Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• Romney ad portrays him as conservative leader
• Santorum: Romney's an Etch A Sketch conservative
• IRS chief: Agency not targeting tea party groups
• AIG says repays U.S. government $1.5 billion
• Facing heat over gas price rise, Obama vows to speed pipeline's southern leg
• Teacher Reportedly Takes Pro-Obama Position in Assigning Homework
• US OKs Egypt aid despite congressional concerns
• Romney works behind the scenes to attract conservatives
• Santorum: Romney's an Etch A Sketch conservative
• AP NewsAlert
• Senate passes lawmakers' insider trading bill
• Police chief investigating killing of Florida teen steps down
• Obama defends handling of Keystone pipeline
• Politics puts Etch A Sketch back in the picture
• Sales at 2 CVS pharmacies can be stopped for now
• Gunman dies in hail of bullets as French siege ends
• Gingrich Throws Romney Campaign Gaffe to the Alligators
• Clinton to let military aid to Egypt go ahead, Leahy says
• Santorum rips Romney on healthcare before top court arguments
• New Facebook App Lets Voters 'Cosponsor' Bills in Congress
• Sen. Brown cites mom in domestic violence law push
• Afghan commander prefers robust US force in 2013
• Dispute with Egypt triggers fuel crisis in Gaza
• Highlights of bill to ban insider trading
• Pope in Latin America in shadow of John Paul
• Insider trading ban sent to White House
• Santorum's best shot: Winning Iowa caucus _ again
• Fed's Fisher sees no need for more monetary easing
• Sen. Dick Durbin Calls Senate Hearings Over New Orleans Saints Bounty Program
• Jobless claims at 4-year low, lift recovery hopes
• Medicare rationing? An election-year House vote
• French intelligence queried over al Qaeda shooter
• Florida police chief under fire in case of slain teen

Romney ad portrays him as conservative leader Posted: TITLE: "Conservative Record."

Santorum: Romney's an Etch A Sketch conservative Posted: Presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Thursday compared rival Mitt Romney to an Etch A Sketch toy and said Republicans should give President Barack Obama another term if Santorum isn't the GOP nominee.

IRS chief: Agency not targeting tea party groups Posted: The Internal Revenue Service is not making it harder for tea party groups to attain tax-exempt status because of their political views, the agency's chief told Congress on Thursday.

AIG says repays U.S. government $1.5 billion Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American International Group said on Thursday it has repaid the U.S. Treasury its remaining $1.5 billion preferred equity investment, but the insurer still owes taxpayers an estimated $45 billion for the bailout it received during the financial crisis. The insurer, which received a total of $182 billion from the government during the crisis, paid down what it owed in a special purpose vehicle called AIA Aurora more than one year ahead of schedule. ...

Facing heat over gas price rise, Obama vows to speed pipeline's southern leg Posted: CUSHING, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Standing in front of a row of pipes, President Barack Obama pledged on Thursday to accelerate approval of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, seeking to deflect criticism that his rejection of the full project helped drive up gasoline prices. The campaign-style stop was immediately dismissed as a stunt by Republicans, saying that Obama doesn't have the authority to really jump start the project. Analysts say it won't likely be finished until 2014 at the earliest. ...

Teacher Reportedly Takes Pro-Obama Position in Assigning Homework Posted: The Fairfax County Public Schools system says there are no plans to discipline a middle school teacher after he was reported to have assigned his students work that involved researching the vulnerabilities of the Republicans running for president. The conservative-leaning Daily Caller website reported Thursday...

US OKs Egypt aid despite congressional concerns Posted: The Obama administration has waived democracy requirements to release up to $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt despite concerns that the country is backsliding on commitments it made to democratic governance and rule of law, congressional sources said Thursday.

Romney works behind the scenes to attract conservatives Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney, sensing the Republican presidential nomination will be his, is working behind the scenes to try to unify conservatives behind him and he may be gaining some traction. Romney's objective is to ease conservative doubts about his candidacy raised repeatedly by chief rivals Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, who denounce him as a Massachusetts moderate who will forsake conservative views if he becomes the nominee. ...

