Al-Qaida has exploited recent political turmoil in Pakistan to strengthen its foothold along the country's border with Afghanistan, a top U.S. counterterrorism official said Tuesday in an assessment that also warned of a heightened risk of attack during the upcoming U.S. election season. ...more

August 13, 2008

Just a few months ago, the consensus view was that Barack Obama would need to choose a hard-core national-security type as his vice presidential running mate to compensate for his lack of foreign policy experience and that John McCain would need a running mate who was young and sprightly to compensate for his age. ...more

July 1, 2008

If it's a shock to pay $60, or even $100, to fill up your gas tank, you better get used to it. ...more

June 12, 2008

To the dismay of many, religion is becoming one of the defining issues of the presidential election campaign. From the scrutiny of Mike Huckabee's views about evolution and Mitt Romney's Mormonism on the Republican side, to unseemly e-mails questioning the religious upbringing of Barack Obama among Democrats, religious faith is once again front and center in electoral politics. ...more

December 26, 2007

A new assessment by American intelligence agencies released Monday concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting a judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb. ...more

December 4, 2007

As oil prices climb toward the once unthinkable $100 a barrel level, fears that the U.S. economy could tip into recession also are rising. ...more

November 2, 2007