On a broad bipartisan vote of 78 to 20, the Senate voted Tuesday to extend the life of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and expand its authority to make loans to U.S. exporters. In the “Schoolhouse Rock” version of how Capitol Hill works, this is what Congress does all the time — passes legislation. Read full article > >

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Export-Import Bank reauthorized by Senate

GOP Senate candidate is opposed to compromise.

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Clinton Disturbed by Mourdock’s Views

Tea Party-backed Republican candidates for the Senate are looking to infuse the upper chamber with the deep-seated conservatism that is present in the House.

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Tea Party Focus Turns to Senate and Shake-Up

The Argentine Senate passes a law that gives terminally ill patients the right to refuse treatment.

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Argentina backs ‘dignified death’

Republicans need to pick up four more seats to take control of the Senate, and a year ago they had many plans for how to do so — none of which envisioned a battle to hold on to Indiana. But Tuesday’s landslide victory in the GOP primary by Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, a staunch conservative who beat longtime Sen. Richard G. Lugar, gave Democrats hope for claiming a seat they have not seriously contested in three decades. Read full article > >

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Democrats have real chance to hold on to Senate majority

Richard G. Lugar, one of the Senate’s longest-serving members, lost a hard-fought Republican primary to Richard E. Mourdock, the Indiana state treasurer.

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Lugar Loses Primary Challenge in Indiana

Richard Lugar had it all — a sterling global reputation, bipartisan respect, a fat campaign bank account and 36 years of Senate experience.

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Analysis: Lugar’s grassroots withered

The Senate failed Tuesday to advance a bill to keep federally subsidized college student loan rates lower for another year, prolonging debate on an issue that has emerged as an election-year flashpoint. Read full article > >

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Student loan plan fails in the Senate

Indiana Republican Sen. Dick Lugar will almost certainly lose his bid for a seventh term Tuesday at the hands of state Treasurer Richard Mourdock . On that point, almost everyone in the Republican party agrees. (Polling backs up that idea; a bipartisan survey released late last week showed Mourdock with a 10-point lead on the incumbent .) Read full article > >

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Dick Lugar is going to lose. Did he have to?

The Connecticut Senate passed a bill on Saturday legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, with tight restrictions.

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Connecticut Passes Marijuana Bill

When Indiana Republicans go to the polls on Tuesday, they will do more than choose a candidate for the Senate. They will choose between party and country. That’s a stark assessment but true. On one side is a man who has made it his life’s work to build a cross-aisle consensus for keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue states. On the other side is a man who mocks his opponent for such efforts and who talks more about fighting Democrats than fighting America’s enemies. Read full article > >

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Taking out Dick Lugar

When Robert A. Caro published “ Master of the Senate ” (2002), the third volume of his voluminous multi-part life of Lyndon B. Johnson, he said he would finish his labors with just one more installment. But clearly he wasn’t being realistic. Read full article > >

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Book review: Robert A. Caro’s ‘The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson’

House Republicans and Democrats expressed optimism Friday about sending a cybersecurity bill to President Obama this year, despite significant disagreements with the Senate and the White House. The House delivered a strong bipartisan vote Thursday for the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act despite a White House veto threat. The bill would encourage companies and the federal government to share information collected on the Internet to help prevent electronic attacks from cybercriminals, foreign governments and terrorists. Read full article > >

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House hopeful about a cybersecurity bill

Senate study concludes from Bush-era records.

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Probe: Little ‘Torture’ Effective

IN JULY, THE interest rate on certain federal student loans will double, to 6.8 percent. Who could want that? Not President Obama or Mitt Romney, both of whom railed against the scheduled increase last week. And not Senate Democrats or House Republicans , who have competing plans for preventing the hike. The only question in Washington seems to be whether the two sides will agree on how to pay for extending the lower rate for a year. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board: What college students need most