Government And Institutions

The Democratic-controlled Senate worked to confirm a final batch of President Barack Obama's judicial appointees and sent the White House legislation extending tax breaks for working-class millions and special interests alike late Tuesday as lawmakers neared the end of a two-year Congress marked more by gridlock than accomplishment.

A North Carolina group advocating renewable energy said Tuesday it is pressing federal regulators to investigate whether Duke Energy should buy power from other Southeast electric companies and build fewer power plants that cost consumers.

Sign-ups under President Barack Obama's health care law surged last week, driven by a deadline for getting covered by Jan. 1, officials said Tuesday.

Overlooking the State Route 520 floating bridge project, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday unveiled a proposal he said would address the state's most pressing transportation needs — fixing bridges and roads and boosting the ferry system while cleaning the air and water.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says approving the Keystone XL pipeline will top the Senate agenda in January.

In a newly released email, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. executive says a state official offered to write the utility a favorable opinion for a proposed gas rate hike.

A Michigan boot-maker, potato farmers and more than 1,200 contractors that supply parts for a next-generation fighter plane are among the many winners in the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress.

The state Department of Workforce Development overpaid nearly $168 million in unemployment benefits during the last three years and the agency's call centers couldn't handle hundreds of thousands of calls initiating claims, according to a state report released Tuesday.

The health insurance industry says companies will give consumers more time to pay January's premiums under President Barack Obama's health care law.

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills climbing to the highest level in 14 months.

The price of oil has fallen by nearly half in just six months, a surprising and steep plunge that has consumers cheering, producers howling and economists wringing their hands over whether this is a good or bad thing.

A London banker has been banned from working in the financial services industry after he was caught dodging rail fares.

Foreign buyers of U.S. Treasury securities trimmed their holdings by a small amount for the second straight month in October.

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated).

Atlantic City's Golden Nugget casino dropped a threat Monday to file a lawsuit blocking a package of tax relief for Atlantic City's eight casinos.

President Barack Obama's pick to head the Social Security Administration has run into more trouble after Senate Democrats canceled a procedural vote on her nomination.

Congress cleared a $1.1 trillion spending bill for President Barack Obama's signature after a day of Senate intrigue capped by a failed, largely symbolic Republican challenge to the administration's new immigration policy.

President Barack Obama's health insurance program faces another big test Monday.

School kids, truckers, marijuana smokers and fans of old-fashioned light bulbs are among millions of Americans with something extra riding on passage of a giant spending bill needed to keep the government running.

First, objections by House Democrats stood in the way of passage of a $1.1 trillion catchall spending bill.