Political News
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Senate passes $631 billion defense bill
Tweet Share on Facebook 6:59PM December 04, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly approved a sweeping, $631 billion defense bill Tuesday that sends a clear signal to President Barack Obama to move quickly to get U.S. combat troops out of Afghanistan, tightens sanctions on Iran and limits the president's authority in handling terror suspects.
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GOP leaders remove 4 from plum House committees
Tweet Share on Facebook 6:36PM December 04, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner's decision to take plum committee assignments away from four conservative Republican lawmakers after they bucked party leaders on key votes isn't going over well with advocacy groups that viewed them as role models.
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Highlights of White House, GOP budget plans
Tweet Share on Facebook 5:45PM December 04, 2012 CommentThe Obama administration and House Republicans have unveiled their opening offers in talks to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Details are scant but the White House estimates its plan would carve $4.4 trillion from the deficit over the coming decade, including previously enacted cuts ($1 trillion) and savings from reduced costs for overseas military operations ($800 billion), as well as interest payments on the national debt ($600 billion).
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FEMA chief: Sandy fund should last until spring
Tweet Share on Facebook 5:29PM December 04, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday there's enough money in the government's disaster relief fund for Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts until early spring.
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Elizabeth Warren Gains Foothold in Battle Against Banks
Tweet Share on Facebook 4:45PM December 04, 2012 Comment
Elizabeth Warren will likely serve on the Senate Banking Committee. No word yet about the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
Warren, a longtime critic of the financial industry, will sit on the committee that oversees it.
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Official: Warren likely headed to Banking Panel
Tweet Share on Facebook 3:20PM December 04, 2012 CommentBOSTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants Massachusetts Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren to join the Banking Committee.
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Conservative Groups Admonish GOP Leadership for Ousting Members from Committees
Tweet Share on Facebook 3:00PM December 04, 2012 Comment
House Speaker John Boehner and his lieutenant, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, have brought down the hammer on free thought, conservative activists say.
Leadership removes feisty members from key committee assignments.
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Back to budgets, Ryan returns to comfortable topic
Tweet Share on Facebook 1:46PM December 04, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — Paul Ryan is getting his groove back.
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A frail Dole returns to Senate to push for treaty
Tweet Share on Facebook 1:10PM December 04, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — Frail and in a wheelchair, former Sen. Bob Dole was a startling presence on the Senate floor as lawmakers voted on a treaty on disabilities.
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THE RESET: Obama, GOP circling on fiscal crisis
Tweet Share on Facebook 12:45PM December 04, 2012 CommentDemocrats and Republicans are haunted by memories of budget deals gone bad. It's making it hard for them to put hope over experience and avert a looming fiscal disaster.
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Watchdogs: Obama Administration Became Less Transparent in Months Leading to Election
Tweet Share on Facebook 12:33PM December 04, 2012 Comment
President Barack Obama reads briefing material while meeting with advisors inside his cabin at Camp David.
When President Barack Obama took office in 2009, he promised a new level of transparency in government, issuing the Open Government Directive for greater government accountability and calling on agencies to be more cooperative in responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
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GOP 'Fiscal Cliff' Plan Echoes Failed Budget Talks
Tweet Share on Facebook 12:22PM December 04, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are proposing a "fiscal cliff" plan that revives ideas from failed budget talks with President Barack Obama last year, calling for raising the eligibility age for Medicare, lowering cost-of-living hikes for Social Security benefits and bringing in $800 billion in higher tax revenue.
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Clinton urges wider pressure on North Korea
Tweet Share on Facebook 11:21AM December 04, 2012 CommentBRUSSELS (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expressing deep concern about North Korean plans to carry out a long-range rocket launch this month.
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Study: Drug coverage to vary under health law
Tweet Share on Facebook 11:05AM December 04, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — A new study says basic prescription drug coverage could vary dramatically from state to state under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
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Norquist: Obama 'Moving the Goalposts' on Fiscal Cliff Talks
Tweet Share on Facebook 10:43AM December 04, 2012 Comment
American for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist
Conservatives say there is a compelling reason why they are opposing President Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on the wealthy. It's because that is what they promised to their constituents. In fact, conservative leaders say they have a mandate, too, and it's very different from the president's.
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US weighing military options if Syria uses WMD
Tweet Share on Facebook 9:32PM December 03, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and its allies are weighing military options to secure Syria's chemical and biological weapons, after U.S. intelligence reports show the Syrian regime may be readying those weapons and may be desperate enough to use them, U.S. officials said Monday.
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GOP issues a new 'fiscal cliff' offer to Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook 7:06PM December 03, 2012 CommentWASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans put forth a $2.2 trillion "fiscal cliff" counteroffer to President Barack Obama on Monday, calling for raising the eligibility age for Medicare, lowering cost-of-living hikes for Social Security benefits and bringing in $800 billion in higher tax revenue — but not raising rates for the wealthy.
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African-American Leaders Deliver Agenda For Obama's Second Term
Tweet Share on Facebook 5:36PM December 03, 2012 Comment
National Urban League President Marc Morial (R) speaks as Rev. Al Sharpton looks on after leaders of civic organizations met with President Barack Obama at the White House, Nov. 16, 2012.
Following a four-hour closed door meeting Monday, the leaders of four African-American advocacy groups emerged looking pleased to announce a collective wish list they plan to deliver to President Barack Obama for his second term.
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Anti-Evolution Rep. Broun Wants to Stay on Science Committee
Tweet Share on Facebook 5:22PM December 03, 2012 Comment
Georgia Rep. Paul Broun doesn't think GOP leaders will mind his anti-evolution comments.
In September, Broun denounced widely accepted scientific theories as 'lies straight from the pit of hell.'
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Dick Cheney working on book about heart treatment
Tweet Share on Facebook 5:01PM December 03, 2012 CommentNEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Dick Cheney is working on a book about his battles with heart disease and the revolutionary changes in treatment that helped keep him alive.
