By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums

The Obama administration responded cautiously to the very public detention, then release by Russian authorities, of an American diplomat accused of spying in Moscow, saying that the U.S. remains committed to close relations with Russia and downplaying the possibility of retaliation against Russian intelligence agents in the U.S.

In a letter written Friday and released to the public Monday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concern to Secretary of State John F. Kerry over "harassment and abuse" that Chinese authorities are believed to be inflicting on family members to Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese activist living in the United States.

As he struggles to find momentum in his second term, President Obama is setting a dubious record for the slowest pace in assembling a new Cabinet.

Parents whose spouses flee overseas with their children called Thursday for the federal government to put sanctions on countries that don't help get those children returned, saying it should be considered a human-trafficking issue, not merely a family dispute.

Clear signs are emerging for the first time indicating that China is responding to U.S. pressure to help modify belligerent behavior by Beijing's fraternal communist ally in North Korea.
President Obama's health care law may be a partisan flash point on Capitol Hill, but unique factors have forced it to play a supporting role in spring campaigns to fill empty seats in Congress.

There are many examples of waste, theft and misuse of our military aid to countries such as Egypt and Pakistan. Much of this misuse has been recorded by the State Department.

Raising the stakes in the high-profile clash with congressional Republicans over last year's terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, a person familiar with the State Department-chartered inquiry said investigators talked last year with CIA personnel who were on the ground during the attack and were briefed about the CIA's activities at their secret base in the Libyan city.

The Obama administration found itself in the cross hairs of mounting Republican frustration Tuesday over national security policy, with particular focus on unanswered questions surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings last month and the terrorist attack last year on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Massachusetts has a deep blue tint when it comes to politics, but the GOP vowed Wednesday to make the most of the special election to fill the state's Senate seat previously held by Secretary of State John F. Kerry.
The Obama administration found itself in the cross hairs of mounting Republican frustration Tuesday over national security policy, with particular focus on unanswered questions surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings last month and the terrorist attack last year on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The State Department sought Tuesday to discredit a media report that claimed the Obama administration has threatened CIA and State Department officials in an attempt to intimidate them from cooperating with lawmakers seeking information about the September 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

U.S. authorities tried three times in recent years to get more information from Russian officials about the activities of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but the Kremlin did not reply, according to a U.S. lawmaker briefed Wednesday night about the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings.

U.S. authorities tried three times in recent years to get more information from Russian officials about the activities of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but the Kremlin did not reply, according to a U.S. lawmaker briefed Wednesday night about the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings.

House Republicans have concluded that the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies bear no blame for failing to halt the terrorist assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last year, releasing a report Tuesday that said President Obama and the State Department set up the military for failure.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry last month called on Mr. Erdogan to postpone the trip.
Turkey's Erdogan to press Obama to do more for Syrian rebels →
"It is clear that the administration just wants the issue of Benghazi to go away," he said. "But I sincerely hope that Congress will not aid this White House cover up of the mistakes made by high-level members of the administration that cost four brave Americans their lives."
Republicans cite attacks in Benghazi, Boston as Obama security failures →