Friday, March 23, 2012

Yahoo! News: Politics News

Yahoo! News: Politics News


Santorum on defensive as race turns to Louisiana

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Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, speaks about the campaign at a rally in Shreveport, La., Friday, March 23, 2012. Santorum has strong support among many conservative voters in the state which his campaign hopes results in winning Louisiana's primary on Saturday. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)Facing heightened pressure to revive his presidential bid, Rick Santorum was forced to explain another apparent misstep as he courted Louisiana voters Friday, the eve of a critical contest in a Republican nomination battle that increasingly favors Mitt Romney.


Romney: Obama's health law an 'unfolding disaster'

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Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop at an American Legion post in Arbutus, Md., Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Mitt Romney on Friday looked to pre-empt Supreme Court arguments that will shine a spotlight on a key vulnerability for him in the Republican primary — health care reform.


Obama: 'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'

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President Barack Obama answers a reporter's question about the death of Trayvon Martin, Friday, March 23, 2012, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/ Haraz N. Ghanbari)Urging Americans to "do some soul searching," President Barack Obama injected himself into the emotional debate over the fatal shooting of a teenager in Florida, turning the racially charged case into a personal matter for the nation's first black president.


Brazil nominates Colombia's Ocampo for World Bank-sources

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brazil has nominated former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo to head the World Bank, two sources with knowledge of the decision said on Friday. Colombia said on Thursday it was focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labor Organization, where it had a greater chance of success, but Brazil went ahead with the nomination with the backing of the Dominican Republic. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton)

Man lives to tell of Florida "Shoot First" horror

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MIAMI (Reuters) - On June 5, 2006, not long after Florida enacted the first "Stand Your Ground" law in the United States, unarmed Jason Rosenbloom was shot in the stomach and chest by his next-door neighbor after a shouting match over trash. Exactly what happened that day in Clearwater, Florida, is still open to dispute. Kenneth Allen, a retired police officer, said he shot Rosenbloom because he was trying to storm into his house. ...

House reviewing ethics complaint against Berkley

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The House Ethics Committee confirmed Friday that it's looking into allegations made against Democratic U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley of Las Vegas that reportedly revolve around whether she used her office to help her husband's medical practice.

Cash spills on the highway: What would you do?

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Northbound vehicles drive on Interstate 270 near Hyattstown, Md. Friday, March 23, 2012. Maryland State Police say an armored truck has lost some cash on I-270 near Hyattstown. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)You're cruising along the highway when you see a bunch of green bills fluttering around like flakes in a snow globe. You get closer and you realize it's cash. Other drivers are pulling over to snatch what they can. What do you do?


Santorum on defensive as race turns to Louisiana

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Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, speaks about the campaign at a rally in Shreveport, La., Friday, March 23, 2012. Santorum has strong support among many conservative voters in the state which his campaign hopes results in winning Louisiana's primary on Saturday. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)Facing heightened pressure to revive his presidential bid, Rick Santorum was forced to explain another apparent misstep as he courted Louisiana voters Friday, the eve of a critical contest in a Republican nomination battle that increasingly favors Mitt Romney.


Watchdog: Labor board member broke ethics rules

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A Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board improperly revealed information about the agency's private deliberations to outside parties who had cases pending before the board, an internal government watchdog said Friday.

Obama taps public health expert for World Bank

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U.S. President Barack Obama introduces Dartmouth College president Jim Yong Kim as his nominee for the next president of the World Bank, at the White House in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday nominated a Korean-American known for his work in fighting HIV/AIDS in impoverished countries to lead the World Bank, a job emerging economies are contesting for the first time. Jim Yong Kim is president of Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school in New Hampshire, and former director of the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization. But he lacks the political standing of Washington's past picks to lead the bank. ...


Soldiers loot in Mali after coup, AU says president safe

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Doors to the looted residence of a government minister stand open with a damaged car in front after the Malian army staged a coup in the capital BamakoBAMAKO, March 23 (Reuters) - Soldiers looted petrol stations and hijacked cars in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday, 48 hours after a military coup, as the African Union said it had assurances that President Amadou Toumani Toure was safe. The AU also suspended Mali's membership after the coup, which has left the West African nation in limbo and jangled nerves in a region already suffering aftershocks from last year's Libyan war. ...


Call it Obamacare, The Politics of Trayvon, Amityville 2014, A Line at SCOTUS (PM NOTE)

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SCOTUS – There's Already a Line – http://abcn.ws/GJlvut Hey, Democrats, Call it Obamacare; Obama does  – http://abcn.ws/GSiuHa On the second anniversary of the health care reform law, the president's campaign embraces the term Democrats for two years have said is pejorative. If both sides are...

