RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people, essentially overriding the state attorney general's advice to colleges. McDonnell's directive Wednesday came amid a public uproar over Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli's letter last week telling public colleges they lack the authority to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate voted Wednesday to extend a host of soon-to-expire elements of last year's economic stimulus measure, including help for the jobless and money to help financially strapped states pay for health care for the poor. The 62-36 vote came over protests from conservatives who say the bill adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt. Six Republicans joined all but one Democrat,...

The Show Me State briefly became the No Show State on Wednesday as some prominent Missouri Democrats decided they'd rather be somewhere else when President Obama came to St. Louis to push his massive health care overhaul plan. Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, was "already locked...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said Tuesday that the scene at President Obama's first State of the Union address was "very troubling" and that the annual speech to Congress has "degenerated into a political pep rally." Responding to a University of Alabama law student's question about the Senate's method of confirming justices, Justice Roberts said senators improperly try to make political...

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned insurance executives Wednesday that failing to support President Obama's comprehensive plan to reform U.S. health care likely will result in their demise. "We are in a situation where the market is unsustainable," Mrs. Sebelius said at the American Health Insurance Plans national policy conference in Washington. "You can choose to continue your opposition...

Americans have come to detest Congress ever more deeply as it nears the end of a nasty fight over health care. But more than half still back President Obama, a bright spot for a Democratic Party counting on its leader to help stave off expected losses in elections this fall. The latest Associated Press-GfK poll found that fewer people approve of Congress than at any point in MR. Obama's presidency. Support...

PUL-E-CHARKHI, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that some of the U.S. forces involved in the Afghanistan surge could leave the country before President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawal. Without giving specifics, Gates said, "It would have to be conditions-based." Gates made the remarks during a visit to a dust-blown training...

Federal investigators have received more than 730 allegations of waste or fraud in stimulus act funding so far, have canceled the contracts of some bad actors and have sent a couple of dozen cases to the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and prosecutors. As the pace of spending peaks, continuing to police the $862 billion will take a huge portion of investigators' resources over the next year - as much as...

Tales about the White House's hot-tempered, foul-mouthed chief of staff are legion, from Rahm Emanuel's mailing of a dead fish to a pollster to a lawmaker's accusation that Mr. Emanuel berated him over a vote in the shower at the congressional gym. Mixing mockery and scorn, the Obama administration Tuesday dismissed new accusations about Mr. Emanuel from Rep. Eric Massa, a freshman New York Democrat who has...

Embattled former Rep. Eric Massa sat down for his much-anticipated Fox News interview Tuesday night and deployed the tickle defense. No. Really. Asked by Glenn Beck whether he had inappropriate sexual contact with any staff members, the New York Democrat said, "No - no, no, no." But asked minutes later about a new report that said he has been under investigation for allegations that he groped multiple male...