Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• Kerry stays quiet as Cabinet speculation swirls
• Obama, Romney to meet at White House Thursday
• Obama says debt-cutting deal can be reached soon
• Obama says he'll do what it takes to avoid cliff
• Pentagon eyes project to preserve helicopter design capabilities
• U.S. senator advises defensive posture on wind power tax credit
• Obama calls Rice "extraordinary," Cabinet members applaud
• Family sues US over scientist's mysterious death
• U.S. bans BP from new government contracts after oil spill deal
• Canada sticks to formula on CNOOC despite CFIUS refile
• New blow for Rice: Moderate senator voices concern
• Fiscal Cliff Analogy of the Day: The Fiscal Cliff as the Movie 'Speed'
• Cracks surface in Republican unity on tax rates
• Lawmakers seek Libor controls at Deutsche Bank hearing
• Panel: Reyes may have broken ethics rules, law
• California Democratic campaign treasurer gets eight years for fraud
• Chicago artist gets a national stage: the holiday White House
• New York's MTA plans $4.8 billion of borrowing after Sandy
• Robert Kennedy's son is sued for assault
• Clinton chides Palestinians for statehood effort
• House panel promises more aggressive VA oversight
• Rice meets with Republican senators, doesn't win them over
• Albania marks independence with giant cake and quarrels
• Obama says hopes for deficit deal by Christmas
• Outgoing Mexican President Calderon to become Harvard fellow
• Senate gives green light to Pentagon green energy
• Arizona declines to set up state-based health insurance exchange
• Senate strikes restriction on military biofuel development
• Strong European support for Palestinian statehood move
• BP barred from new US gov't contracts, land leases
• Egypt's Mursi to address nation on Thursday: source
• DEA probes Walgreens pharmacies over drug diversion in Florida
• Family sues CIA over scientist's mysterious death
• NY mayor seeks more disaster aid for Sandy victims
• Govt. Watchdog: Dollar Coin Makes More Cents for US
• Recall news
• Algeria hopes voter apathy won't spoil local elections
• Record Guns Sales Cause Brief FBI Background Check Problems
• Congo accuses Rwanda of shielding alleged war criminal
• Obama Defends Susan Rice Against GOP Criticism

Kerry stays quiet as Cabinet speculation swirls Posted: 28 Nov 2012 12:54 PM PST Sen. John Kerry is angling to be the nation's top diplomat by being, well, diplomatic.

Obama, Romney to meet at White House Thursday Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:11 AM PST President Barack Obama will host his former political rival Mitt Romney for a private lunch at the White House Thursday, their first meeting since the election.

Obama says debt-cutting deal can be reached soon Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:31 AM PST President Barack Obama said Wednesday he believes that members of both parties can reach a "framework" on a debt-cutting deal before Christmas, making his case with a mix of optimism and pressure on congressional Republicans to keep tax rates from rising on the middle class.

Obama says he'll do what it takes to avoid cliff Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:26 PM PST The White House and a key congressional Democrat hinted at fresh concessions on taxes and cuts to Medicare and other government benefit programs Wednesday as bargaining with Republicans lurched ahead to avoid the year-end "fiscal cliff" that threatens to send the economy into a tailspin.

Pentagon eyes project to preserve helicopter design capabilities Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:23 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department may fund initial work on a new military helicopter in a year or two to preserve industry's critical design capabilities for that sector, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer said on Wednesday. Defense Undersecretary Frank Kendall told an investor conference he was concerned that the U.S. defense industry could lose the capacity to generate new designs for military helicopters because the Pentagon had not funded development of a new attack helicopter for many years. ...

U.S. senator advises defensive posture on wind power tax credit Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:23 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wind energy companies should focus on ensuring that the tax credit at the center of their industry survives at all in coming months, and not so much on trying to beef it up next year, said a senior U.S. Republican senator on Wednesday. "The issue right now is the existence of the tax credit," Charles Grassley told reporters after speaking at an industry event. "We've got to worry about that first and foremost." The tax credit for new turbine projects expires at the end of the year. ...

