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Why You Won’t Own Your Road

Fawn Johnson | May 16, 2013

Cash-strapped states such as Virginia are turning to the private sector to help finance large infrastructure projects.

Watergate: When Congress Worked

Matthew Cooper | May 16, 2013

The back-stabbing, press-leaking, hyper-partisan members of the committee investigating Nixon, which began hearings 40 years ago, still made history. Here’s how.

With the IRS Scandal Ablaze, How Does that Special-Prosecutor Thing Work?

Matt Vasilogambros | May 15, 2013

While the Justice Department has started an investigation into whether the IRS broke any laws by signaling out conservative groups, administration critics will likely continue their call for a special prosecution to further investigate any criminal wrongdoing from top officials.

How the Ongoing Scandals Might Actually Aid Bipartisanship on Immigration Reform

Rebecca Kaplan | May 15, 2013

If Republicans assume a hyper-partisan stance on IRS, DOJ, and Benghazi, they may have room to act in a bipartisan manner when it comes to immigration.

Immigration-Reform Advocates Sell Legislation in Judiciary Committee

Fawn Johnson | May 9, 2013

Their biggest challenge is to win over rule-of-law conservatives on border enforcement.

Will Millennials Become Generation X-treme?

Ron Fournier | May 5, 2013

Harvard study suggests leaders must act urgently to prevent polarization and apathy among young Americans.

Why Carbon Is So Hard to Regulate

Coral Davenport | May 2, 2013

It’s everywhere and touches everything. EPA can crack down, but only by stretching the law.

Should Prosecutors Insist on Death for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?

James Oliphant | May 2, 2013

Cutting a deal with the alleged Boston bomber might prevent future attacks and ensure a conviction. But it could enrage victims and disappoint the public.

After the Obama Administration's Morning-After Pill Decision

Margot Sanger-Katz | May 2, 2013

President Obama has made a series of speeches in recent weeks, delighting scientists who work on controversial areas of research and advocates for reproductive and abortion rights.

Why We Defend Terrorists

Brian Resnick | May 2, 2013

What is it like speaking up for those accused of horrendous crimes? Five attorneys who have stood by bomb plotters, detainees, and murderers explain.

How Democrats Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Super PAC

Ben Terris | April 30, 2013

A day with House Majority PAC shows why unlimited spending is the norm, on both sides of the aisle.

Will Prosecutors in the Boston Marathon Bombing Case Seek the Death Penalty?

Matt Vasilogambros | April 26, 2013

Former prosecutors weigh in on the legal strategy for taking on bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Agricultural Workers and Farmers Unite to Push Congress on Immigration Reform

Jerry Hagstrom | April 24, 2013

The sight of the head of the United Farm Workers and farmer representatives testifying side by side before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday to promote the farmworker section of the immigration-reform bill was an extraordinary moment in American agriculture.

Immigration-Reform Opponents Lack Strategy

Rebecca Kaplan | April 24, 2013

In the week since the “Gang of Eight” released its 844-page immigration bill, there have been three days of hearings featuring 26 witnesses. The compressed time frame has left opponents of the bill little time to read it, let alone formulate a strategy to alter the measure to their liking or kill it entirely.

The White House Is Right: Tsarnaev Should Be Tried As a Civilian

James Oliphant | April 23, 2013

The only surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bomb case will be represented by counsel and arraigned, just like any other criminal defendant.

Boston Suspect's Legal Status A Test Case

Michael Hirsh | April 20, 2013

Nearly 12 years after 9/11, authorities still have not figured out how to try terrorists.

Divide Emerges Among Immigration-Reform Opponents

Rebecca Kaplan | April 16, 2013

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee who have protested the speed and secrecy of the work of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” are far from united in a strategy to slow or kill the immigration-reform bill—or even on whether that’s the plan at all.

Progressives Fight Obama on Entitlements with Eye on 2014

Rebecca Kaplan | April 10, 2013

For progressive Democrats in Congress, a fight with President Obama over the inclusion of cuts to Social Security in his budget proposal may be just a warm-up for the real looming battle: the 2014 midterms.

The Lives of Thatcher, Reagan, and Pope John Paul II Prove Presence Counts, Remembering Doesn’t

Major Garrett | April 9, 2013

It is both cruel and instructive that the three pivotal and decisive foes of communism—Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II—had, in all likelihood, no memory of their world-transforming triumph when each stepped into the great beyond.

Vetting the Kill List

James Oliphant and Kristin Roberts contributed | April 4, 2013

Civil libertarians want a judge to oversee the administration’s targeted-killing program. It sounds appealing, but it could do more harm than good.

Mary Schapiro and Lanny Breuer Give Us the Ultimate Dog-Bites-Man Story

Michael Hirsh | April 3, 2013

They failed to prosecute a single Wall Streeter over the 2008 disaster. Now it's home to mama.

