Friday, April 29, 2011

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Obama in Alabama: 'Never seen devastation like this'

President Obama toured tornado damage in Alabama on Friday, saying the federal government would "do everything we can to help these communities rebuild."


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Some blacks see racism in 'birther' questions

Shortly after President Barack Obama declared himself an American-born citizen with papers to prove it, Baratunde Thurston declared himself a disgusted black man.

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Groupon pulls ads from Trump's 'Apprentice' site

Guns, abortion and Donald Trump: Three topics so controversial that Groupon doesn't want its brand anywhere near them.


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Appeals court gives Obama adm. stem-cell victory

In a victory for the Obama administration, a federal appeals court panel has lifted an injunction on the use of federal money to pay for research using embryonic stem cells.

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Appeals court lifts ban on funding for stem cell research

A federal court has given the Obama administration the go-ahead to continue embryonic stem cell research.


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The right should denounce Trump and Palin

The other night, having a few beers with a conservative friend, I mentioned how hacked off I was that there hadn't been a wholesale denouncement of the likes of Donald Trump and Sarah Palin from conservative politicians and opinion-makers.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Trump: 'Our leaders are ... stupid people'

Donald Trump unleashed a tirade of profanity in a speech at a boisterous Las Vegas casino as he assured a crowd Thursday night that he is seriously weighing a presidential run.

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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Obama appears to rule out acting on his own on immigration

President Barack Obama on Thursday appeared to rule out acting on his own to implement some provisions of an immigration reform bill that failed to win congressional approval last year.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

New men, new missions at Pentagon and CIA

It's Washington's version of the reality television show "Wife Swap."


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What's behind seniors' fears of GOP Medicare plan?

The Republican plan to privatize Medicare wouldn't touch his benefits, but Walter Dotson still doesn't like the idea. He worries about the consequences long after he's gone, for the grandson he is raising.

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Next immigration fight over 'anchor babies'?

While the nation's political dialogue was hijacked over the issue of President Obama's birthplace, bubbling below the surface is the fact that a child of illegal immigrants born in the U.S. could one day be president.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Push for Pentagon cuts tops Panetta's agenda

President Barack Obama's choice of expert budget-cutter Leon Panetta to lead the Defense Department is a clear signal that the White House perceives the nation's deficit crisis, not the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as its toughest challenge.

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Birther movement immune to facts?

Can the "birthers" ever be convinced that Barack Obama was born in America and is eligible to serve as president?


Source: CNN.com - Politics

The marginalization of an American president: It didn't start with Obama

Will attempts to delegitimize President Barack Obama in the public's eyes end with the release of his birth certificate? History isn't on his side.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Petraeus brings unique experience to expected CIA role

Analysts and sources say a combination of experience working with the CIA in the field and political considerations are behind President Barack Obama's expected nomination of Gen. David Petraeus to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Fed keeps low interest rate policy in place

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled on Wednesdaty to give the first-ever news conference by a Fed chief to discuss monetary policy.The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it plans to keep interest rates low for an extended period and that it will complete its $600 billion program to inject money into the economy at the end of June as planned.




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Obama picks Panetta for Pentagon, Petraeus to replace him at CIA

President Obama will name CIA Director Leon Panetta as his nominee to succeed Robert Gates as defense secretary and Gen. David Petraeus to take over the CIA, sources tell CNN.


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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Why attack Libya and not Syria?

Two countries, two cases of extreme violence committed against citizens by their own government. In one case, the Obama administration responds with military force. In the other, it doesn't. Why?


Source: CNN.com - Politics

NJ official: Carl Lewis can't run for state Senate

New Jersey's top election official has ruled that nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis fails to meet the four-year state residency requirement to run for elected office.

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Why Haley Barbour really dropped out of the 2012 GOP presidential race

With his Southern accent, background as a two-term governor and varied political experience, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour thought he might be the perfect candidate to go up against President Obama.


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Wis. union battle casts shadow over local races

Green Bay, Wis., mayoral candidates Jim Schmitt, left, and Patrick Evans debating at the Brown County Central Library on March 30.When the race for Green Bay mayor began months ago, the main issues looked clear-cut: planning downtown development, dealing with dwindling state aid and debating whether the city should have spent millions to build a replica of Elvis Presley's favorite roller coaster.


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Prop 8 backers: Gay judge's ruling should be thrown out

Supporters of Proposition 8, California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, are asking that a judge's injunction barring the measure's enforcement be thrown out because the judge failed to disclose his involvement in a long-term same-sex relationship.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Monday, April 25, 2011

CNN 'birther' investigation: Obama was born in the USA. Period.

