Mary Cheney - daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney - is speaking out against HJR-6, the proposed constitutional ban on same sex marriage in Indiana. She came to Indianapolis, Wednesday, to support Freedom Indiana - the state group fighting against the amendment.

The Senate Conservatives Fund, founded by then-Sen. Jim DeMint, is a big-money player targeting incumbent Republican senators including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The decision, which reversed a ruling last April by a smaller panel of the court, rejected a TV station's argument invoking the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" ruling of 2010.

The president told activists on the National Mall on Friday that there is still time for the House to pass legislation that would overhaul the nation's immigration system. The Senate passed a comprehensive bill in the summer. House Speaker John Boehner says he prefers a piecemeal approach.

China announced over the weekend that it had expanded an air-defense zone to cover islands that are claimed by both it and Japan. The U.S., Japan and others said they wouldn't recognize that new zone. On Monday, officials tell news outlets, U.S. Air Force bombers flew through.

Former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Wednesday, at the White House.

A national poll released Monday shows many registered voters were reminded of the importance of national parks during the federal government shutdown. Congress did get more of a bruising on perceived responsibility for the park closures, but the president wasn't left unscathed either.

Twenty-nine lawmakers are supposed to come up with a long-term budget deal by mid-December. They meet again Wednesday around a conference table, facing huge hurdles and led by two people who couldn't be more different: Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

A Central Indiana organization is launching a campaign to encourage the state legislature to pass a regional transit plan next year. IndyCan kicked off its "Ticket to Opportunity" effort in front of the statehouse, Thursday.

Tax-exempt social welfare groups have become the vehicle of choice for big political contributions. NPR, in partnership with the Center for Responsive Politics traces the money moving through a Washington, D.C., group, and the law that makes this activity possible.