Santorum: Romney's an Etch A Sketch conservative Posted: Presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Thursday compared rival Mitt Romney to an Etch A Sketch toy and said Republicans should give President Barack Obama another term if Santorum isn't the GOP nominee.

AP NewsAlert Posted: Coroner rules Whitney Houston died from drowning, heart disease; signs of cocaine use found

Senate passes lawmakers' insider trading bill Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to send President Barack Obama legislation imposing new curbs on insider trading by members of Congress, even though the measure was weaker than a version it passed in February. Obama has promised to swiftly sign into law the measure aimed at ensuring that lawmakers do not profit from non-public knowledge they gain through their positions. ...

Police chief investigating killing of Florida teen steps down Posted: SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The police chief of a Florida town where an unarmed black teenager was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer said on Thursday he would temporarily step down from his job, saying his role in the investigation had become too much of a distraction. Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee had been heading up the probe into the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by watch captain George Zimmerman, 28. The shooting sparked a nationwide public outcry over Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. ...

Obama defends handling of Keystone pipeline Posted: President Barack Obama firmly defended his record on oil drilling Thursday, ordering the government to fast-track an Oklahoma pipeline while accusing Congress of playing politics with a larger Canada-to-Gulf Coast project.

Politics puts Etch A Sketch back in the picture Posted: Pushed to the bottom of the toy box by video games and other high-tech gadgets, Etch A Sketch is suddenly drawing lots of attention, thanks to a gaffe that has shaken up the race for the White House.

Sales at 2 CVS pharmacies can be stopped for now Posted: A federal appeals court has allowed the Drug Enforcement Administration to suspend for now the sale of controlled substances by two CVS pharmacies in the Orlando area.

Gunman dies in hail of bullets as French siege ends Posted: TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - A 23-year-old gunman who said al Qaeda inspired him to kill seven people in France died in a hail of bullets on Thursday as he scrambled out of a ground-floor window during a gun battle with elite police commandos. Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, died from a gunshot wound to his head at the end of a 30-hour standoff with police at his apartment in southern France and after confessing to killing three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi. "A killer wanted, according to his own words, to bring France to its knees by sowing hatred and terror. ...

Gingrich Throws Romney Campaign Gaffe to the Alligators Posted:  HOUMA, La.–  Mitt Romney's Etch-a-Sketch problem came up against a toy alligator in the hands of Newt Gingrich at a campaign stop here Thursday. The Republican presidential candidate was horsing around with a toy alligator head when he was handed an Etch-a-Sketch. Gingrich  put it in the alligator's mouth...

Clinton to let military aid to Egypt go ahead, Leahy says Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to allow some U.S. military assistance to Egypt to go forward despite its failure to meet pro-democracy conditions, a Democratic senator said on Thursday, while sharply criticizing the move. The office of Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on foreign aid, announced the decision and made clear his deep unhappiness with it, arguing Clinton should now limit the amount of military aid that is released. Clinton should "release no more taxpayer funds than is demonstrably necessary, withholding the rest in the (U.S. ...

Santorum rips Romney on healthcare before top court arguments Posted: SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Rick Santorum attacked presidential rival Mitt Romney on Thursday for creating "the template" for President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, spotlighting the issue ahead of crucial Supreme Court arguments on the law's constitutionality. At a campaign stop in Texas, Santorum renewed his charge that Romney had compromised his ability to challenge Obama on the federal healthcare law by backing a similar plan when he was governor of Massachusetts that included a mandate requiring people to buy insurance. ...

New Facebook App Lets Voters 'Cosponsor' Bills in Congress Posted: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has launched a new app on Facebook called Citizen Cosponsor, designed to connect voters with bills making their way through Capitol Hill. The new platform allows users to "cosponsor" a bill – essentially the equivalent of "liking" in Facebook...

Sen. Brown cites mom in domestic violence law push Posted: U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is pointing to his mother's history of abusive relationships with men as he pushes for renewal of a domestic violence law that has met with opposition from some fellow Republicans over proposed expansions of its protections.

