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In this photo taken June 29, 2011, photo Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Whitehouse is among a small group in the Senate pushing campaign finance reform measures that would force outside groups to disclose their donors. The Internal Revenue Service has endured withering criticism for its scrutiny of conservative political groups during the 2012 elections. "The IRS goes AWOL when wealthy and powerful forces want to break the law in order to hide their wrongful efforts and secret political influence," he says. "Picking on the little guy is a pretty lousy thing to do." (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

IRS probe ignored most influential groups

There's an irony in the Internal Revenue Service's crackdown on conservative groups. The nation's tax agency has admitted to inappropriately scrutinizing smaller tea party organizations that applied for tax-exempt status, and senior Treasury Department officials were notified in the midst of the 2012 presidential election season that an internal investigation ...

A portion of pages of emails that the White House released Wednesday, May 15, 2013, that document how the Obama administration crafted its public talking points immediately following the Sept. 11, 2012, deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, are seen at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Petraeus email objected to Benghazi talking points

Then CIA-Director David Petraeus objected to the final talking points the Obama administration used after the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, because he wanted to see more details revealed to the public, according to emails released Wednesday by the White House. Under pressure in the ...

FILE - In a Jan. 16, 2012 file photo , former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman holds a news conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Huntsman is helping launch a new monthly radio talk show on SiriusXM Wednesday May 15, 2013, aimed at promoting bipartisan politics. (AP Photo/David Goldman, file)

Ex-Gov. Huntsman launching talk show on SiriusXM

Former Republican Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a 2012 presidential candidate, is helping launch a new monthly radio talk show on SiriusXM satellite radio aimed at promoting bipartisan politics. The former U.S. ambassador to China and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, will appear Wednesday on the inaugural edition of ...

2016 looms: Paul, Jindal visit early voting states

Republican Sen. Rand Paul opened his presidential exploration tour Friday with a splashy set of speaking engagements in Iowa designed to broaden his tea party brand into something more mainstream and, perhaps, viable. At the same time, another Republican, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, became the first potential 2016 presidential candidate ...

FILE - This June 7, 2012 file photo shows U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice listening during a news conference at the UN. Senior State Department officials pressed for changes in the talking points that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice used after the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya last September, expressing concerns that Congress might criticize the Obama administration for ignoring warnings of a growing threat in Benghazi. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

State Dep't sought to change Libya talking points

Political considerations influenced the talking points that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice used five days after the deadly Sept. 11 assault in Benghazi, Libya, with State Department and other senior administration officials asking that references to terror groups and prior warnings be deleted, according to department emails. The latest disclosures Friday ...

A census first: Black voter turnout passes whites

Making history, America's blacks voted at higher rates than whites in 2012, lifting Democrat Barack Obama to victory amid voter apathy, particularly among young people, new census data show. Despite increasing population, the number of white voters declined for the first time since 1996. Blacks were the only race or ...

Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the South Carolina Democratic parties Jefferson Jackson Dinner Friday, May 3, 2013, in Columbia, SC. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

South Carolina center stage in early 2016 talk

Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary — still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, ...

FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2013, file photo, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, right, gestures as he and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, left, speak about education reform in Richmond, Va. Republican governors, often seen as innovative policy-makers and potential presidential candidates, are struggling in several states with political or ethical problems that might crimp their ambitions. Two governors eyeing possible White House bids, McDonnell and Jindal, suddenly find themselves fending off critics and trying to shore up legacies they hope will withstand national scrutiny. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Local setbacks vex GOP governors eyeing 2016 race

Republican governors are often seen as innovative policymakers and potential presidential candidates, but a few are struggling with political or ethical problems that might crimp their ambitions. Two governors eyeing possible White House bids — Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana — suddenly find themselves fending off ...

Obama campaign manager to speak at UM graduation

President Barack Obama's former campaign manager will speak at the University of Montana's graduation ceremony next month, the school said Monday. Jim Messina is a Boise, Idaho, native and attended UM from 1988 to 1993, where he studied journalism and political science. He worked for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus and ...

In a first, black voter turnout rate passes whites

America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, reflecting a deeply polarized presidential election in which blacks strongly supported Barack Obama while many whites stayed home. Had people voted last November at the ...

The Bush and Clinton families, on stage in Texas

Together on stage, the two families who have dominated American politics for the past two decades joined Thursday to pay tribute to the opening of George W. Bush's presidential center. Whether the families will have another act — in 2016 — was the unspoken subtext. President George H.W. Bush, frail ...