Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

Sunlight Live covers the conventions

Did AT&T rent out sprawling eatery to influence lawmakers all week?

TAMPA -- When Tampa Bay Online reported a few weeks back that a lobbyist rented out a sprawling, upscale restaurant for the whole week of the Republican National Convention, they provided a host of details about the restaurant, the big tabs that the GOP high rollers would run up there from early breakfasts to late hour sessions, even the fact that the lobbyist had run the same kind of insiders dining club at the last three Republican conventions. But they were unable to find out the lobbyist's name, or who he worked for.

Back to school: Privatizers turn to big screen to push charters, trigger laws

As school starts up, it seems a good time to take a look at the a well-financed political tussle for control of the blackboards and soon-to-be bustling halls. It's a battle that pits upstart entrepreneurs and big-name philanthropists against the well-oiled political machines of the nation's leading teacher's unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

Do House freshmen speak differently?

Prices. Mother. Bless. Soldiers. Borrowing. Corporate. Abortion. Seniors.

Oops! What House freshmen deleted from Twitter

Like other Twitter users, members of Congress delete and revise their tweets. Unlike most Twitter users, however, lawmakers maintain official accounts -- a use of taxpayer resources -- which is why the Sunlight Foundation considers them fair game to monitor for Politwoops, our database of deleted tweets by elected officials, launched earlier this year.

The phone booth caucus: House Democratic freshmen

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama, is the president of this year's small Democratic freshmen class. Those nine freshmen, dubbed the "noble nine" by supporters, elected the Harvard-educated lawyer as the leader of a small, but diverse class that includes four women, four African Americans and one openly gay member and one who identifies as Buddhist.

Headlining the RNC Convention: Fundraisers, Lobbyists and Shadowy Nonprofits

Once upon a time, the national Democratic and Republican political conventions were all about writing political platforms and nominating a presidential ticket. Once upon a time, convention planners relied heavily on public financing.

Profile: Rick Berg

Rich kids in the freshmen class

Nearly two-fifths of the lawmakers swept into the House two years ago on a tide of populist anger appear to millionaires or near-millionaires.

Rape by any other name

Super PAC's fundraising losing momentum, latest reports show

Closing in on the upcoming party conventions, super PACs appear to have lost some of their steam in attracting the big bucks. The big guns of political ad spending took in $30 million during July,reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission show. That's $25 million less than the previous month,. In all, super PACs have raised $343 million since Jan.1, 2011, the beginning of this campaign cycle. The top donors include names now familiar as repeat super PAC underwriters, along with a few newbies. Among the eight donors who write seven-figure checks last month are three corporate donors and one left leaning nonprofit.

House freshmen in tight races: How many first-termers will be one-termers?

The 89 freshmen who roared into Washington last January are now experiencing the power, and also the perils, of incumbency. A number of them are not safe bets for reelection and some will certainly be one-termers. Of this fall's close races involving freshmen, a dozen stand out, based on the rankings of the nonpartisan political handicapper Charlie Cook.

Super PAC Profile: CREDO takes aim at House freshmen

The CREDO SuperPAC exists in spite of—or because of?—its own desire to overturn Citizens United, the Supreme Court case that led to the creation of super PACs. “We wouldn't launch this SuperPAC unless we felt it was absolutely necessary to fight back,” says the group's website. But this sort of self-loathing isn’t the group's only unusual trait. Among organizations whose purpose is to obscure funding sources, CREDO is unique in its transparency.

Profile: Nan Hayworth