Afghan commander prefers robust US force in 2013 Posted: The top commander in Afghanistan said Thursday he prefers a significant American force of 68,000 to combat insurgents in 2013, signaling a potential halt in the drawdown and complicating any effort by President Barack Obama to speed up troop withdrawals after more than a decade of war.

Dispute with Egypt triggers fuel crisis in Gaza Posted: GAZA (Reuters) - Petrol pumps have run dry and power cuts are blacking out the Gaza Strip because of a dispute over fuel supplies between Egypt and the enclave's Hamas Islamist rulers. Taxis are scarce, with would-be passengers fighting for rides, and the government has ordered civil servants with vehicles to pick up hitchhikers. Gaza's emergency medical service has halved the number of ambulances it puts on the streets. At least one hospital has cancelled non-essential operations to conserve power for its generator. ...

Highlights of bill to ban insider trading Posted: The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, known as the STOCK Act:

Pope in Latin America in shadow of John Paul Posted: VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A ghost will be following Pope Benedict at every step of his trip to Mexico and Cuba -- that of his predecessor John Paul. John Paul, who died in 2005, was a huge draw in many places. But, apart from his native Poland, nowhere was he a more towering figure than in Latin America, visiting every one of the region's countries at least once. He drew oceanic, throbbing crowds, sloshed through swampy slums in Ecuador, challenged Maoist guerrillas in the Peruvian highlands and defended miners' rights in Bolivia. ...

Insider trading ban sent to White House Posted: The Senate on Thursday sent the White House a bill to explicitly ban members of Congress, the president and thousands of other federal workers from profiting from nonpublic information learned on the job.

Santorum's best shot: Winning Iowa caucus _ again Posted: Rick Santorum is falling so far behind Mitt Romney in the race for Republican delegates that his best chance might be in states that voted weeks ago.

Fed's Fisher sees no need for more monetary easing Posted: CHICAGO (Reuters) - The economy is in much better shape and does not need further help from the central bank, a top Federal Reserve official known for his hawkish policy views said on Thursday. Although growth is "slower than we would like," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Fox Business Network, "it's gaining momentum." "We will not support further quantitative easing under these circumstances because there's a lot of money lying on the sidelines, lying fallow," he said according to a transcript provided by the network. "We don't need any more monetary morphine. ...

Sen. Dick Durbin Calls Senate Hearings Over New Orleans Saints Bounty Program Posted: Calling the  New Orleans Saints football players bounty scandal "troubling" and "disturbing," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced today on the Senate floor that he will hold a Judiciary Committee hearing in April about bounties in the NFL. "A spirit of aggressiveness and competitiveness is an...

Jobless claims at 4-year low, lift recovery hopes Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-year low last week, bolstering hopes a recent pick-up in job growth will prove lasting. Initial claims for state jobless benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 354,000 last week. A separate report showed a gauge aimed at predicting future U.S. economic activity rose sharply in February, pointing to strengthening growth. ...

Medicare rationing? An election-year House vote Posted: House Republicans resurrected the specter of Medicare rationing Thursday in an election-year vote to repeal cost controls in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

French intelligence queried over al Qaeda shooter Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - France questioned on Thursday whether its intelligence service had blundered by allowing a young Muslim with a violent criminal record, spotted twice in Afghanistan, to become the first al Qaeda-inspired killer to strike on its soil. Hardened by battling Islamic militants from its former North African colony of Algeria, France's security services have long been regarded as among the most effective in Europe, having prevented terror attacks on French soil for the last 15 years. ...

Florida police chief under fire in case of slain teen Posted: ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Florida politicians and civil rights leaders joined calls for the firing of a police chief in the case of a neighborhood watch captain who killed an unarmed black teenager, as new details emerged on Wednesday about police handling of the investigation. "The reality is that people in this community have lost faith in the police chief's ability to keep their children safe," Benjamin Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), told Reuters. ...

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