Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• Obama defense pick could come sooner than expected
• Pressuring GOP, Obama takes his fiscal plan to Pa.
• Obama takes middle class tax cut pitch outside DC
• Lawmakers cry "fowl" over move to help lesser prairie chicken
• Son's woes weigh heavily on the Rev. Jesse Jackson
• Kuwaitis vote in poll hit by opposition boycott, protests
• Two Pakistan-born brothers arrested in Florida on terrorism charges
• Congo rebel pullout from Goma runs into hitches
• New members play lottery for office space
• Analysis: Obama, Boehner seek cliff talks leverage
• Cliff Dive: A Stalemate and a Scrooge Christmas
• Merkel says understands Germans' frustration over Greece: paper
• Obama cranks up "fiscal cliff" pressure, Boehner says talks stalemated
• Judge rules Louisiana school voucher program unconstitutional
• US struggles to get Israel, Palestinians to talks
• Factbox: Key figures in Mexico's new government
• Supreme Court to decide if human genes patentable
• Feds propose fee on health insurers in new market
• Brazil's Rousseff vetoes parts of oil royalties bill
• U.S. soldier in WikiLeaks case plays down suicide comment
• Mexico's Pena Nieto appoints top aides to major Cabinet posts
• Supreme Court to review lawsuits over flaws in generic drugs
• EU's Rehn says strong commitment to keep euro area together
• Pentagon, Lockheed agree deal for 32 more F-35 fighters
• US government releases once-secret Watergate files
• SEC charges ex-banker for Burger King insider trades
• Ottawa may try emotional tack for pipeline support
• Gushing UK papers laud PM Cameron's stance on press law
• Consumer spending, income stall; Sandy a factor
• High court leaves open if it will take up gay marriage case
• Fourth man sentenced to prison in failed Ohio bridge bomb plot
• Canada finance minister says no plans to sell GM stake
• Senate approves new sanctions for Iran energy, shipping
• Mexico's Pena Nieto appoints top aides to key cabinet posts
• Tunisia president calls for new cabinet after protests
• France clinches ArcelorMittal investment, saves jobs
• ArcelorMittal to invest in French steel site, keep jobs
• House votes to expand visas for high-tech workers
• US doesn't criticize Egypt's draft constitution

Obama defense pick could come sooner than expected Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:38 PM PST President Barack Obama could name his next defense secretary in December, far sooner than expected and perhaps in a high-powered package announcement with his choice for secretary of state, several senior administration officials tell The Associated Press.

Pressuring GOP, Obama takes his fiscal plan to Pa. Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:21 PM PST President Barack Obama is taking his case for avoiding a potentially unsettling "fiscal cliff" to the Philadelphia suburbs, employing campaign-style tactics in hopes of mobilizing public support for his plan to hike taxes on the wealthy. The trip comes amid signs of impatience in the negotiations between Republican leaders and the White House.

Obama takes middle class tax cut pitch outside DC Posted: 30 Nov 2012 09:33 AM PST President Barack Obama is urging Congress to pass an extension of tax cuts for middle class families, saying a tax increase for them would be like a "lump of coal" for Christmas.

Lawmakers cry "fowl" over move to help lesser prairie chicken Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:15 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A move by U.S. authorities to consider placing a small grassland bird native to parts of the oil and gas belt on the Endangered Species List has drawn the ire of some Western lawmakers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday announced a plan to consider having the lesser prairie chicken listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The lesser prairie chicken is a medium-sized, gray-brown grouse, smaller and paler than the greater prairie chicken, its close relative. ...

Son's woes weigh heavily on the Rev. Jesse Jackson Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:15 PM PST In the cluttered office where he's met with some of the nation's top politicians and preachers, penned rousing speeches and planned civil rights marches, the Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks so softly — and with so little enunciation — that one strains at times to hear him.

Kuwaitis vote in poll hit by opposition boycott, protests Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:14 PM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait holds a parliamentary election on Saturday overshadowed by an opposition boycott, protests over a change to the voting rules and a festering political crisis in the U.S.-allied oil producer. The election will be the second this year in the Gulf Arab state, where a series of assemblies have collapsed under the weight of a power struggle between elected MPs and the cabinet, appointed by the prime minister who is chosen by the emir. ...

Two Pakistan-born brothers arrested in Florida on terrorism charges Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:10 PM PST MIAMI (Reuters) - Two Pakistan-born brothers living in Florida have been arrested on charges of providing support to terrorists and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction within the United States, authorities said on Friday. The men were charged in a grand jury indictment announced by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Federal prosecutors allege the men, both U.S. citizens, provided money, housing, communications equipment and transportation as part of a conspiracy. ...