A new CNN investigation confirms what most have been saying: President Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii on August 4, 1961. | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS |


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Priesthood blocked for gay ex-NJ governor

Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, shown in a 2007 picture, earned a master of divinity degree last spring but now his plans for the priesthood are on hold.Former Gov. Jim McGreevey, who abruptly resigned in 2004 after declaring himself "a gay American" and admitting an extramarital affair with a male staffer, has had his pursuit of the Episcopal priesthood put on hold indefinitely.


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Firm hired to defend DOMA in court calls it quits

The law firm hired by the House of Representatives to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court has decided it will drop its defense of the statue.

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Law firm pulls out of DOMA case

The private law firm hired by House Speaker John Boehner to represent the government in the federal Defense of Marriage Act has suddenly pulled out of the case.


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Frum: Both parties abandoned the jobless

While the economy is slowly recovering, neither political party is offering a plan to do anything about the job situation.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Giffords standing on own, trying to improve gait

FILE - Dr. Gerard Francisco, chief medical officer of TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation center, speaks at a press conference regarding the treatment planned for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at the hospital in this Jan. 26, 2011 file photo taken in Houston. Francisco says the Arizona congresswoman is able to make limited use of her right arm and leg. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)Doctors say Rep. Gabrielle Giffords can walk a little and is even trying to improve her gait. But the report Sunday in The Arizona Republic adds the congresswoman herself is planning to "walk a mountain."




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Friday, April 22, 2011

Resolution condemns Kansas legislator who suggested illegals be shot

Democratic leaders in Kansas' state legislature plan to introduce a resolution condemning a state representative for earlier suggesting that illegal immigrants be shot like feral hogs.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

McCain in Libyan rebel stronghold: 'Maybe we're not doing everything we can'

With a crowd in Libya chanting, "Thank you John McCain. Thank you President Obama," the Arizona senator suggested that Western powers aren't doing enough to help the rebels.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

McCain arrives in Libyan rebel stronghold

U.S. Sen. John McCain, a strong advocate of increasing military strikes to remove Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from power, arrived in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Friday morning.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Louisiana legislature considers 'birther' bill

It's not specifically called a "birther" bill and it doesn't mention President Barack Obama by name, but proposed state legislation in Louisiana appears to be the latest attempt to keep alive arguments over whether Obama can prove he was born in the United States.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

McCain in Libya: Rebels 'are my heroes'

Sen. John McCain, one of the strongest proponents in Congress of the U.S. military intervention in Libya, arrived Friday in the Libyan opposition stronghold of Benghazi.

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Obama wraps up West Coast campaign swing

Despite switching an audience of tech executives for Hollywood moguls, President Barack Obama on Thursday night made the same plea for help in his re-election as he wrapped up a two-day west coast campaign swing in Los Angeles.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Potential jurors already think Blagojevich guilty

An uncharacteristically subdued Rod Blagojevich got a good look Thursday at the first big challenge facing the ousted Illinois governor at his retrial on corruption charges: Finding jurors who haven't already heard about his case and haven't decided he's guilty.

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Ensign says he will resign May 3

Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who is under an ethics investigation by the Senate, announced Thursday that he will resign his seat on May 3.


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Borger: Is Trump bankrupting the GOP?

How sad for serious Republicans with real ideas. Just as party regulars were fretting over Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann, now they've got Trump the birther.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Analysis: Justice Kagan's absences no big deal

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on her nomination on June 30, 2010.Justice Elena Kagan's leather-backed chair was empty this week for the 26th and final time this term while the other Supreme Court justices listened to arguments in an obscure dispute between the government and an Indian tribe.


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Why the anger over high speed rail?

Stephen Harrod says the merits of high-speed trains are getting lost in a debate over cultural values


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Franken questions Apple over tracking

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) wants answers. Security researchers Wednesday revealed the existence of a file on iPhones and on their computer backups that logs detailed cell phone triangulation data -- and has ever since iOS 4 was released last summer.


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Idaho governor blocks federal health care reform law

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has issued an executive order prohibiting the state from implementing the federal health care reform law.


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Wisconsin candidate asks for recount, investigation into vote

A candidate for Wisconsin state Supreme Court justice has asked the Government Accountability Board to investigate possible violations of state election law by Waukesha County election officials.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Oklahoma 4th state to ban abortions after 20 weeks

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, shown in a file photo, on Wednesday signed into law a prohibition on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday signed into law a prohibition on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, making it the fourth state to ban such late-term abortions.


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New terror alerts will offer specific warnings

A new terrorism warning system will provide the public with information on specific threats, replacing the color-coded alerts put in place after the September 11, 2001, attacks.


