The oil company had indicated that it could stem the flow of oil on Tuesday by trying a procedure known as a top kill, in which heavy fluid would be pumped into the well. But on Monday morning the company’s chief operating officer said the... [+]

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), who is challenging Sen. John McCain in the Republican primary, said that the United States did not formally declare war on Germany in World War II — at least, that’s how it went in his history. While speaking last week... [+]

In the days since President Obama announced a moratorium on permits for drilling new offshore oil wells and a halt to a controversial type of environmental waiver that was given to the Deepwater Horizon rig, at least seven new permits for various types of drilling... [+]

The Obama administration’s campaign to drive the Taliban out of Afghanistan’s second-largest city is a go-for-broke move that even its authors are unsure will succeed. The bet is that the Kandahar operation, backed by thousands of U.S. troops and billions of dollars, will break the... [+]

Anger grew along the Gulf Coast as an ooze of oil washed into delicate coastal wetlands in Louisiana, with many wondering how to clean up the monthlong mess – especially now that BP’s latest try to plug the blown-out well won’t happen until at least... [+]

Kentucky’s Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul is criticizing President Barack Obama’s handling of the gulf oil debacle as putting “his boot heel on the throat of BP.” Paul says Obama’s criticism of the oil company sounds like an attack on business and “really un-American.” In... [+]

Rand Paul, who won the Republican nomination for Senate in Kentucky, has gotten some attention for criticizing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for requiring private businesses to desegregate. Last night, Rachel Maddow tried to get Paul to say clearly whether he thinks those private... [+]

The Environmental Protection Agency informed BP officials late Wednesday that the company has 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to government sources familiar with the decision, and must... [+]

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan wrote in 2003 that the court’s decision to effectively grant George W. Bush the 2000 election was an example of politics and policy affecting the process of judicial review. In preparatory notes for remarks she delivered to Princeton alumni in... [+]