Obama calls Rice "extraordinary," Cabinet members applaud Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:22 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gave a show of moral support to his embattled ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday, calling Susan Rice "extraordinary" and prompting applause from his Cabinet during a meeting at the White House. Rice, who is considered a top candidate to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has been meeting this week with senators on Capitol Hill who have been critical of her initial remarks about what prompted the September 11 attacks on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. ...

Family sues US over scientist's mysterious death Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:21 PM PST The sons of a Cold War scientist who plunged to his death in 1953 several days after unwittingly taking LSD in a CIA mind-control experiment sued the government Wednesday. They claimed the CIA murdered their father, Frank Olson, by pushing him from a 13th-story window of a hotel — not, as the CIA says, that he jumped to his death.

U.S. bans BP from new government contracts after oil spill deal Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:21 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government banned BP Plc on Wednesday from new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity" in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, possibly imperiling the company's role as a top U.S. offshore oil and gas producer and the No. 1 military fuel supplier. The suspension, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, comes on the heels of BP's November 15 agreement with the U.S. government to plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the Gulf of Mexico disaster, the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The British energy giant agreed to pay $4. ...

Canada sticks to formula on CNOOC despite CFIUS refile Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:17 PM PST OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Wednesday it would decide soon on two big foreign takeover bids for domestic energy companies, despite possible delays in approval by U.S. regulatory authorities. "We intend obviously to take decisions on a couple of particular matters along with some more general guidance to the marketplace. We intend to do that in the near future and that's all I'll say about that," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. Harper has previously spoken about deciding in the "not-too-distant future", the "very near future" and "very soon". Harper's government is studying a $15. ...

New blow for Rice: Moderate senator voices concern Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:16 PM PST A moderate Republican senator, vital to any White House hopes of getting U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice confirmed as secretary of state, said Wednesday she couldn't back any nomination until more questions are answered about the deadly Sept. 11 attack in Libya and Rice's State Department role during the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Kenya.

Fiscal Cliff Analogy of the Day: The Fiscal Cliff as the Movie 'Speed' Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:15 PM PST Disclosure: In an attempt to lighten (and possibly illuminate) the fiscal-policy debate rearing its frightful (and frightfully dull) head in Washington, we humbly present a Fiscal-Cliff Analogy of the Day, chock-full of mixed metaphors. The Fiscal Cliff Talks as 1994′s 'Speed,' Starring Keanu Reeves and...

Cracks surface in Republican unity on tax rates Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:15 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican unity against raising tax rates for the wealthy began to show cracks on Wednesday after a conservative congressman said he would back an agreement with President Barack Obama to raise rates on the rich but extend tax cuts for income below $250,000. With Congress scrambling to avert a series of tax increases and spending cuts due to kick in at the end of the year - known as the "fiscal cliff" - Congressman Tom Cole said Republicans should approve a deal ensuring 98 percent of Americans do not suffer a tax increase that endangers the economic recovery. ...

Lawmakers seek Libor controls at Deutsche Bank hearing Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:14 PM PST BERLIN (Reuters) - German politicians called for tighter regulation of global interest rates after questioning Deutsche Bank about the manipulation of London's Libor benchmark lending rate. The flagship lender said it had made some provisions to cover the costs of various probes of possible manipulation of benchmark interest rates and reiterated that there were no signs that senior management had behaved inappropriately. But politicians in Berlin were unimpressed. ...

Panel: Reyes may have broken ethics rules, law Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:13 PM PST An independent House panel has concluded that there is substantial reason to believe Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes violated ethics rules and federal law by conducting campaign meetings on House property and using campaign money to pay expenses for his daughter's residence.

California Democratic campaign treasurer gets eight years for fraud Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:10 PM PST SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - A Democratic campaign treasurer accused of defrauding the campaign war chests of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and other California politicians was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $10.5 million in restitution on Wednesday. Kinde Durkee, who controlled the funds of some 400 political candidates and groups, was arrested in September 2011 and charged with criminal mail fraud. She pleaded guilty in March as part of a deal with federal prosecutors. Durkee, 59, appeared in the U.S. ...

Chicago artist gets a national stage: the holiday White House Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:08 PM PST CHICAGO (Reuters) - To help decorate the White House for the Christmas season this year, President Barack Obama turned to an artist from his hometown. David Lee Csicsko, a Chicago mosaic artist who specializes in public installations, designed the annual display in the corridor leading to the East Room and the State Dining Room, both areas that are elaborately decorated at the beginning of each holiday season. ...