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Wis. court challenger will seek statewide recount

JoAnne Kloppenburg speaks during a news conference at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Kloppenburg announced her decision to request a statewide recount in April's State Supreme Court election. Incumbent David Prosser currently holds about a 7,300-vote lead. That's close enough that Kloppenburg can ask for a free recount at the expense of municipalities and counties. Prosser has said a recount would be frivolous. (AP Photo, Wisconsin State Journal, Michael P. King)Wisconsin Supreme Court challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg asked election officials Wednesday for a statewide recount in her flagging upset bid against Justice David Prosser, a race that marked yet another front in the fight over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing union rights law.




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Blagojevich retrial gets off to quiet start

Rod Blagojevich's second corruption trial began Wednesday with little hoopla, as potential jurors quietly began filling out questionnaires aimed at weeding out anyone with strong biases for or against the ousted Illinois governor.

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Zuckerberg to moderate Obama Facebook town hall

President Barack Obama isn't just in the news Wednesday. He'll also be in your news feed.


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New terror alert system will offer specific warnings

A new terrorism warning system will provide the public with information on specific threats, replacing the color-coded alerts put in place after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Navarrette: 'Birther' veto was right call

When a bill is too radical for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, well, that is saying something.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Comprehensive immigration reform probably doomed

President Barack Obama revisited a key campaign promise when he hosted a White House meeting of elected officials and experts on immigration. But if a major overhaul of the nation's immigration policy is his goal, Republicans in the U.S. Congress say he shouldn't hold his breath.

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Obama holds White House meeting on immigration reform

A broad group of government officials, business leaders, law enforcement officials and others met Tuesday with President Barack Obama to discuss how to build support for immigration reform in the face of congressional opposition.


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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Obama administration eases pain of Medicare cuts

FILE - In his Feb. 9, 2011 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gestures while speaking in Seattle. Millions of seniors in popular private insurance plans offered through Medicare are getting a reprieve from some of the most controversial cuts in President Barack Obama's health care law. In a policy shift that critics see as pure politics, the administration is providing $6.7 billion to Medicare Advantage plans to head off service cuts that could have hurt Democrats in next year's elections. (AP Photo, File)Millions of seniors in popular private insurance plans offered through Medicare will be getting a reprieve from some of the most controversial cuts in President Barack Obama's health care law.


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Is President Obama ready to mess with Texas? 'Not a chance'

When President Obama sat down with a Texas TV station Monday, he may have also raised speculation that Democrats think solidly red Texas might be in play in 2012.


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Geithner strikes confident tone on deficit deal

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday tried to reassure nation that President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers will agree on a plan to whittle down the federal government's massive budget deficits over the next decade.

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Obama talks fiscal reform at town hall-style meeting

Facing a possible future downgrade of America's credit rating, President Barack Obama talks deficit reduction at a town hall-style meeting Tuesday to kick off a three-day message campaign as Congress prepares to debate fiscal policy.


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Is Trump playing us for suckers?

The disappointing thing about most phonies is that they don't have staying power. Once they get caught, they give it up and skulk off into the night, never to be heard from again. Think of Rosie Ruiz, say, who pretended to win the Boston Marathon by sneaking out of a crowd of bystanders ahead of everybody in the last half-mile of the race.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Monday, April 18, 2011

Arizona gov. vetoes presidential 'birther' bill

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday vetoed a bill that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove their U.S. citizenship before their names could appear on the state's ballot.

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Arizona governor vetoes 'birther bill'

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill Monday that would have required presidential candidates to prove they were born in America before their names could be placed on the state ballot.


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Pentagon inquiry clears McChrystal of wrongdoing

Then-U.S. military commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal listens during the White House daily briefing May 10, 2010 at the White House in Washington, DC.A Pentagon inquiry into a Rolling Stone magazine profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal that led to his dismissal as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has cleared him of wrongdoing.


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Debt debate drives down U.S. credit rating outlook

Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook for the nation's long-term debt Monday, saying the political grousing over the deficit could put more pressure on the still shaky economic recovery.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

GOP budget includes overhaul of food stamps

House Republicans resurrected a 1990s-era fight over food stamps in their budget approved last week, arguing that any serious attempt to cut spending must include an overhaul of government programs that help needy families pay for food.

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Stop using Sharia law as a scare tactic

To be fair, I'm not sure if all Republicans love Sharia law, but they certainly do love talking about it.


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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Palin: Wis. gov doing the right thing with unions

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at a tax day tea party rally Saturday, April 16, 2011, in Madison, Wis.Sarah Palin defended Wisconsin's governor at a tea party tax day rally Saturday, telling hundreds of supporters that his polarizing union rights law is designed to save public jobs.


