The Washington Post

Soon after accepting the post of CIA director two years ago, Michael V. Hayden set an unusual goal for his scandal-beset agency: virtual invisibility.

LITTLE ROCK -- After less than an hour visiting a housing assistance agency, President Bush and his motorcade sped to a private home here last Tuesday to make a quick appearance -- and deliver a whole lot of money -- for the Republican Party.

BUTTE, Mont., July 4 -- With Sen. John McCain taking the holiday off, Sen. Barack Obama wrapped up a week-long swing through Republican America swathed in the pageantry of a Fourth of July parade and family picnic, trying to mesh his theme of activist change with an emphasis on family and...

Jesse Helms, the North Carolina Republican senator whose uncompromising conservatism made him one of America's leading crusaders against communism, liberalism, tax increases, abortion, homosexuality, affirmative action and court-ordered busing to integrate schools, died yesterday at Mayview...

FARGO, N.D., July 3 -- Sen. Barack Obama raised the possibility of slowing a promised gradual, 16-month withdrawal from Iraq if he is elected president, saying that Thursday he will consult with military commanders on an upcoming trip to the region and "continue to refine" his proposals.

The Bush administration is developing a long-range plan to empty the Guantanamo Bay military prison that could include asking Congress to spell out procedures for scores of suspected terrorists whom the government does not plan to bring to trial, administration officials and others familiar with...

Government workers repeatedly snooped without authorization inside the electronic passport records of entertainers, athletes and other high-profile Americans, a State Department audit has found. One celebrity's records were breached 356 times by more than six dozen people.

MEXICO CITY, July 3 -- Sen. John McCain's trip to Colombia and Mexico this week made one thing clear: The shape of the United States' relationship with Latin America will hinge on the outcome of the 2008 election.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: President Bush told me that he finds that Supreme Court ruling very disappointing. The White House has warned one consequence of the ruling is that detainees could be freed here in the U.S. if a judge determines there's not enough evidence to hold them. Now, the pre...

Barack Obama does not support a proposed California constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the state, he announced in a letter sent to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club of San Francisco this week. "I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California...

Facing growing dissatisfaction both inside and outside his campaign, Sen. John McCain ordered a shake-up of his team yesterday, reducing the role of campaign manager Rick Davis and vesting political adviser Steve Schmidt with "full operational control" of his bid for the presidency.

COLORADO SPRINGS, July 2 -- Continuing to press the themes of values, faith and patriotism, Sen. Barack Obama exhorted Americans on Wednesday "to step into the strong currents of history" and volunteer for service to their country, pledging to dramatically expand opportunities for those accepting...

CARTAGENA, Colombia, July 2 -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke repeatedly Tuesday and early Wednesday about how he would work as president to free three American hostages held by leftist guerrillas in Colombia, but he declined to reveal one key fact: Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and his aides...

In his final months in office, President Bush is mounting a last-ditch effort to forge a new global deal to limit greenhouse-gas emissions but finds himself once again at odds with much of the rest of the world on how to address climate change.

BUSH: Good morning. Next week I'm going to travel to Japan for the eighth and final G-8 summit of my presidency. In recent summits, G-8 countries have made pledges to help developing nations address challenges from health care to education to corruption. Now, we need to show the world that the G...

It is, I suppose, the curse of the baby boomers: Every presidential campaign is ultimately about Vietnam.

D.C. Council members balked at pressure from school officials to reprogram $83 million for building repairs that the officials say are needed before classes resume on Aug. 25. Instead, the council authorized less than half of that amount, with Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray saying that a hearin...

For many Maryland schools that miss academic targets year after year under the No Child Left Behind law, the stigma associated with needing help will ease under a precedent-setting program the federal government announced yesterday.

More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drugmakers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers,...

Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.