WASHINGTON -- A three-judge federal appellate court heard brief oral arguments Wednesday in what art experts say could be the last great Holocaust-era art restitution case, one with a California connection, but issued no ruling.

The unusual case was brought by heirs and relatives of a legendary Hungarian art collector in a dispute over possession of more than 40 artworks valued at $100 million, including some paintings now hanging in Hungarian museums, that were stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

The lead plaintiff is David de Csepel of Altadena, Calif, great-grandson of Jewish banker Baron Mór Lipót Herzog. His once vast collection included paintings, sculptures and other works by such artists as El Greco, van Dyck, Velázquez, Renoir and Monet.

Arguing that Hungarian courts acted unjustly by failing to return the paintings or pay restitution to Herzog’s relatives, the lawsuit seeks to use U.S. courts to press the claim the government of Hungary, three of its museums and a...

WASHINGTON — Nearly 20.6 million people watched Monday’s presidential inaugural festivities on network television, a drop of 46% from the 2009 event, which drew nearly 37.8 million viewers, according to the Nielsen ratings.

The fall-off was consistent with audiences for other second inaugurations: in recent history, only President Nixon has enjoyed more television viewers for his second swearing-in than his first.

The viewership figure reflects the average number of people who tuned to live network coverage from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET to watch President Obama’s swearing-in ceremony and parade. Nielsen does not track online streaming, or most television viewers outside the home.

Complete coverage of the 2013 inauguration

Monday’s audience was larger than the one that tuned in for President George W. Bush’s second inauguration, which was watched by 15.5 million people. Bush’s first swearing-in drew 29 million viewers.

The largest television audience...

WASHINGTON – House Republicans approved a temporary suspension of the $16.4-trillion ceiling on the nation’s debt Wednesday, allowing the federal government to continue borrowing through spring while Washington shifts to more ambitious budget battles.

Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) convinced his rebellious majority to go along with the new strategy by promising them the opportunity in the months ahead to extract deep spending cuts to Medicare and other domestic programs.

The approach was a seismic political shift for Republicans who in the past had pressed for simultaneous cuts, which House Democrats dismissed as “irresponsible” and a “gimmick.”

The vote was 285-144, and despite the robust support it would not have passed without Democrats -- 33 Republicans opposed it.

QUIZ: Test your knowledge about the debt limit

“We know with certainty that a debt crisis is coming to America,” said Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), the former vice...

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, facing tough questions from Senate Republicans on the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, insisted Wednesday that she has moved aggressively to address security weaknesses laid bare by the assault.

In long-awaited testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Clinton acknowledged her personal responsibility as head of the State Department, and stressed that she has begun implementing all 29 corrective steps recommended by an in-house investigative board.

“I take responsibility,” said Clinton, whose appearance before the committtee was delayed for a month by a stomach flu, a concussion and a brief hospitalization. “Nobody is more committed to getting this right.”

PHOTOS: U.S. ambassador killed in Libya

At the same time, Clinton said she hadn’t seen specific requests for additional security personnel for the lightly protected diplomatic mission in Benghazi, saying...

WASHINGTON -- National Rifle Assn. Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre lobbed a scathing critique at President Obama's second inaugural address Tuesday night, warning that turning away from "absolutism" puts constitutional rights at risk.

LaPierre's speech, delivered at the Weatherby Foundation International Hunting and Conservation Awards in Reno, targeted one line in particular from Obama's Monday address: the president's declaration that "we cannot mistake absolutism for principle."

"Obama wants to turn the idea of absolutism into a dirty word -- just another word for extremism," LaPierre said.

He later added, "Mr. President, you might think calling us absolutists is a clever way of name-calling without using names. But if that is absolutist, then we are as absolutist as our Founding Fathers and the framers of our United States Constitution. And we are proud of it."

LaPierre reiterated what he and other NRA officials have said publicly in recent weeks: that major changes to gun...

WASHINGTON – House Republicans appear confident they have the votes to pass a short-term debt ceiling increase as they attempt to dispatch with this fiscal battle to focus on bigger ones ahead.

The bill, coming up for a vote Wednesday, would be an early test of Speaker John A. Boehner’s latest approach after the Ohio Republican has struggled to rally his restive majority to a unified position.

The legislation would suspend the $16.4 trillion debt limit to allow the nation to continue to borrow money to pay its bills for another three months and then increase the legal limit to that new debt level.

