Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Yahoo! News: Politics News

Yahoo! News: Politics News


Romney's fundraisers are quietly amassing millions

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FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2012, photo Miami Dolphins majority owner Stephen Ross speaks before introducing Joe Philbin as the head coach for the Miami Dolphins in Davie, Fla. A few weeks before the Republican primary in Florida in January, Ross, the billionaire owner of the Dolphins, hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney at his oceanfront home in Palm Beach. The average voter wouldn't know about the event at the home of Ross because Romney's campaign doesn't follow the practice of other major presidential candidates who have willingly identified big-money fundraisers and the amounts they collect. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)Mitt Romney's presidential fundraising operation dwarfs those of his Republican rivals, with more than $75 million already in donations. It also operates mysteriously at times, withholding the names of Romney's major fundraisers who have helped amass much of its money.


Santorum looks to deny Romney a win by any means

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Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, March 26, 2012, as the court began three days of arguments on the health care law signed by President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)Rick Santorum, showing signs of fatigue and frustration while grasping for strategies to right his unsteady White House bid, is trying to derail Republican front-runner Mitt Romney using any means available — even contradictory messages.


Gingrich pledges to support GOP rival Mitt Romney

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Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, March 27, 2012, after a a visit to Maryland State House. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Under pressure to help unify his party, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich pledged Tuesday to support Mitt Romney if the former Massachusetts governor wins enough convention delegates to clinch the nomination by the end of the GOP primary season in June.


Pressure grows on Ottawa to lean on Air Canada

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An employee of Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. demonstrates at the National Assembly in Quebec CityOTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's opposition parties stepped up pressure on the Conservative government on Tuesday to force Air Canada to maintain aircraft overhaul facilities that were shut down last week. By allowing the facilities to shut down, Air Canada is violating a law that requires it to keep open fleet service stations in three Canadian cities, said opposition members of Parliament and unions representing 2,600 workers who have lost their jobs. ...


Democratic lawmakers blast police in U.S. teen killing

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Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, parents of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin, are comforted by U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee at a public forum on their son's case in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday blasted police handling of a racially charged case in which a neighborhood watch volunteer shot dead an unarmed black teenager in Florida, accusing local law enforcement officials of botching the investigation. The lawmakers, speaking at a congressional forum attended by the parents of the slain teenager, called for the immediate arrest of 28-year-old George Zimmerman, the white Hispanic who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26 in what he said was self-defense. ...


Americans angry with Obama over gas prices

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U.S. President Obama pauses during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev before the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in SeoulWASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the way President Barack Obama is handling high gasoline prices, although most do not blame him for them, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Tuesday. Sixty-eight percent disapprove and 24 percent approve of how Obama is responding to price increases that have become one of the biggest issues in the 2012 presidential campaign. In the past month, U.S. fuel prices have jumped about $0.30 per gallon to about $3. ...


Factbox: Healthcare issues at Supreme Court

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(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hold its second day of arguments on President Barack Obama's sweeping healthcare law, which aims to provide health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans. Following are three sets of issues that surround this week's hearings and the high court's ultimate ruling expected in June. A central issue is that of the individual mandate requiring nearly all Americans to have health insurance. ...

Supreme Court divided over Obama healthcare law

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U.S. Congresswoman Bachmann speaks outside the Supreme Court in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court appeared closely divided along ideological lines during tense arguments over President Barack Obama's healthcare law on Tuesday, with conservative justices vigorously questioning the Obama administration's lawyer on whether Congress had the power to require people to buy medical insurance. During two dramatic hours, pivotal justices on the nine-member court suggested they would uphold this so-called individual mandate - to obtain insurance or pay a penalty - only if they believed they were not giving Congress broad new powers over people's lives. ...


Obamacare Takes a Beating (We Think), Diane Sawyer and Ben Bernanke, Hittin' Switches in La Jolla (PM Note)

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ABC Exclusive: Diane Sawyer Sits Down with Ben Bernanke – on Gas Prices, Unemployment Rates and Nerds - http://abcn.ws/HcCQhZ More on Bernanke After the Jump Obamacare Arguments, Day 2 – What the Individual Mandate Has to Do with Broccoli, Cell Phones and Burials - Key...

Broccoli, cellphones and the Obama healthcare law

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Supporters of U.S. President Barack Obama's health care reform rally outside the Supreme Court in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - If Congress has the power to require that Americans obtain health insurance, U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday asked hypothetical questions on what would be next - insisting that people eat broccoli, buy a cellphone or get burial insurance? During a second day of arguments over President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law, conservative Chief Justice John Roberts likened healthcare services for the sick to such emergency services as police, fire and ambulance assistance. "You don't know when you're going to need it. You're not sure that you will. ...


