Politics

Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. abandoned his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination Wednesday, blaming the “exaggerated shadow” of mistakes that he complained had begun “to obscure the essence of my candidacy.” His wife, Jill, and his sister and campaign manager, Valerie Owens, who fought back tears, were at his side in a Senate … Read more

Following are excerpts from the report on the Iran-Contra affair issued Wednesday by the congressional investigating committees: Majority Report The common ingredients of the Iran and Contra policies were secrecy, deception and disdain for the law. A small group of senior officials believed that they alone knew what was right. They viewed knowledge of their … Read more

Susan Molinari, tonight’s keynote speaker at the Republican convention, is the first to admit she doesn’t exactly come from the wing of the Grand Old Party known for great oratory. “My strength is not in giving speeches,” says the congresswoman from Staten Island, speaking fast, her hands moving nonstop for added emphasis. Molinari also acknowledges … Read more

They were a nation of the optimistic and the euphoric, those Americans awaiting their new century 100 years ago. The Spanish-American War was behind them. They flocked to the Tournament of Roses. The economy boomed, and Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” was a hit. In short, they looked forward to the 20th century as an … Read more

House Democratic leaders vowed Monday to combine deficit-reduction measures with the economic growth package that President-elect Bill Clinton is expected to make a top priority for the new Congress. Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) said there will be more emphasis on curbing red-ink spending than the public expects or that Clinton so far has acknowledged … Read more

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the speaker emerita, arrives in the House chamber on Friday. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images) Friday was the first day of work for California’s nine new House members, and their first order of business involved typical congressional chaos, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) narrowly won reelection to his … Read more

California’s net neutrality law remains intact. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Despite the dismantling of the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to regulate broadband internet service, state laws in California, New York and elsewhere remain intact. This week’s decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, striking down the FCC’s open internet rules, has little … Read more

Investigators comb the French Quarter after a man drove a truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street, killing 14. (Matthew Hinton / Associated Press) President-elect Donald Trump ushered in the New Year in familiar fashion — using a news event in an attempt to build his case for tougher enforcement of … Read more

Michael Milken, left, and Donald Trump at a tennis tournament in Palm Beach, Fla., in 2000. (Getty Images) President Trump issued a pardon Tuesday to Michael Milken, the disgraced former junk bond king who later became a prominent Los Angeles philanthropist, in a mass clemency to 11 convicted felons that marked a dramatic expansion of … Read more

President Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in March. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) It seems at times like a reality television show. President Trump has ousted more than two dozen members of his administration, creating the impression of chaos and a national guessing game of who will be next. Most of the casualties have … Read more