Republicans have at least temporarily abandoned their demand for matching dollar-per-dollar spending cuts that had been a key component of the so-called Boehner Principle in past debates.

Instead, the House GOP will require that the Senate pass a budget by spring – something Democrats who run the upper chamber have declined to tackle in past years, but now signal they want...

WASHINGTON -- After a messy fight that highlighted strains with the White House, the Democratic National Committee completed what should have been the routine election of a new slate of officers Tuesday.

As expected, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida was given another term as national party chairwoman. But below that level, chaos reigned for a time as DNC members balked at rubber-stamping a White House-approved list of replacements for several veterans of the pre-Obama era.

Among the incoming DNC leaders are vice chairwomen Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles labor official, and Tulsi Gabbard, the newly elected congresswoman from Hawaii. Henry R. Muñoz III of San Antonio was named finance chairman, the first Latino in that post.

Complete coverage of the 2013 inauguration

But many on the DNC strongly resisted the forced removal of longtime activist Alice Travis Germond as DNC secretary. Highly popular with the membership, Germond, who calls the roll of the states at presidential...

Forty years after the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision struck down laws forbidding abortions, support for a legal right to end a pregnancy has grown, according to new polls released this week.

The shift has come largely from increased support for legal abortion among Latinos and blacks, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal survey. The survey for the first time found a majority of Americans supporting legal abortion in all or most cases.

The shift among African Americans and Latinos could indicate that both population groups, which have strongly supported the Democratic Party in recent years, have begun taking on the party’s views on social issues.

PHOTOS: President Obama's second inauguration

The survey showed 31% of Americans saying abortion should always be legal and an additional 23% saying they should be “legal most of the time.” The combined 54% support for legal abortion in most cases has moved upward from 44% a decade ago and 49% five years...

WASHINGTON — With Buddy Guy rocking the stage, Absolut vodka flowing and waiters passing out crab cakes and mini-sliders, Rahm Emanuel’s late-night party closed out the Inauguration Day festivities.

The blues guitarist cranked out “Sweet Home Chicago” just past 1 a.m. Tuesday in front of a crowded dance floor in a nightclub packed with political operatives, Democratic appointees, lobbyists, journalists and party crashers.

The private party, which began at 11 p.m. Monday at a nightclub near the White House, was billed as “Midnight Underground, a Chicago-style After-Hours.”

PHOTOS: President Obama's second inauguration

Seen: Host Emanuel, of course, plus Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Donovan Pepper, a Deerfield, Ill.-based lobbyist for Walgreen Co.

Eaten: half-portion hot dogs with the works, chicken skewers with salsa verde, spinach and basil mini-calzones.

Imbibed: The featured cocktail was the Chicago Breeze, or Absolut splashed with...

WASHINGTON -- The official Inaugural Ball served up a mixture of high and low culture Monday night: There was the first lady decked out in a custom Jason Wu ruby-colored chiffon-and-velvet gown. And there were the food tables, laden with oversized bowls of pretzels, salted nuts and bright orange Cheez-Its.

The night felt a bit like a senior prom on steroids: Oversized colored globes and bunting were hung from the massive ducts lining the ceiling of the cavernous convention hall. Performances by high-wattage stars such as Alicia Keys and Brad Paisley were interspersed with Michael Jackson and Madonna hits spun by a DJ.

"I guess I expected a little bit more," said Shirley Hill, a 58-year-old program manager at the Agriculture Department, as she gazed around the vast space. "I don't know, with the economy, I guess this is reasonable."

PHOTOS: Barack and Michelle's inaugural dance

"It’s just such a happy occasion," interjected her friend, Ramona Green, also 58, who works as a health...

WASHINGTON -- While fiscal battles have dominated discussions of President Obama’s second term, a top advisor said Monday that the president will push forward with immigration reform early on -- possibly as soon as the State of the Union speech in three weeks.

Speaking shortly after the inauguration ceremony, senior advisor David Axelrod suggested Obama carries the goodwill of the American public with him as he sets out on his second term.

“I think the country likes this president. I think they support this president. Now he has four years to finish the work he’s begun,” Axelrod told reporters as he walked through the halls at the Capitol. “We’ve got a foundation on which to build and he has a chance to build on it.”

Axelrod suggested congressional Republicans should reconsider their opposition to the president’s agenda, as polls show Americans have grown tired of the cycle of brinkmanship.

Several top Republicans panned Obama’s...