Twitter is, traditionally, where politicians can go for quick, spontaneous interactions with constituents, as it's truly a democratic forum -- tweets by the people, for the people, are delivered in real time. But those expecting such a spontaneous exchange with President Obama when he announced a seemingly impromptu Twitter Q&A on Thursday night were sorely disappointed to find the questions cherry-picked earlier by White House staff.

Chinese dissident Chen Guangchen, who fled China for the U.S. this past weekend after suffering years of detention, described his suffering during his time under house arrest as "beyond imagination" and expressed concern that the Chinese government would lash out against his family in retaliation for his escape.

The American Nurses Association endorsed President Obama on Thursday.

If the Senate Appropriations Committee has its way, Pakistan’s military assistance package will be docked $33 million— $1 million for every year the doctor who assisted the U.S. in tracking down Osama bin Laden sits in a Pakistani jail.

In a highly unusual move, the Army's commanding general at Fort Bliss publicly retracted blunt comments about suicide that drew criticism for appearing to deride troops struggling with serious mental problems.

 First Lady Michelle Obama starts a book tour of sorts next week to promote a book she’s written about her effort to get people to plant gardens and eat the veggies from them.

Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney laid down a benchmark for his presidency on Wednesday, telling Time magazine that he would get the unemployment rate down to 6 percent or less in his first term.

NATO members held a two-day summit ending on Monday in Chicago. The following is a concluding communique and what it really means.

Following the announcement of enhanced NATO missile defense capabilities in Europe, Russia on Wednesday test-fired a ballistic missile, CNN reports.

Mitt Romney now leads President Obama in the race for Florida's 29 electoral votes, a significant reversal from earlier this spring, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released early Wednesday.

Four Secret Service agents implicated in the agency's scandal in Colombia last month and subsequently dismissed from their positions are now fighting their dismissals on the basis that, they say, they broke no rules, the Washington Post reports.