A new study from the Pew Hispanic Center found that the number of illegal immigrants in the United States dropped significantly for the first time in two decades -- but the population out of Mexico has held steady since reaching its peak in 2007. 

Federal prisons are failing to notify crime victims and witnesses when inmates are allowed to travel by themselves for medical treatment, the Justice Department inspector general said Thursday.

Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina exchanged feisty jabs on taxes, the economy and their records in Congress and corporate America during the first debate in their Senate race. 

The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott named Jacksonville state Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate Thursday. 

Failed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene sued the St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald on Wednesday, claiming they published knowingly false articles timed to damage his chances of winning.

Imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan is seeking to have elements of his conviction thrown out based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sharply curtailed an anti-fraud law employed by prosecutors nationwide to convict politicians and executives. 

Orders to U.S. factories managed a slight gain in July as a surge in demand for commercial aircraft helped offset widespread weakness in other areas. 

The number of people requesting unemployment benefits declined for the second straight week, suggesting that the slowing economy isn't prompting widespread job cuts. 

Defense Secretary Robert Gates touched down in Kabul Thursday, in a surprise visit to Afghanistan for a lightning round of strategy sessions with top commanders and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. 

The following is a transcript of an interview with Defense Secretary Robert Gates conducted by James Rosen in Baghdad, Iraq on Sept. 1, 2010.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has arrived in Afghanistan's capital for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and top NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus. 

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to appear before a panel investigating the financial crisis to give his take on the meltdown and his views on potential systemwide risks posed by large financial institutions.

After a day and evening in White House talks with President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sit down together Thursday for the first of what American officials hope will be a series of meetings that lead to a peace agreement between the two nations.

Fresh off its latest political victory in Alaska, the Tea Party Express is now jumping into the Delaware Republican Senate primary to back longshot Christine O'Donnell, a fiscal conservative whose deep financial problems are grabbing headlines and could prevent the increasingly powerful grassroots movement from scoring another major upset in two weeks.

Newly minted Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller called for his party to unite following his upset victory over incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska primary, vowing to expand his lead in the polls over his Democratic opponent. 

In a farewell speech, outgoing White House economic adviser Christina Romer touted the success of the stimulus package Wednesday and urged lawmakers not to shy away from more deficit spending to keep the momentum going. 

A majority of Minnesota voters don't want to see their governor in the Oval Office, according to a new poll. 

The Obama administration approved the sale of American-made rifles to South Korea last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March -- a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.

As more states seek to challenge President Obama's health care law, the Florida Supreme Court dealt a serious blow to state lawmakers who tried to give voters a chance in November to decide whether they should be forced to buy health care.

A delegation of Pakistani military officials left Washington, D.C., Tuesday night after refusing to attend a U.S.-Pakistani defense conference to protest the group's treatment by security officials after being removed from a United Airlines flight on Sunday evening.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, suggesting America's reserves may not be as robust as officials claim, is calling for an independent audit of the U.S. gold held at Fort Knox and other facilities. 

An Israeli rabbi joined other conservatives Wednesday in casting doubt on peace talks soon under way in Washington after Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis while they were traveling in the West Bank.

A House committee is asking Attorney General Eric Holder to probe whether oil spill victims in Michigan were forced to sign liability waivers in exchange for assistance.

Vice President Biden presided over a change-of-command ceremony in Iraq Wednesday marking the final phase of U.S. military involvement -- the hand-off comes amid fresh criticism of President Obama's pledge to replicate such a transition in Afghanistan a year from now. 

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday by a Tucson police officer who challenged Arizona's new immigration law. 

Marking the formal end of the United States' combat mission in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the accomplishments -- and sacrifices -- of U.S. forces here will always be "clouded" by the faulty intelligence the Bush administration cited to make the initial case for war. 

The imam leading plans for an Islamic center near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York said the fight is over more than "a piece of real estate" and could shape the future of Muslim relations in America.

Obama portrayed the end of the U.S. combat role in the Iraq as an opportunity to shift more focus to rebuilding the economy, which some economists say is increasingly in danger of falling back into a recession.

Federal agents have descended for a second time on Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, the two Iowa farms at the center of a salmonella outbreak and massive egg recall.

In a major upset, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has conceded her GOP Senate primary race to Tea Party Express favorite Joe Miller, who had the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The following is a look back at major speeches on Iraq by U.S. officials involved in war operations from President Bush's first State of the Union address to President Obama's remarks about the war on Tuesday at Ft. Bliss.

Five days after a systematic shutdown of Virginia's centralized computers, the Department of Motor Vehicles is still not operational, forcing police stations around the state to grant amnesty to motorists pulled over with expired driver's licenses.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday that he will do everything he can to keep Minnesota from participating in the federal health care overhaul during his final four months in office.

House investigators have recommended that three lawmakers be further investigated to determine whether political contributions were improperly linked to votes on a huge financial overhaul bill.

President Obama is poised to announce Tuesday night in a rare Oval Office speech the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, closing a long and divisive chapter of American history.

A Republican Senate candidate for the first time provided extensive details about his arrest a decade ago -- something he unexpectedly copped to during a New York primary debate last week. 

Surprise Senate Democratic candidate Alvin Greene isn't known for his gift of gab -- but the South Carolina longer-than-long shot nonetheless has the byline on a "give 'em hell" op-ed in the United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper filled with zingers, detailed policy proposals and biblical parables that have political watchers in the Palmetto State scratching their heads.

President Obama will address the nation live from the Oval Office Tuesday night to mark the shift of American troops in Iraq from a combat role to an advisory role -- but he will have to tread carefully, since he was an early and vocal opponent of the war. 

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski crept closer to Republican challenger Joe Miller as the Alaska Division of Elections began counting 15,272 outstanding ballots in Alaska's primary election. 

The secretary of state was meeting Tuesday separately with the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian people, foreign ministers from Egypt and Jordan and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

Political paralysis and sectarian violence remain in Iraq, even as the U.S. wraps up combat operations, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending staff up and down the East Coast to help prepare communities potentially affected by Hurricane Earl, a Category 4 storm making its way toward the U.S. shoreline.

Americans who are most attuned to the political news in the country are the least pleased with President Obama, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

The president is traveling to Ft. Bliss in Texas to thank troops for their lengthy sacrifice before returning to the Oval Office for a prime time speech marking the end of U.S. combat operations in a still politically shaky Iraq.

A governor's spokeswoman says Gov. Rick Perry has been denied a meeting with President Obama when the president visits Fort Bliss on Tuesday. 

Election monitors from the campaigns of dueling Senate candidates Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller have started to converge on sites across the state where officials are reviewing the results of last week's undecided Republican primary contest. 

Relatives of Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and a top aide reportedly won scholarship funds from a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation program in violation of the group's rules.

Keeping pressure on Arizona's immigration policies, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit Monday against a local community college system alleging that it discriminated against non-citizens by making them fill out additional paperwork during the hiring process. 

As the first of more than 530 National Guard troops deploys to Arizona to help local officers secure the border, those clamoring for more federal assistance say the latest immigration policy change out of Washington shows the White House is still falling short on enforcement.