“Only ten percent of people in unions today actually voted to join the union.”

— Voiceover from an ad sponsored by the Center for Union Facts which aired during the Super Bowl

Over the past decade, Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) has directed more than $100 million in federal earmarks to transform Tuscaloosa’s core into a place that local officials say benefits everyone who lives, works and plays in the area.

In many ways, President Obama is right when he calls the folks on Capitol Hill a “do-nothing Congress.” But you can’t say that about House Republicans who have marched to a steady beat in pressing legislation that would make life more difficult for federal employees.

The United States’ view of warfare has been changing.

To deter potential conflicts, the nation will have forward-based sea, air and ground forces in strategic areas around the globe. It will also retain its nuclear triad of land- and submarine-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Congressional ethics investigators concluded there “is substantial reason to believe” that Florida’s Rep. Vern Buchanan, one of the top Republicans in the House, violated ethics laws by failing to report his position with a half-dozen firms, according to records released Monday.