MSNBC's Chris Matthews could be in the mix of candidates hoping to win Republican Sen. Arlen Specter's seat in 2010.

The Northeast's dwindling cast of Senate Republicans has Democrats circling Arlen Specter's seat in Pennsylvania, convinced the party is well-positioned to make a competitive race out of the 2010 election.

Among the initiatives unveiled by the Treasury secretary is a $200-billion program to help ease the credit pinch for consumers in three areas: student loans, automobile purchases and credit cards.

The federal government's new $800-billion initiative to revive the nation's credit markets and reverse the deepening economic crisis propels the government into risky territory -- the uncertain world of credit cards, student borrowing, auto loans and cash-strapped small businesses.

Norton A. Schwartz thinks the U.S. needs to modernize how it keeps track of its nuclear weapons. The service has been embarrassed by a series of mistakes.

The U.S. government must take steps to modernize how it keeps track of its nuclear weapons to help prevent mistakes, Air Force Chief of Staff Norton A. Schwartz said Tuesday on a visit to part of his service's nuclear force.

The president-elect, emphasizing a need to act swiftly and boldly, signals he s already begun to take charge.

With the dramatic weekend rescue of Citigroup showing that the financial crisis remains an ongoing threat, President-elect Barack Obama introduced the central players of his new economic team Monday and charged them with developing a plan to stabilize the financial system and the job market.

The team led by Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner and Christina Romer will have to strike a balance between extraordinary government intervention and the nation's commitment to free markets.

The economic team that President-elect Barack Obama unveiled Monday, led by Lawrence Summers, Timothy F. Geithner and Christina D. Romer, comprises widely respected, centrist economists who until recently advocated cautious, sensible-shoe policies to do such things as boost savings, reduce deficits and allow markets maximum feasible rein.

Christina Romer is chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to head his Council of Economic Advisors. She is an expert on the Great Depression and monetary policy.

UC Berkeley economics professor Christina D. Romer, named Monday by President-elect Barack Obama to head his Council of Economic Advisors, is an expert on the Great Depression and monetary policy who is respected for her keen analytical skills, friends and colleagues say.

Mayor Greg Nickels wants to ban guns from city property. But a Washington state law, and other challenges, may shoot down his proposal.

Seattle's annual Northwest Folklife Festival is a throwback to the hippie days, a laid-back celebration of folk music, grilled salmon and sandals with socks in a city that has always considered laid-back a point of civic pride.

In a little-noticed regulation change, the Pentagon's definition of combat-related disabilities is narrowed, costing some wounded veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits.

Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq -- by a roadside bomb and a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

President-elect Obama adds a prominent Hispanic and another one-time Democratic rival to his expanding Cabinet.

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be commerce secretary, adding a prominent Hispanic and one-time Democratic rival to his expanding Cabinet.

Like Cordell Hull, she could find herself marginalized because she hasn't been close to the president she would serve. Her future ambitions could also complicate her job.

Cordell Hull was a veteran lawmaker with a worldwide reputation when Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him secretary of State in 1933, in part to win needed support from Hull's army of Democratic admirers.