Twitter coverage of court gets struck down

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The Supreme Court in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A lawyer discovered how far the U.S. Supreme Court will go to close itself off from the public when it hears a case, no matter how many people on Twitter may be interested. Casey Mattox went to the court on Tuesday to see historic arguments over whether to strike down the Obama administration's healthcare law. His plan was to give live updates and the idea appeared to work as descriptions from the arguments showed up on the Twitter feed of the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group where Mattox is a senior counsel. ...


Ontario targets labor costs in bid to cut deficit

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Ontario Conservative party leader Tim Hudak picks up his copy of the provincial budget at Queens Park in TorontoTORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's minority Liberal government put corporate tax cuts on hold and pledged a renewed effort to rein in public sector labor costs in an austerity budget designed to eliminate the deficit in six years and convince rating agencies the province is fiscally sound. Canada's most populous province, which accounts for about 40 percent of the country's economy, will run a budget deficit of C$15.3 billion ($15.4 billion)in 2011-12 under the budget plan unveiled by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, down C$700 million from November's forecast and below the record C$19. ...


Ontario targets labor costs in bid to cut deficit

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TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's minority Liberal government put corporate tax cuts on hold and pledged a renewed effort to rein in public sector labor costs in an austerity budget designed to eliminate the deficit in six years and convince rating agencies the province is fiscally sound. Canada's most populous province, which accounts for about 40 percent of the country's economy, will run a budget deficit of C$15.3 billion ($15.4 billion)in 2011-12 under the budget plan unveiled by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, down C$700 million from November's forecast and below the record C$19. ...

Gingrich pledges to support GOP rival Mitt Romney

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Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, March 27, 2012, after a a visit to Maryland State House. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Under pressure to help unify his party, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich pledged Tuesday to support Mitt Romney if the former Massachusetts governor wins enough convention delegates to clinch the nomination by the end of the GOP primary season in June.


Obama says he's not 'hiding the ball' on Russia

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U.S. President Barack Obama, left, smiles with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, as they attend the opening plenary session at the Nuclear Security Summit at the Coex Center, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. Sitting in the center is South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)Speaking to the microphones intentionally this time, President Barack Obama on Tuesday assured he had no hidden agenda with Russia for a second term, seeking to contain a controversial gaffe that bounded all the way to the campaign trail at home and back again.


Pope honors patron saint, heads to meeting with Castro

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Pope Benedict XVI prays during a visit to the sanctuary of the HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) - Pope Benedict urged Cubans to "work for justice" as their country changes and prayed for "those deprived of freedom" in a visit to the shrine for Cuba's patron saint on Tuesday and then flew across the country for talks with President Raul Castro. Upon arrival at the Havana airport, he was greeted by Roman Catholic Church Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Communist Party officials ahead of a late afternoon meeting with Raul Castro and possibly his older brother, former leader Fidel Castro. Benedict, the leader of the world's 1. ...


Michelle Obama to Give Coast Guard Cutter Sober Send Off

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Michelle Obama to Give Coast Guard Cutter Sober Send OffTwo years and two whacks of a champagne bottle after she first christened it, First Lady Michelle Obama will on Saturday formally commission the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, a ship she sponsored as part of her Joining Forces initiative. Obama will attend a ceremony...


Gingrich pledge to support Romney

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Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, March 27, 2012, after a a visit to Maryland State House. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Under pressure to help unify his party, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich pledged Tuesday to support Mitt Romney if the former Massachusetts governor wins enough convention delegates to clinch the nomination by the end of the GOP primary season in June.


U.S. sets import duties on India, Vietnam steel pipe

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday set a preliminary import duty of nearly 286 percent on a certain type of steel pipe from India to offset government subsidies and a duty of slightly more than 8 percent on the same product from Vietnam. It declined to set preliminary duties on imports from Oman and the United Arab Emirates, saying it found little or no subsidies for steel pipe producers in those countries. The decision is a mixed victory for U.S. ...

Authorities drop remaining charges in arms bribery case

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. federal prosecutors on Tuesday dropped the remaining charges arising out of a bribery sting involving arms sales and an FBI agent who posed as an African defense official, letting three men who had already pleaded guilty off the hook. A U.S. district judge said he would grant the Justice Department's request to dismiss its case against Jonathan Spiller, a British citizen residing in the United States, and two Americans, Haim Geri and Daniel Alvirez. The three had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate a U.S. ...

Arizona legislators again say yes to free tickets

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It's been a year since the Fiesta Bowl scandal embarrassed legislators, but at least some Arizona lawmakers still like their perks.

