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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan is fighting off a congressional ethics investigation linked to a former business partner and campaign donations. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is battling a charge of impropriety about work she might have done to benefit her husband....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan is fighting off a congressional ethics investigation linked to a former business partner and campaign donations. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is battling a charge of impropriety about work she might have done to benefit her husband....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan is fighting off a congressional ethics investigation linked to a former business partner and campaign donations. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is battling a charge of impropriety about work she might have done to benefit her husband....

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A body found in thick brush Friday morning is believed to be that of a special forces soldier-turned-trauma surgeon who was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after the killing of his ex-girlfriend at a hospital, police said....

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A body found in thick brush Friday morning is believed to be that of a special forces soldier-turned-trauma surgeon who was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after the killing of his ex-girlfriend at a hospital, police said.

Authorities had been searching for 49-year-old Dr. Timothy Jorden ...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California lawmakers huddled behind closed doors Friday as they prepared to vote on their plan to balance a $15.7 billion deficit before they run up against a constitutional deadline and risk losing their pay....

London Telegraph | Osborne unveils £140bn scheme to kick-start stagnant economy.

CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood pinned its hopes Friday on weekend elections to salvage its waning political fortunes, responding to a court order dissolving its power base in parliament by urging voters to support the Islamist group's candidate for president....

A.M. Freyed | UN seeding high-tech “company towns” around the world.

At least 16 people die in eastern Paraguay as evictions of landless farmers turn violent, triggering senior resignations.

France secure their first group win at Euro 2012 at the expense of co-hosts Ukraine during a rain-interrupted spectacle in Donetsk.

The use of hydraulic fracturing to open underground natural gas formations has a low risk of triggering earthquakes, federal experts reported Friday, but some scientists say the debate is far from over.

Quick thoughts on why Obama made the announcement now, and what effects it might have on the upcoming presidential election.

1. Avoid talking about the economy - Despite Obama's many promises to "focus like a laser" on the economy, the Obama administration has been focused on anything but. Every other week is a brand new "right thing to do" proclamation that "can't wait" any longer. First it was a phony "Republicans want to ban birth control" smear to excite women. Then it was the "I won't do anything different than Mitt Romney on gay marriage, but I totally like support it and stuff" move to get the gay vote excited. Now, toss in the pander-to-Hispanic move. There's already plenty of talk about future roll outs of mortgage and student loan bailouts. It's a surprise-a-month with the Obama administration. Ironically, thrusting over a million new legalized workers into the workforce will probably only increase the economic discussion.

2. Prevent Rubio from being VP pick - Conservatives were already 50/50 on Marco Rubio's version of the Dream Act, but Rubio has remained on the top of most polls when it comes to vice-presidential nominee. (Read Potential VP Selections). Though details are not fully completed, the Obama move is at least somewhat similar to Rubio's version. Obviously, if Rubio is the pick that leaves an opening for Obama to point out that his policy would basically do what Rubio wants to do, so how can it be that bad? The timing of this release seems to suggest that Obama does not want Rubio as the VP pick and is hoping this prevents that from happening. After all, why drop this bombshell this early when excitement over it will certainly fade by election time?

3. Executive Over-reach - Not that this is anything new with the Obama administration, but the president obviously has no respect for the separation of powers or the concept of federalism in general. He previously announced he would not defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court. In battling state governments and federalism, his judicial department has sued states for implementing federal-law-enforcing legislation related to illegal immigration, as well as attempting to prevent states from implementing reasonable voter ID laws or even removing dead people from voter rolls. Once upon a time it was common to repeal legislation. Now, whatever Obama says, goes. But the bigger problem is if this is allowed to stand, it says that the President of the United States has the power to do anything, dismiss any law, and ignore any legislative acts. What would be to stop a President from offering blanket amnesty with the wave of a pen?

4. Open the Floodgates - A key component that conservatives have demanded is to first stop the leak before cleaning up the water. The borders remain open. If anything, this move will increase the amount of illegal activity. The requirements to "prove" you were in the country for 5 years and that you graduated high school will no doubt be very flexible by the "compassionate" decision-makers. I doubt there is any effective system that would stop someone from crossing the border tomorrow, obtaining a fake high school diploma (not exactly high tech documents) and become in effect a legal resident.

5. Economic Disaster - Reports have been stating that 800,000 illegal immigrants under 30 will be eligible to work legally in the country. This is probably a lowball number to make it not seem quite so bad as, say, "millions" would sound. With a country of over 12 million illegal immigrants, it certainly seems low. But even if accurate, that number would exponentially increase as it does not include non-working age aliens, who will turn working age by the tens of thousands every year. Now, an already depressed private sector will be flooded with workers that we do not need and lining up for jobs that are already attracting 100 applicants for every job opening.

Obama's Illegal Immigration Move originally appeared on About.com Conservative Politics: U.S. on Friday, June 15th, 2012 at 18:34:56.

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BRUNSWICK, Ohio (AP) -- Mitt Romney kicked off his three-stop bus tour of Ohio by telling rain-soaked voters in the battleground state that the country is about to get "a little brighter."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Republicans set out a bold conservative agenda after taking control of state capitols across the Midwest and South in the last general election. They wanted to cut taxes and spending, put new limits on labor unions, crack down on illegal immigrants and give parents more alternatives to traditional public schools....

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Republicans set out a bold conservative agenda after taking control of state capitols across the Midwest and South in the last general election. They wanted to cut taxes and spending, put new limits on labor unions, crack down on illegal immigrants and give parents more alternatives to traditional public schools....

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Republicans set out a bold conservative agenda after taking control of state capitols across the Midwest and South in the last general election. They wanted to cut taxes and spending, put new limits on labor unions, crack down on illegal immigrants and give parents more alternatives to traditional public schools....

Five years ago, music consumers had to choose between buying a CD or downloading the album. Today, the choice is whether to download music or just stream it for free.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California lawmakers have scheduled a Friday budget vote on their plan to balance a $15.7 billion deficit as they run up against a constitutional deadline or risk losing their pay....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers have scheduled a Friday budget vote on their plan to balance a $15.7 billion deficit as they run up against a constitutional deadline or risk losing their pay.

With Gov. Jerry Brown refusing to sign off on their plan, Democratic leaders said they would work ...