Obama: 'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'

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President Barack Obama answers a reporter's question about the death of Trayvon Martin, Friday, March 23, 2012, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/ Haraz N. Ghanbari)Urging Americans to "do some soul searching," President Barack Obama injected himself into the emotional debate over the fatal shooting of a teenager in Florida, turning the racially charged case into a personal matter for the nation's first black president.


Ex-MF Global exec: Corzine OK'd money transfer

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Corzine frowns as he testifies before a House Financial Services Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the collapse of MF Global, at the U.S. Capitol in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former MF Global executive Edith O'Brien said in an October 2011 email that CEO Jon Corzine gave her "direct instructions" to transfer $200 million of customer funds to an overseas account, according to a congressional memo released on Friday. The memo was released in advance of a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing scheduled next week on the collapse of brokerage MF Global and the continued search for missing customer funds. The committee this week subpoenaed O'Brien to appear before the panel. ...


U.S. soldier charged with 17 murders in Afghan killings

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Handout photo of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales at Fort IrwinKABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. Army sergeant was formally charged with 17 counts of murder on Friday for killing eight adults and nine children in a pre-dawn shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan that further eroded U.S.-Afghan relations already frayed by a decade of war. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a decorated 38-year-old veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, also was charged with six counts each of assault and attempted murder for attacking two other adults and four children in the March 11 shooting spree, a U.S. armed forces statement said. ...


Army sergeant charged in Afghan massacre

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FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2011, file photo provided by the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, Sgt. Robert Bales takes part in exercises at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. It is still not known if Bales, who allegedly massacred 17 Afghans, was ever diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, but even if he had been that alone would not have prevented him from being sent back to war. The Army diagnosed 76,176 soldiers with PTSD between 2000 and 2011. Many returned to the battlefield after mental health providers determined their treatment worked and their symptoms had gone into remission. The case of Bales has sparked debate about whether the practice needs to be re-examined. The Army is reviewing all its mental health programs and its screening process in light of the March 11 shooting spree. (AP Photo/DVIDS, Spc. Ryan Hallock, File)Charges filed Friday against Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales reflect the horror of the crime: 17 counts of premeditated murder, more than half of them children, during a shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan. But while Afghans are calling for swift and severe punishment, it will likely be months, even years, before the public ever sees Bales in a courtroom.


Iran helping Assad to put down protests: officials

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran is providing a broad array of assistance to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to help him suppress anti-government protests, from high-tech surveillance technology to guns and ammunition, U.S. and European security officials say. Tehran's technical assistance to Assad's security forces includes electronic surveillance systems, technology designed to disrupt efforts by protesters to communicate via social media, and Iranian-made drone aircraft for overhead surveillance, the officials said. They discussed intelligence matters on condition of anonymity. ...

US breast cancer fundraising lags after abortion dispute

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure is feeling a pinch on donations following a controversy over its funding for Planned Parenthood, a leading provider of birth-control and abortion services. A few of the group's flagship "Race for the Cure" fundraising events have failed to meet targets, a Komen spokeswoman said on Friday. Separately, at least five of the group's leaders have stepped down in recent weeks. ...

Centenarian's Marriage Advice to Obama: 'Compromise!'

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President Obama this week received some well-worn advice on how to make his marriage of nearly 20 years last  potentially  four times as long. During a stop in Boulder City, Nev., Obama met Wilbur and Theresa Faiss of Las Vegas, who have been married for 79...

Biden Lashes Romney, Ryan for Medicare Plan

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Biden Lashes Romney, Ryan for Medicare PlanVice President Joe Biden today delivered a dramatic election-year warning to America's seniors:  Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney and GOP budget guru Rep. Paul Ryan want to "dismantle" Medicare, and will do whatever they can to mislead on how their plan will affect you. "Gov....


Obama Owes Americans an Apology, Romney Says

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SHREVEPORT, La. – Mitt Romney said today that President Obama owes Americans an apology for the policies he's implemented that have led to high deficits and poor job growth. "He's been out there trying to take credit for his policies," said Romney, standing in front...

Ex-MF Global official: Corzine approved money transfer: memo

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The sign marking the MF Global Holdings Ltd. offices at 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan is seen in New YorkWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former MF Global executive Edith O'Brien said in an October 2011 email that CEO Jon Corzine gave her "direct instructions" to transfer $200 million of customer funds to an overseas account, according to a congressional memo released on Friday. The memo was released in advance of a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing scheduled next week on the collapse of brokerage MF Global and the continued search for missing customer funds. The committee this week subpoenaed O'Brien to appear before the panel. ...