Congo rebel pullout from Goma runs into hitches Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:09 PM PST GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - A planned battlefield withdrawal by rebels in eastern Congo under a deal brokered by regional governments ran into hitches on Friday, including a dispute over abandoned army supplies the insurgents want to take with them. Leaders of the Tutsi-led M23 rebel movement had agreed to pull out by Saturday from Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern border city of Goma, which they seized on November 20 when they routed government troops backed by United Nations peacekeepers. ...

New members play lottery for office space Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:08 PM PST Rep.-elect Julia Brownley of California shimmied and danced, smiling broadly. And that was before the Democrat even got the good news: She'd won the lottery.

Analysis: Obama, Boehner seek cliff talks leverage Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:06 PM PST One month before the deadline, negotiations between President Barack Obama and Republicans to save the economy from a plunge over the fiscal cliff are still in the throat-clearing stage. Serious bargaining is on hold while the two sides vie for political leverage.

Cliff Dive: A Stalemate and a Scrooge Christmas Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:03 PM PST Washington took a step closer to the dreaded "fiscal cliff" today with campaign-style sniping replacing negotiations and the speaker of the House declaring talks have reached "a stalemate." "There's a stalemate," Speaker of the House John Boehner told reporters.  "Let's not kid ourselves." Added Boehner,...

Merkel says understands Germans' frustration over Greece: paper Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:01 PM PST BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she understood her compatriots' doubts about a bailout deal for Greece, but insisted in an interview that aid for Athens was in the interests of Berlin and all euro zone members. Her words were published on Saturday a day after German lawmakers approved the latest rescue package for Greece by a large majority despite growing unease about the cost to taxpayers. "Of course I feel many citizens' skepticism, and understand it as well partly, as Greece has often disappointed its partners in the past," she told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. ...

Obama cranks up "fiscal cliff" pressure, Boehner says talks stalemated Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:52 PM PST HATFIELD, Penn. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama turned up the pressure in "fiscal cliff" talks on Friday, hitting the road to drum up support for his drive to raise taxes on the wealthy and warning Americans that Republicans were offering them "a lump of coal" for Christmas. In a visit to a Pennsylvania toy factory, Obama portrayed congressional Republicans as Scrooges who risked sending the country over the fiscal cliff rather than strike a deal to avert the tax increases and spending cuts that begin in January unless Congress intervenes. ...

Judge rules Louisiana school voucher program unconstitutional Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:50 PM PST (Reuters) - A state judge on Friday shot down Louisiana's sweeping school voucher program, ruling that the state could not use funds set aside for public education to pay private-school tuition for thousands of low- and middle-income children. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who had championed the program, called the ruling "wrong-headed" and "a travesty for parents across Louisiana who want nothing more than for their children to have an equal opportunity at receiving a great education." Jindal, a Republican, vowed to appeal. ...

US struggles to get Israel, Palestinians to talks Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:47 PM PST The Obama administration sought Friday to direct Israel and the Palestinians back toward direct peace talks, even as the two sides and much of the world seemed to be ignoring the U.S. attempts at leadership on a Mideast peace strategy.

Factbox: Key figures in Mexico's new government Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:45 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's incoming president, Enrique Pena Nieto, who takes office on Saturday, appointed a mix of technocrats and career politicians to his Cabinet on Friday. Here are some of his key government appointments: FINANCE MINISTER - LUIS VIDEGARAY Videgaray is Pena Nieto's right-hand man and combines blue-chip academic qualifications with experience in the private sector, local government and Congress. He studied law and economics in Mexico alongside current Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade. ...

Supreme Court to decide if human genes patentable Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:42 PM PST (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether human genes can be patented, a hotly contested issue with broad practical and ethical consequences for the future of gene-based medicine for millions of people worldwide. The nation's highest court in a brief order agreed to review a case over whether Myriad Genetics Inc may patent two genes linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. In a 2-1 ruling on August 16, a panel of the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ...

Feds propose fee on health insurers in new market Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:38 PM PST Health insurance companies will have to pay to play in new health insurance markets coming under President Barack Obama's health care law, the administration said in a regulatory notice issued Friday.

