uneven economic recovery in a midterm election year.  —  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) gives a speech at the Capitol in which he called for a …

‘Great Society’ agenda led to great — and lasting — philosophical divide  —  The ambitious “Great Society” agenda begun half a century ago continues to touch nearly every aspect of American life.  But the deep philosophical divide it created has come to define the nation's harsh politics, especially in the Obama era.

Sen. Durbin to GOP: Put down Ayn Rand books  —  Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asked Republicans to stop reading Ayn Rand books and help Democrats pass legislation aimed to give struggling Americans a hand.  —  “I say to my conservative friends, put down those Ayn Rand books …

Swearing toddler removed from home  —  (CNN) — A Nebraska toddler who repeated a slew of profanities in an online video has been taken into child protective custody, Omaha police said Wednesday.  —  While authorities found nothing criminal in the video, officials from the Omaha police's Child Victim Unit …

Grim Sequel to Iraq's War  —  WASHINGTON — For two years, President Obama has boasted that he accomplished what his predecessor had not.  “I ended the war in Iraq,” he has told audience after audience.  But a resurgence by Islamic militants in western Iraq has reminded the world that the war is anything but over.

Democrats blame big business for botched rollout  —  Democrats taking heat back home for Obamacare's rocky online rollout say don't blame them — blame Big Business.  —  Facing an onslaught of constituent frustration over problems with online exchanges, several Democrats have started pointing fingers …

The Poverty Line Was Designed Assuming Every Family Had a Housewife Who Was a ‘Skillful Cook’  —  The official poverty line, as I wrote yesterday, is a dated and crude statistical concept that in many ways fails to capture America's historical success at fighting economic need.

Second crewmember dies in Navy helicopter crash  —  A second crewmember died Wednesday evening after a Navy helicopter crashed off the Virginia coast, and another remains missing.  —  The Navy said Wednesday that the second crewmember who had been rescued in Tuesday's crash had died …