New York's MTA plans $4.8 billion of borrowing after Sandy Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:32 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the biggest transportation network in North America, said on Wednesday that it could hike short term borrowing and squeeze its already tight budget to pay for repairs after Superstorm Sandy. In its first look at the storm's financial impact, the MTA said it may have to borrow an extra $4.8 billion. It is planning to raise fares in March as it braces for a total deficit of $333 million projected through 2016. In addition to storm-related losses, the agency is facing higher electricity, employee healthcare and overtime costs. ...

Robert Kennedy's son is sued for assault Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:02 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A son of slain U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was sued for assault on Tuesday by two nurses at a New York hospital who say they sustained injuries while trying to stop him from leaving the maternity ward with his newborn son. The $200,000 civil suit also accuses Douglas Kennedy, 45, of negligence, battery and emotional distress and comes a week after a criminal court judge acquitted him of child endangerment and harassment charges related to the incident. ...

Clinton chides Palestinians for statehood effort Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:54 PM PST Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says U.N. recognition of an independent Palestine won't help Palestinians or Israelis reach a lasting two-state peace agreement.

House panel promises more aggressive VA oversight Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:51 PM PST The House Veterans' Affairs Committee warned the VA Wednesday to expect much more aggressive oversight in the coming months as lawmakers review the department's conference and travel spending.

Rice meets with Republican senators, doesn't win them over Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:47 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice's attempts to ease the concerns of her Republican critics seemed to have little effect on Wednesday, as more U.S. senators - including a moderate one-time supporter - raised new questions about her despite two days of meetings at the Capitol. U.S. Senator Susan Collins met with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for over an hour, over the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. Collins said afterward she could not back Rice for secretary of state, if she is nominated by President Barack Obama, without more information. ...

Albania marks independence with giant cake and quarrels Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:41 PM PST TIRANA (Reuters) - The foreign minister of neighboring Greece boycotted festivities on Wednesday marking 100 years of Albania's independence after its prime minister hailed a town over the border as "Albanian lands". Reflecting the delicate nature of Balkan politics after the wars that split Yugoslavia, the president of Macedonia also stayed away after the car of his prime minister was hit with eggs and its flag burned in Tirana during a visit last week. ...

Obama says hopes for deficit deal by Christmas Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he hoped to reach an agreement with Congress before Christmas to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff" and shrink the budget deficit, and ramped up efforts to rally the public to press Republicans for action. Obama encouraged Americans to use Twitter - with the hashtag #My2K - and other social media to swamp their lawmakers with requests to act quickly to keep their tax rates low. "Our ultimate goal is an agreement that gets our long-term deficit under control in a way that is fair and balanced," he said at the White House. ...

Outgoing Mexican President Calderon to become Harvard fellow Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:27 PM PST CAMBRIDGE, Mass (Reuters) - Outgoing Mexican President Felipe Calderon will become a fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government starting in January after his six-year term ends, the school said on Wednesday. During the year-long fellowship, Calderon, an alumnus of the school, will meet with students, collaborate with scholars and researchers and help develop case studies on policy challenges he encountered while serving as Mexico's president, the school said in a statement. ...

Senate gives green light to Pentagon green energy Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:08 PM PST The Senate has given the green light to the Pentagon's investment in green energy.

Arizona declines to set up state-based health insurance exchange Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:05 PM PST PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, an ardent critic of President Barack Obama's push to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, said on Wednesday she was rejecting a new federal mandate to establish a state-based health insurance exchange under the U.S. Affordable Care Act. Citing lingering unanswered questions about the exchanges and concerns about high costs she said would be passed on to Arizona families and small businesses, Brewer, a Republican, said her state would opt instead for a federally run exchange. ...

Senate strikes restriction on military biofuel development Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to strike restrictions in its annual defense policy bill that would have severely limited the military's effort to develop biofuels for jets and warplanes. The Senate voted 62-37 to remove language in the National Defense Authorization Act that would have barred the military from buying the controversial alternative fuels if they cost more than petroleum. The Senate is expected to vote on the NDAA in coming days. ...