Brazil's Rousseff vetoes parts of oil royalties bill Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:37 PM PST BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff on Friday vetoed parts of a controversial royalties bill that pit Brazil's oil-producing states against the rest of the country in a battle over future oil wealth. Seeking a compromise on perhaps the most divisive issues to arise during her nearly two-year-old presidency, Rousseff vetoed clauses that would slash income for Brazil's main oil states, including Rio de Janeiro. Her veto changes the bill so that producer states continue to receive royalties on output from existing oil concessions. ...

U.S. soldier in WikiLeaks case plays down suicide comment Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:34 PM PST FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The U.S. Army private accused of orchestrating a massive leak of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website said on Friday he may have been sarcastic in indicating he had suicidal thoughts when he first arrived at a U.S. detention center. Bradley Manning wrapped up his second day of testimony in a pretrial hearing to determine whether he should face a court-martial on suspicion of leaking thousands of classified military reports, diplomatic cables and other documents. ...

Mexico's Pena Nieto appoints top aides to major Cabinet posts Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:09 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's incoming president, Enrique Pena Nieto, on Friday named close allies to head the important finance and interior ministries as he seeks to spur growth and reduce drug-related violence in Latin America's second-biggest economy. Right-hand man Luis Videgaray will take on the Finance Ministry, while Pena Nieto's close political ally Miguel Angel Osorio Chong will oversee a strengthened Interior Ministry that will be responsible for security in the new government. ...

Supreme Court to review lawsuits over flaws in generic drugs Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:04 PM PST (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider whether generic drug manufacturers can be subjected to personal injury lawsuits that allege flaws in the design of drugs, even if federal law would not allow such cases to go forward. The court agreed to review a bid by Mutual Pharmaceutical Co to overturn a $21 million jury award to Karen Bartlett, a New Hampshire woman who had taken its generic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sulindac for shoulder pain. ...

EU's Rehn says strong commitment to keep euro area together Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:03 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - There is a very strong commitment to ensure the euro area will not break up, the EU's top economics official said on Friday, calling those speculating on an exit of Greece "behind the curve". EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn called the deal reached earlier this week to reduce Greece's debt burden a major milestone. He also highlighted that euro zone finance ministers are committed to further reducing Athens' debt if necessary once it has achieved a primary budget surplus, which is forecast for 2016. ...

Pentagon, Lockheed agree deal for 32 more F-35 fighters Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:59 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp and the U.S. Defense Department have reached an agreement in principle on a fifth batch of 32 additional F-35 fighter planes, the Pentagon said on Friday, bringing nearly a year of negotiations to a close. The deal is valued at around $3.8 billion, although the two sides are still finalizing details, according to a source familiar with the agreement. The agreement will also pave the way for talks about preliminary funding for a sixth batch of aircraft that Lockheed, the Pentagon's largest supplier, has been building at its own cost for some time. ...

US government releases once-secret Watergate files Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:59 PM PST The government on Friday released more than 850 pages of once-secret documents from the Watergate political scandal, providing new insights on privileged legal conversations and prison evaluations of some burglars in the case. A federal judge had decided earlier this month to unseal some material, but other records still remain off limits.

SEC charges ex-banker for Burger King insider trades Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:58 PM PST (Reuters) - A former Brazilian banker will pay $5.18 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges of insider trading in Burger King Holdings Inc before the second-largest U.S. fast-food chain agreed to a 2010 buyout. According to the regulator, the former banker, Igor Cornelsen, 64, prodded his broker, Waldyr Da Silva Prado Neto, for tips after Prado, who then worked at Wells Fargo & Co , learned from a customer that Burger King was up for sale. Burger King agreed on September 2, 2010, to be bought by private equity firm 3G Capital Partners Ltd for $3. ...

Ottawa may try emotional tack for pipeline support Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:57 PM PST CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Ottawa may try to tug at Canadians' emotions as a way to build public support for building pipelines to ship growing crude production to the West, East and South, the federal natural resources minister said on Friday. The International Energy Agency's new forecast of booming U.S. light oil production has only added urgency to the need to build pipelines so Western Canadian crude can get to new markets, such as Asia and Eastern Canada, as the United States edges closer to self-sufficiency over the next 15 years, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said. ...

Gushing UK papers laud PM Cameron's stance on press law Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:54 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron woke on Friday to find usually hostile newspapers gushing about his statesman-like qualities after he signaled his opposition to a new law governing the press. After his party suffered a night of humiliation in three parliamentary by-elections, instead of facing questions over his leadership, he was cheered for rejecting the main plank of proposals from a public inquiry he set up in the wake of outrage at the excesses of tabloid newspapers. ...