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Friday, April 15, 2011

Canvass shows conservative wins Wis. court race

A conservative justice has weathered attempts to link him to Wisconsin's governor and a divisive union rights law and won re-election, according to county vote totals finalized Friday.

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House passes sweeping GOP budget cuts, reforms

The House of Representatives passed the Republican leadership's 2012 budget proposal Friday, approving a blueprint for cutting federal deficits by roughly $4.4 trillion over the next decade while radically overhauling Medicare and Medicaid -- two popular entitlement programs long considered politically untouchable.


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Congress sends budget bill to Obama

The Senate on Thursday passed the budget deal worked out last week to keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year. The House passed the measure earlier in the day.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Avlon: Americans deserve better than lawmakers' 'misinformation'

The facts are inconvenient, and so they are ignored. Instead, talking points taken from talk radio are repeated until they take on a life of their own and eventually get the validation of a U.S. senator.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Tough immigration bill heads to Ga. governor

The Georgia Legislature has passed an immigration bill that contains some parts similar to an Arizona law being challenged in court.

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Arizona passes 'birther' bill

The Arizona state legislature approved a bill Thursday night that would make presidential candidates have to prove they are U.S. citizens before their names could appear on a state ballot.


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Ariz. Legislature OKs presidential 'birther' bill

The Arizona Legislature gave final approval late Thursday night to a proposal that would require President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they are U.S. citizens before their names can appear on the state's ballot.

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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Wisconsin governor defends hobbling unions

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 14, 2011, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to discuss the problems with balancing state budgets in a tough economy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker defended his school of union hobbling as a route to fiscal discipline to budget-weary Washington on Thursday, telling a House committee that protracted, nail-biting negotiations in tough economic times can produce inaction and bad policy.


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Senate passes contentious 2011 budget bill, sends to Obama to sign

The Senate on Thursday passed the budget deal worked out last week to keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year. The House passed the measure earlier in the day.


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Independent groups expected to rake in hundreds of millions

As President Barack Obama kicks off the 2012 money race with a series of well-publicized re-election fundraisers in Chicago, Democratic operatives are quietly crisscrossing the nation to raise big money for new independent expenditure groups.


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Deficit/debt dilemma is way uglier than in the 90s

During Bill Clinton's presidency, budget deficits turned to a surplus. President Obama faces a much bigger deficit reduction task. How did that Clinton-era deficit reduction happen? And why does today’s deficit dilemma seem so much tougher to solve?


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Obama wants more taxes for rich, cut $4 trillion

President Obama presented his long-term debt reduction plan, calling for cuts of $4 trillion over 12 years and across the board cuts to keep it on track. LIVE BLOG "We must work together" How U.S. checkbook was damaged Every kind of spending is on the table


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Privacy bill won't mean marketers can't find you

With their "Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011," John Kerry and John McCain proposed this week to limit the sale and sharing of our sensitive information between companies. It's a quaint idea, even a good one, but overestimates government's ability to reverse the way marketers have worked for almost a century.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Make more than $250k? Obama wants you to pay more in taxes, like it or not

President Barack Obama made it very clear on Wednesday: If you are rich, you should be paying more in taxes.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Pentagon: Deep defense cuts threaten national security

In what appears to be a shot across the bow, the Pentagon today said future cuts in defense spending "should be shaped by strategy and policy, not budget math."

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Trump off to a promising start

For the past three months, Donald Trump has been making a lot of news about his possible run for the presidency. It started in February when he spoke at the annual gathering of CPAC.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

Obama to renew call to end Bush-era tax cuts in outlining deficit reduction plan

President Obama's speech on deficit reduction will advocate a balance between controling deficits while protecting spending for education, innovation and clean energy.


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US plans new push on Arab-Israeli peace

The United States plans a new push to promote comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

McConnell ready to play hardball with debt ceiling

The top Senate Republican on Tuesday laid out a hard-line negotiating stance on upcoming budget battles, rejecting any tax increases in exchange for his vote to raise the debt ceiling.


Source: CNN.com - Politics

DC mayor arrested protesting budget restrictions

Mayor Vincent Gray is searched by Capitol Hill police after being arrested on Monday, April 11 in Washington, D.C.A day after getting arrested with other city leaders, the District of Columbia's mayor called on residents of the nation's capital to join him in protesting likely new restrictions on the city from Congress, drawing analogies to this year's popular uprisings in Egypt and Libya.


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Family from Giffords shooting wants ammo limit

Congressional legislation that would ban high-capacity ammunition clips got some high-powered support Tuesday as loved ones of a slain congressional staffer came forward to help push the effort.


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Spending cuts not expected to dent $1.5T deficit

The $38 billion in spending cuts agreed to last week won't prevent this year's budget deficit from setting another record high, estimated at $1.5 trillion.

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