Strong European support for Palestinian statehood move Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A Palestinian bid for indirect U.N. recognition of statehood received vows of support from more than a dozen European nations as of Wednesday, and diplomats said this backing may deter Israel from harsh retaliation against the Palestinian Authority for seeking to upgrade its U.N. status. A Palestinian resolution on Thursday that would change its U.N. observer status from an "entity" to a "non-member state," implicitly recognizing the sovereign state of Palestine, is expected to pass easily in the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly. ...

BP barred from new US gov't contracts, land leases Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:58 PM PST The Obama administration put a stop to new federal contracts with BP on Wednesday, admonishing the British oil company for a "lack of business integrity" and also disqualifying it indefinitely from winning new leases to drill on taxpayer-owned lands.

Egypt's Mursi to address nation on Thursday: source Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:49 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi will address the nation on Thursday on a decree he issued last week and the street protests that erupted afterwards, a presidential source told Reuters on Wednesday. Protesters have said Mursi's decree gives him dictatorial powers but the source explained Mursi would seek to clarify otherwise. "The president will address the nation on state TV on Thursday evening and will speak about the constitutional decree and why it was issued as well as the events that ensued afterwards," said the source. ...

DEA probes Walgreens pharmacies over drug diversion in Florida Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:48 PM PST (Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is probing three Walgreen Co pharmacies in Florida in connection with a wide-ranging investigation of the diversion of prescription drugs for illicit use. The Miami Field Division of the DEA issued the pharmacies with orders to show cause - notifications that are given to facilities requiring them to prove why they should be allowed to keep their licenses. The pharmacies affected are Walgreens #04727 in Fort Pierce; Walgreens #03629 in Hudson; and Walgreens #06997 in Oviedo. ...

Family sues CIA over scientist's mysterious death Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:47 PM PST The sons of a Cold War scientist who plunged to his death in 1953 several days after unwittingly taking LSD in a CIA mind-control experiment are suing the agency. They claim the CIA murdered their father, Frank Olson, by pushing him from a 13th-story window of a hotel — not, as the CIA says, that he jumped to his death.

NY mayor seeks more disaster aid for Sandy victims Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:42 PM PST New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seeking to inject some urgency into getting tens of billions of dollars in new federal aid flowing to victims of Superstorm Sandy, but Congress seems reluctant to move quickly as it wrestles with the nation's budget crisis.

Govt. Watchdog: Dollar Coin Makes More Cents for US Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:37 PM PST  The U.S. could save billions of dollars by getting rid of the paper dollar, according to the Government Accountability Office. The coins  might weigh heavier in your pocket, but using a dollar coin makes more sense – and cents – in the long run than dollar...

Recall news Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:35 PM PST The following recalls have been announced:

Algeria hopes voter apathy won't spoil local elections Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:29 PM PST ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria is hoping that a fair turnout in municipal elections on Thursday will strengthen the credibility of a political system that has survived the Arab Spring without major protests but failed to meet hopes for reform. The memory of a brutal civil war in the 1990s between Islamists and the state that killed around 200,000 people is a key factor, analysts say, that has held Algerians back from mass protests like those that swept away rulers in neighboring Tunisia and Libya, as well as Egypt and Yemen. ...

Record Guns Sales Cause Brief FBI Background Check Problems Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:22 PM PST Shopping malls weren't the only places receiving an influx of shoppers on Black Friday: According to the FBI, the day after Thanksgiving saw record gun sales, with 154,873 checks conducted, a 20 percent increase from last year. And all those calls caused two brief outages...

Congo accuses Rwanda of shielding alleged war criminal Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:22 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo accused neighboring Rwanda on Wednesday of supporting a rebellion in the country's east to prevent the arrest of former Congolese general Bosco Ntaganda who is wanted by the International Criminal Court. The eight-month-old insurgency in a resource-rich Congolese province by M23 rebels was partly triggered by President Joseph Kabila's plan to arrest Ntaganda on international charges of enlisting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution and rape. A group of experts has reported to the U.N. ...

Obama Defends Susan Rice Against GOP Criticism Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:11 PM PST President Obama today defended United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice against criticism from Senate Republicans, saying she is "extraordinary." Speaking during a brief photo-op with reporters at the start of a Cabinet meeting, the president was asked if Rice is being treated unfairly by lawmakers who...

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