Consumer spending, income stall; Sandy a factor Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:49 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending fell in October for the first time in five months and income growth stalled, leading some economists to cut already weak estimates of fourth-quarter economic growth. Superstorm Sandy was partly to blame for the pullback in spending as the quarter started, but economists said the data on Friday also underscored the economy's fundamental weakness, stemming from the uncertainty over the course of fiscal policy. The Commerce Department said consumer spending fell 0.2 percent after a 0.8 percent increase in September. ...

High court leaves open if it will take up gay marriage case Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:49 PM PST (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court's nine justices met in private on Friday to consider whether to enter the legal fray over same-sex marriage but made no announcement about any decision they may have reached. The high court is considering whether to review five separate challenges to a federal law that prevents married same-sex couples from receiving federal marriage benefits such as Social Security survivor payments and tax exemptions. It is also considering whether to review California's ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, which voters narrowly approved in 2008. ...

Fourth man sentenced to prison in failed Ohio bridge bomb plot Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:29 PM PST AKRON, Ohio (Reuters) - A self-described anarchist was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison after pleading guilty and agreeing to testify against others accused of plotting to blow up a four-lane highway bridge near Cleveland. Anthony Hayne, 36, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to use and the attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, as well as malicious use of an explosive device to destroy property used in interstate commerce. In sentencing Hayne, U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr. ...

Canada finance minister says no plans to sell GM stake Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:27 PM PST VICTORIA, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada has no immediate plans to sell its shares in General Motors Co, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday, and the province of Ontario said it would offload its GM stake only when it can get the "best possible return" for taxpayers. Both were responding to a report in the Globe and Mail newspaper on Friday that said Ontario's finance minister believed it was time for both the Canadian and Ontario governments to shed their GM shares. ...

Senate approves new sanctions for Iran energy, shipping Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:22 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate resoundingly approved on Friday expanded sanctions on global trade with Iran's energy and shipping sectors, its latest effort to ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. The new package, which keeps in place exemptions for countries that have made significant cuts to their purchases of Iranian crude oil, would be the third round of sanctions in a year if passed into law. The existing sanctions have already hurt Iran's economy, but it is uncertain whether the additional measures will stop or slow Iran's nuclear program. ...

Mexico's Pena Nieto appoints top aides to key cabinet posts Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:22 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's incoming president Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday appointed right-hand man Luis Videgaray as finance minister in his new cabinet. Another close aide, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, was appointed interior minister and Pedro Joaquin Coldwell was named as energy minister. Pena Nieto takes power on Saturday. (Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Simon Gardner)

Tunisia president calls for new cabinet after protests Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:18 PM PST TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki asked the North African state's Islamist prime minister on Friday to appoint a new cabinet in response to violent protests over economic hardship. Clashes between protesters and police in the northwest town of Siliana wounded more than 220 people this week, with at least 17 blinded by birdshot, according to medical sources. U.N. human rights officials said the security forces used excessive force to quell the protests, in some of their harshest criticism of Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali's government since it took office in October last year. ...

France clinches ArcelorMittal investment, saves jobs Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:13 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - The French government struck a deal with ArcelorMittal on Friday which will see the steelmaker invest 180 million euros ($234 million) in its Florange steelworks, allowing some 600 jobs at two shuttered blast furnaces to be saved. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the two furnaces would not be restarted for now, given weak European steel demand, but ArcelorMittal would keep them in working order for future use in a test project for environmentally friendly steel production. ...

ArcelorMittal to invest in French steel site, keep jobs Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:13 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - Steelmaker ArcelorMittal will invest 180 million euros in its Florange steelworks in northern France under a deal with the government to save jobs at two shuttered blast furnaces, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday. Ayrault said the investment, to be made over five years, meant there would be no layoffs at the site, although the two blast furnaces would not be restarted for now given flagging demand for steel in Europe. ...

House votes to expand visas for high-tech workers Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:57 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to create a permanent visa program for foreigners with advanced science and technical degrees cleared the House of Representatives on Friday, the latest salvo in the broader fight over U.S. immigration reform. The Republican-backed measure proposes reserving 55,000 permanent residence visas for foreign graduates of U.S. universities with master's and doctoral degrees in the "STEM" disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math. ...

US doesn't criticize Egypt's draft constitution Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:53 PM PST The Obama administration is declining to criticize Egypt's draft constitution despite spirited internal debate over whether the document adequately protects women, religious minorities and dissenting voices.

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