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Arizona authorities file formal charges against suspect Jared Loughner in the shooting rampage that targeted U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The congresswoman is in critical condition, although doctors are upbeat about her prognosis. An earlier 'person of interest' had no involvement in the shootings, authorities say.Authorities on Sunday formally accused Jared Lee Loughner of murder and attempted murder of federal employees in connection with the Arizona shooting rampage that left six people dead and 14 injured, including the critically wounded U.S. Rep.

In Government and Policy This is not a time of holiday cheer for teachers' unions in Chicago and throughout Illinois. A hastily formed committee of the Illinois House of Representatives will hold hearings in Aurora this week with an agenda threatening to erode tenure and other job protections enjoyed by educators, and even to curtail dramatically the unions' right to call a strike.

Angry student protesters marched through central London toward Parliament on Thursday as lawmakers began debating a controversial plan to triple university tuition fees in Britain.

Senior lawmakers said on Sunday they were optimistic about striking a deal to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all taxpayers and continue emergency jobless aid for millions of long-term unemployed Americans.

Mexico's divided Congress is unlikely to pass President Felipe Calderon's pivotal plans to reform the police and combat money laundering, risking a major setback in the war against violent drug cartels.

The Senate's Republican leader says congressional lawmakers can and should vote to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, repeatedly if necessary.

Former congressman Gary A. Condit took the witness stand in public Monday but refused to answer one key question.

Congressional lawmakers scramble to come up with quick fix to the foreclosure fiasco that has threatened the economic recovery and thrown a monkey wrench into their re-election campaigns.Up to 40 States Plan Foreclosure Data Inquiry

California will enter the fourth month of its fiscal year on Friday without a state budget in place after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and top lawmakers failed to agree on Thursday on a spending plan.

Lawmakers and victims' families will gather in Washington on Tuesday for a summit on distracted driving and the deadly toll it takes.