Even for a nonconformist, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin defies political logic with her sudden, stunning announcement to leave office more than a year early.

Sarah Palin demonstrated once again yesterday that she is one of America's most unconventional politicians, following an unpredictable path to an uncertain future.

Sarah Palin's announcement that she's stepping down as Alaska's governor could be a sign that she's gearing up for a run at the presidency in 2012, Howard Fineman writes.

Even as Sarah Palin prepares to leave office, the wait for her official e-mails goes on. Msnbc.com's Bill Dedman reports.

Before departing for the holiday weekend, President Barack Obama sat down with The Associated Press, talking Russia (Putin "still has a lot of sway"), joblessness (he's "deeply concerned"), and Michael Jackson (he's got the late singer's songs on his iPod).

Philadelphia, Miss., declares independence from an ugly past. NBC’s Mark Potter reports.

The first lady, who has wowed publics in the U.S. and Europe with her easy elegance and charm, will perhaps face a bigger challenge in winning over a Russian public that has scant respect for women who grab the limelight from their powerful husbands.

Vice President Dick Cheney talked with top White House officials about how to respond to reporters' inquiries into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative, according to a court filing.

Away from the cameras, Michelle Obama has made it a practice to almost every week visit some worthy non-profit.

Newly released documents and memos about the first years of operation of the jail at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, portray a chaotic operation that its own commanders described as dysfunctional.

The National Society of Newspaper Columnists chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the winner of its annual Sitting Duck Award, a tongue-in-cheek honor that pokes fun at the most ridiculed newsmakers.

The Obama administration said Thursday that it needs two more months to review an internal CIA report on the agency's secret detention and interrogation program before making it public.

Determined to advance President Barack Obama's health care agenda, key Senate Democrats are calling for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans, as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees.

A top Republican senator said a Puerto Rican legal advocacy group advised by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor took extreme positions on capital punishment, abortion and racial quotas.

Herbert G. Klein, Richard Nixon's former White House director of communications, has died. He was 91.

South Carolina's first lady said Gov. Mark Sanford's actions were "inexcusable" but she was willing to forgive him.

Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Iraq to visit U.S. troops and meet with Iraqi leaders, including President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The man who lost the 1998 Minnesota governor's race to pro wrestler Jesse Ventura now holds the distinction of losing his U.S. Senate seat to former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken.

President Barack Obama wanted to put a human face on his plans to overhaul health care, and a Virginia supporter did just that Wednesday.

The Obama administration is not fighting a nearly $500,000 judgment for a Library of Congress hiree who lost the job while undergoing a gender change from a man to a woman.