House Passes $690 Billion Defense Bill

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $690 billion defense bill that limits President Obama’s authority on reducing nuclear weapons and deciding the fate of terrorist suspects.

Patriot Act Extension Came Down To The Wire

Congress scrambled to renew three controversial provisions of the anti-terror Patriot Act that otherwise would have expired at midnight Thursday.

2 Firms to Pay for Improper Military Foreclosures

WASHINGTON — Two mortgage lenders will pay more than $22 million combined to settle federal civil charges that they improperly foreclosed on 178 military personnel, some of whom were serving in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars.

Clinton: Pakistan needs to take ‘decisive steps’

ISLAMABAD (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that relations between the United States and Pakistan have reached a turning point after the killing of Osama bin Laden and she called on Islamabad to take “decisive steps” in the days ahead to fight terrorism.

Pentagon, VA planning to consolidate military health records

Servicemembers leaving the military should be heartened to know that the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs will develop a joint computerized health care system, The New York Times reported. The system is meant to provide a single source of data on a veteran’s health from enlistment through death, officials said.

Report: Marine never fired on SWAT officers who fatally shot him

Tucson, Arizona (CNN) — A U.S. Marine who died in a flurry of bullets during a drug raid near Tucson never fired on the SWAT team that stormed his house, a report by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department shows.