A 91-3 vote in the Senate will send the landmark VA legislation, meant to address widespread problems in the VA health care system, to President Obama for his signature.

An isolation unit at Emory University's hospital will be used to treat a patient infected with Ebola, the virus that has killed more than 700 people in a recent outbreak in West Africa.

About 58 percent of California is currently in the worst of the four drought levels used by experts, in conditions normally seen only once every 50-100 years.

In 2011, Utah decided to let some people in the state illegally apply for work permits. But the law, pending a federal waiver, still hasn't gone into effect — and now, some want to repeal it.

China has been a big and growing market for U.S. corn. But then farmers started planting a kind of genetically engineered corn that's not yet approved in China, and the Chinese government struck back.

Analysts say the merger of Reynolds American and Lorillard is driven by the changing demographics of smoking. But the lower smoking rate masks a more complex and varied pattern of cigarette usage.

Months after denying that the CIA could have been snooping on Senate staff, agency director John Brennan has apologized to Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Saxby Chambliss.

House GOP leaders have abruptly canceled a vote on their own bill meant to address the surge of unaccompanied minors at the Mexican border. An effort to pass a pared down version of President Obama's request was blocked by a group of Tea Party conservatives. NPR's Senior Correspondent Ron Elving discusses the state of play.

The corruption trial of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell continues to unfold, as the prosecution's feature witness, Star Scientific's Jonnie Williams, testified against McDonnell and his wife.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing reports that his administration interfered with the work of an anti-corruption commission that he created — and then abruptly disbanded.

Foreign policy was once a strong suit for President Obama, but polls now show widespread disapproval of his handling of foreign affairs.

A big week in congressional mailing: Members of Congress can't use "franking" to send mass mailings during a blackout that starts 90 days before an election. That deadline is approaching.

When there's a wildfire in California, odds are there are low-level offenders battling it. Inmates, trained by pros and making $2 a day, have become a crucial element of the state's wildfire response.