Signs of recovery grow in U.S. housing market

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A newly constructed home available for sale is pictured in a new housing development area in VistaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The battered U.S. housing market looks to be on the mend as buyers make a tentative return and house prices stabilize. Sales of new homes in February fell from January but jumped more than 11 percent compared with the same month last year and prices rose, according to data released on Friday that was in line with other recent signs of a slow recovery. Big challenges lie ahead, most notably in the form of a glut of unsold properties - many of them foreclosures - and tight lending by banks. ...


Obama's health care law: A trek, not a sprint

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FILE - In this March 23, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama signs the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington. If Obama's health care law survives Supreme Court scrutiny, it will be nearly a decade before all its major pieces are in place. The law's carefully orchestrated phase-in is evidence of what's at stake in the Supreme Court deliberations that start March 26, 2012. With Obama are Marcelas Owens of Seattle, left, and Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., right; from top left are Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa., Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., Vice President Joe Biden, Vicki Kennedy, widow of Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., Ryan Smith of Turlock, Calif., Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)It took only a year to set up Medicare. But if President Barack Obama's health care law survives Supreme Court scrutiny, it will be nearly a decade before all its major pieces are in place.


In Louisiana, Santorum Hits Romney's Credentials

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In Louisiana, Santorum Hits Romney's CredentialsSHREVEPORT, La. – On the eve of the Louisiana primary, Rick Santorum reserved the majority of his attacks for Mitt Romney, arguing that Romney calculates running as a conservative while Santorum is a true conservative. "When he was asked the question about this Etch A Sketch...


Health care lawyer Clement as high court regular

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Former Solicitor General Paul D. Clement speaks during a forum at the Georgetown University Law Center, Friday, March 9, 2012, in Washington. Clement used to argue for the federal government's power until he started arguing against it. But he's no flip-flopping political candidate; he's a lawyer. Changes like this are part of his job. Clement is playing a key role in three politically charged Supreme Court cases in which Republican-led states object to Obama administration policies or federal laws on health care, immigration and redrawing political boundaries. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)Paul Clement used to argue for the federal government's power until he started arguing against it.


Verrilli: Point man in looming health care battle

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Solicitor General Donald Verrilli speaks during a forum at the Georgetown University Law Center, Friday, March 9, 2012, in Washington. In 16 appearances before the Supreme Court, Verrilli has advocated for the rights of death row inmates and has successfully argued fine points of telecommunications law in cases with billions of dollars in the balance. Now as the Obama administration's solicitor general, Verrilli faces what for any lawyer would be the challenge of a lifetime: persuading at least five Supreme Court justices to uphold the president's overhaul of the nation's health care system. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)In 16 appearances before the Supreme Court, Donald Verrilli has advocated for the rights of death row inmates and has successfully argued fine points of telecommunications law in cases with billions of dollars in the balance.


U.S. says Mali coup puts aid at risk, but moves carefully

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned Mali's coup plotters on Friday that they were risking U.S. economic aid but stopped short of joining the European Union and immediately suspending assistance to a key African partner in the fight against Islamic extremism. President Barack Obama's administration has denounced this week's attempted coup by mutinous Mali soldiers, and called for the immediate return to civilian rule. But Washington has moved cautiously, reflecting Mali's important role in U.S. efforts to fight militant groups, including some associated with al Qaeda. ...

Obama to Meet With Pakistan PM

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The White House has announced that President Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Yusef Raza Gilani would meet privately on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit next Tuesday in South Korea. Deteriorating relations between Washington and Islamabad worsened after American airstrikes along the Afghan border...

SEC demands Wells Fargo comply with subpoenas

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A customer uses an ATM machine at a Wells Fargo bank in Los AngelesREUTERS - U.S. securities regulators accused Wells Fargo on Friday of failing to turn over documents in connection with a probe into the bank's $60 billion sale of mortgage-backed securities during the financial crisis. The Securities and Exchange Commission's filing in a California federal court seeks to compel the bank to hand over documents. The SEC said it has issued several subpoenas since September 2011. A Wells Fargo spokeswoman had no immediate comment. ...


Santorum's rural edge keeps him in GOP contest

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Republican presidential candidate, former Sen. Rick Santorum, right, takes aim at a campaign stop in West Monroe, La., Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Ben Corda)Republican presidential nominating contests often reveal a rural-urban split in the party, but what sets this year's campaign apart is the emphasis Rick Santorum is placing on that divide and wearing his successes in small-town America as a badge of honor.


New wind tower guidelines aim to lower bird deaths

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The Obama administration offered new guidance Friday on where wind farms should be located to reduce the number of bird deaths while promoting increased use of wind power.

Syrians in U.S. to get "temporary protected" status

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government said on Friday it would allow Syrians to remain in the United States temporarily because it was too dangerous for them to go home. "Conditions in Syria have worsened to the point where Syrian nationals already in the United States would face serious threats to their personal safety if they were to return," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said in a statement. ...

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