Politics

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, assuming office amid several crises after routing a predecessor who fought to stay in power, and clearing the way for a beleaguered nation to turn the page on one of the most divisive chapters in its political history. Before … Read more

A voter deposits a ballot in the ballot box during election day at Utah’s Barber Shop in Long Beach on June 3, 2014. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times) When presidential candidates turn to data crunchers at Rocket Fuel in Silicon Valley for help finding voters who want tougher immigration enforcement, the firm comes up … Read more

In Washington, barely a cross word will cross his lips when President Bush speaks in public about the nation’s capital–its politics, its people, its personality, Democrats and all. He is working very hard at getting along. But just listen to him when he’s west of the Potomac. The tenor shifts. An undercurrent of disdain creeps … Read more

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Homeland Security secretary, appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday. (Ben Curtis / Associated Press) South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency central to his vision of cracking down on illegal immigration, faced senators … Read more

The inaugural reviewing stand can be seen outside the White House. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday will now be held inside the Capitol because of cold weather. (Jon Elswick / Associated Press) President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of intense cold … Read more

It was one of those times when work in the Organized Crime Intelligence Division became most sensitive, when snooping on purported mobsters led detectives out of the shadows and into a very public world. An informant told Los Angeles Detective Norm Bonneau that he had seen several New York Mafia figures cozy up to then-Gov. … Read more

The architect of President Bush’s plan to rescue struggling savings and loan associations urged bankers Tuesday at a convention in Anaheim to “play a major role” in supporting the industry overhaul. Richard C. Breeden, an assistant to the President, told members of the Independent Bankers Assn. of America that they should encourage “neighbors, customers and … Read more

President Biden said he is seeking to undo “disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences [people] would receive today under current law, policy and practice.” (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Biden announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, using his final days in office … Read more

It’s unscripted and chaotic. And, some might say, the most calculated show on wheels. John McCain’s bus tour is the soul of his insurgent campaign for president, a rolling circus that contains one of his most potent weapons: the media crammed in back with the candidate. He used the bus and the coverage it generated … Read more

Over and over again, Al Gore tells voters what would guide him as president. “I’m for the people, not the powerful,” the vice president says. Meanwhile, running mate Joseph I. Lieberman has added something to the standard explanation of what the Democratic ticket stands for: why. Infusing his own political philosophy into his campaign for … Read more