Richard Carmona arrived in Washington a political novice in 2002 and left four years later scarred and frustrated. He didn't go quietly.

States that borrowed billions from the federal government to keep unemployment benefits flowing through the recession now have to start paying those loans back, and they're hitting businesses with new assessments and higher taxes to make that happen.

Participants in same-sex marriages say they are still discriminated against because they can't get the same federal benefits that heterosexual couples receive.

The White House on Tuesday threw its backing behind a bill that would repeal a 15-year-old law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.