House GOP Leaders Silent on Marriage Law They're Paying to Defend

Rebecca Kaplan | March 27, 2013

Republicans strategists agree with leadership's call to stay mum as the Supreme Court takes up the case, saying it's best not to distract from the party's economic message.

Why Waiting on the States Could Create a Messy Future for Same-Sex Marriage

Ronald Brownstein | March 27, 2013

In two big cases this week, the justices were hesitant to impose a national standard on gay marriage. But history shows that leaving the issue to the states could leave a long-lasting patchwork.

The Early Word From the Supreme Court on DOMA

Alexander Abad-Santos and Atlantic Wire | March 27, 2013

Same-sex marriage advocates may have gotten some good news from the Supreme Court on Wednesday about the Defense of Marriage Act. But they aren't quite in the clear.

Why 1 Gay-Rights Activist Doesn't Want a Broad Supreme Court Decision Now

Matt Vasilogambros | March 27, 2013

Following the first day of oral arguments before the Supreme Court, some gay-rights activists fear the justices seemed hesitant to rule broadly on the constitutional right for same-sex marriage. But one activist says that might be fine for now.

Your Guide to Wednesday's Supreme Court DOMA Hearing

Adam Clark Estes and Atlantic Wire | March 27, 2013

Everything you need to know about Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on same-sex marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act.

Justices Signal They Want to Move Slowly on Same-Sex Marriage

James Oliphant | March 26, 2013

The Supreme Court took California's gay-marriage case, but the justices seem to be aching for a reason to rule narrowly.

Your Guide to Today's Supreme Court Prop 8 Hearing

Alexander Abad-Santos - The Atlantic Wire | March 26, 2013

No more politicians switching sides. No more talk of what the polls mean. The long-awaited gay-marriage arguments at the Supreme Court have arrived, and the stakes are high for the most important civil-rights cases before the nation's highest court in years.

Could Overturning Gay-Marriage Bans Help the GOP?

Elahe Izadi | March 26, 2013

Taking the politically tough issue off the table would benefit the Republican Party.

Prop 8 Challenger Ted Olson Was My Lawyer

Matthew Cooper | March 25, 2013

The conservative litigator takes his fight for same-sex marriage to the Supreme Court. What I learned about why he's such a fierce and clever advocate.

At the Supreme Court, Waiting Through Sleet, Snow, and an Onslaught of Questions From Journalists

Ben Terris | March 25, 2013

What it's like to spend days outside the Supreme Court waiting to hear oral arguments about same-sex marriage.

Gay Rights Cases May Force Anthony Kennedy to Choose Between 2 Great Legal Loves

Garrett Epps - The Atlantic | March 25, 2013

Will the Supreme Court justice honor states' rights or gay rights? He has a long track record of support for both.

Halligan's Withdrawal Is a Victory for GOP and Gridlock

James Oliphant | March 22, 2013

Obama loses the battle to get his pick onto a court considered an on-ramp to the Supreme Court.

When the Whole World Has Drones

Kristin Roberts | March 21, 2013

The precedents the U.S. has set for robotic warfare may have fearsome consequences as other countries catch up.

Obamacare at Age 3: Still Too Young for Prognosis

Margot Sanger-Katz | March 19, 2013

Most major components of the Affordable Care Act don't go into effect until next year.

The Economics of Hawking Foreign-Made DVDs—for $11 Billion

Philip Bump - The Atlantic Wire | March 19, 2013

Earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled that books produced under copyright and sold inexpensively overseas could be legally resold in America. So how rich are you about to get shipping Chinese copies of DVDs stateside? We do the math.

Gay Marriage Is A 2016 Litmus Test for Democrats

Elahe Izadi | March 18, 2013

Any Democratic presidential candidate opposing gay marriage will have trouble winning the nomination.

The Rightward March of the Republicans

Ronald Brownstein | March 14, 2013

Republicans in Congress were supposed to moderate their message. It's not happening.

Lieberman and Kyl to Lead Project on America’s Global Role

Mike Magner | March 11, 2013

Juliane Sullivan, a onetime policy director for ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, will become the new director of the Republican staff for the House Education and the Workforce Committee on Monday.

National Security Insiders: It's Possible for Congress to Oversee Drone Program

Sara Sorcher | March 11, 2013

Plus: A narrow majority says Chuck Hagel will be a good Defense secretary.

Five Staff Positions to Watch During Senate Confirmation Hearings on Energy Nominees

Amy Harder | March 10, 2013

Here are some key staffers involved in the vetting of Obama's nominees for his second-term energy and environment team.

Lower Your Expectations or Raise Your Budget: 1 Professor's Take on the Slow Pace of Hiring

Sophie Quinton | March 8, 2013

February's robust employment report might come as a surprise to Americans who, after searching for months, can't seem to find work. Although hiring is picking up, more than 40 percent of unemployed Americans have been out of work for 27 weeks or more.

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