Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the longest-serving woman in Congressional history, will be retiring at the end of this term. Mikulski, 78, has served in the Senate since 1987, and acted as a Representative for 10 years before that, a total of 38 years in Congress.

A new startup that analyzes legislative data has confirmed what we long suspected: female Senators are more productive, passing more bills than their male counterparts and working together more often to sponsor bipartisan measures.

It seems as thought the horrific incident of the 276* girls who were kidnapped from their boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria is finally getting the international attention it deserves. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) were seen gathering signatures from the other 18 female members of…

Moments after Senate Republicans unanimously voted to block the advancement of the Paycheck Fairness Act — a bill that would have held employers accountable for wage discrimination against women — the bill's lead sponsor, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, unleashed a barrage of scathing criticism against her good-for-nothing…

Who is single-handedly fending off the Tea Party Huns from gutting the federal budget, standing up for needy families, and making House Speaker John Boehner look like one of the sad clown porcelain figurines your grandmother keeps in her home just to make unwanted visitors ill at ease? That would be the diminutive…

The major political conventions are over! Boo, say nerds. Hooray, say people who just want their regular network TV shows back and journalists who are probably exhausted from two weeks straight of talking points, hats embellished with donkeys and elephants, and stadium food. While the seemingly endless stream of vague…

When the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood and cut all funding to clinics that provide women's health services, the stirring speeches of two women, Rep. Gwen Moore and Rep. Jackie Speier, went viral. This afternoon, it was the Senate's turn.

From the AP: Senators Barbara Mikulski (left) and Olympia Snowe sponsored an amendment that "would allow the Health and Human Services secretary to require insurers to cover preventive health screenings free of charge." It passed. [AP]

• In his closing statement on Tuesday, Amanda Knox's lawyer argued that there simply isn't enough evidence to convict Knox for the murder of her former roommate. "There are still many doubts in this trial," he told the jury. •

This week, we are wobbling toward the end of the road on health care reform. The Senate Finance Committee will vote on its plan this week, Obama is limping toward the finish line, and still no People's Elbow in sight.

[Washington, DC, January 29. Image via Associated Press]