Federal court rejects 'Joe the Plumber' suit

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Federal appeals judges Tuesday rejected a lawsuit by "Joe the Plumber" that claimed his rights were violated by a state records search after he voiced public concern over taxes to then-candidate Barack Obama.

Howling Red Wolves: Newt Gingrich Live-Tweets Zoo Visit

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SALISBURY, Maryland — Newt Gingrich is a former Speaker of the House and current Republican presidential candidate, but at the start of his career, he told students at Salisbury University, "I wanted to be a zoo director." Gingrich's presidential campaign has been on a losing...

Senate to soon move on new Iran sanctions-Reid

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate may soon consider a new package of sanctions targeting Iran's oil revenues, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday. The legislation would focus on foreign banks that handle transactions for Iran's national oil and tanker companies, and include a host of measures aimed to close loopholes in existing sanctions. ...

US alarmed by rising Sudan-South Sudan violence

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The Obama administration expressed alarm Tuesday about an escalation of violence between Sudan and South Sudan and called for the leaders of the two nations to meet to resolve their differences.

Annan says Syria accepts peace plan, U.S. skeptical

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Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks to soldiers during a tour in the Baba Amr neighbourhood of HomsBEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has accepted a U.N.-sponsored peace plan, international envoy Kofi Annan said on Tuesday, as troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad raided rebel forces who have taken refuge across the border in Lebanon. The United States reacted skeptically to Annan's announcement, saying it would judge Assad's sincerity in agreeing to the peace plan by what he did and not by what he said, given his record of "over-promising and under-delivering. ...


Top Canada minister faces second ethics probe

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Canada's Industry Minister Christian Paradis speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in OttawaOTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's industry minister, found guilty of an ethics violation last week, is being formally investigated for possible wrongdoing in a second case and faces opposition allegations of inappropriate behavior in a third. Christian Paradis, who handles some of the government's most sensitive files, may be turning into a political problem for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservatives came to power in early 2006 promising more accountability in government. ...


Protesters Collide Outside Supreme Court

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The space just outside the Supreme Court morphed into a figurative battlefield this afternoon as Tea Party forces rallied and confronted Obamacare supporters with screams, personal attacks and provocative signs. The argument erupted in the middle of the de facto no-man's land that had formed...

Six Years of Silence for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

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As the Supreme Court Justices today fired questions on the 'Obamacare' mandate across the bench, one voice was notably – but perhaps predictably – silent. So far every Justice on the bench has spoken up on the health care law except for one: Justice Clarence...

Dems, GOP woo unmarried women voters

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In this photo taken Thursday, March 22, 2012, Marisa Hannum , assistant manager at Il Fornaio Restaurant is seen at the Restaurant in Reston, Va. As a married woman, Hannum had her family's well-being on her mind when she backed Republicans in the two most recent presidential elections. Now divorced, Hannum is putting her own interests first as she weighs whether to back President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger. Unmarried women are emerging as a critical constituency in an election year focusing heavily on social issues and the economy. Democrats are trying to energize them while Republicans work to peel them away (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)As a married woman, Marisa Hannum had her family's conservatism in mind when she backed Republicans in the 2008 and 2004 presidential elections. Now divorced, she is putting her own interests first as she weighs whether to vote for Democratic President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger this fall.


Dubai says Islamists trying to weaken UAE via Twitter

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Opposition supporters talk in Tahrir Square in CairoDUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai's top security official accused supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday of using social media to stir up opposition to the Gulf's ruling elite. Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan said sympathizers of the organization, which has moved to the heart of public life in Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled last year, sought to weaken the UAE by defaming its institutions. ...


JetBlue flight diverted, witness says captain restrained

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JetBlue Airways logo is displayed on a monitor in Terminal 5 at JFK International Airport in New York(Reuters) - A JetBlue flight to Las Vegas was diverted to Texas on Tuesday due to what the airline described as a "medical situation" involving the captain -- who one witness said had to be restrained after he pounded on the locked cockpit door. The FBI said it responded to the scene in Amarillo, Texas, and was looking into the incident on Flight 191 from New York. JetBlue said the pilot-in-command elected to divert the flight from New York carrying 135 passengers due to "a medical situation involving the captain. ...


Civil rights passion motivates Calif tax proponent

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FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2012, file photo, Molly Munger, a wealthy attorney and civil rights advocate, outlines her proposed ballot initiative to raise income taxes for school funding during an appearance at the California Parent Teacher Association's annual meeting in Sacramento, Calif. Munger says California Gov. Jerry Brown is being untruthful in characterizing his tax plan as an education initiative and says she began running television commercials about her own initiative to After decades as a civil rights attorney, Molly Munger has the resume to prove her devotion to education equality, children's civil rights and California's public schools. Unlike most other activists, she also has a personal fortune to pursue her causes.


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