Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• 5 states to increase class time in some schools
• Sens. Kerry, McCain poke fun over their ambitions
• New EPA rule could upend high court runoff case
• Merkel to launch campaign with upbeat party congress
• SEC charges China affiliates of top accounting firms
• Chavez will travel to Brazil for summit: ambassador
• Missouri Republican Congresswoman Emerson quits
• GOP issues a new 'fiscal cliff' offer to Obama
• US weighing military options if Syria uses WMD
• Auto sales race to five-year high for November
• Obama: Syria Chemical Weapons 'Totally Unacceptable'
• Fourteen Eritrean footballers disappear in Uganda
• US military: Intervention in Mali now would fail
• Defense sector CEOs say budget deal must include tax hikes
• Court voids drug rep's conviction, cites free speech
• Syrian spokesman flees country, diplomat says
• Supreme Court lets GM workers pursue case against State Street
• Dick Cheney working on book about heart treatment
• Obama Taps Debbie Wasserman Schultz to Remain DNC Chair
• White House dismisses Republican "fiscal cliff" proposal
• Obama wants Wasserman Schultz to stay on at DNC
• Union calls for teacher certification exam
• Save the date: Gay marriages in Maine to start December 29
• Factbox: Fed officials' comments on economy, policy
• Fed officials laud stimulus, quibble over future plans
• On Twitter, Obama puts question mark over mortgage deduction
• Factbox: "Fiscal cliff" offers of Republicans, Obama compared
• Republican "fiscal cliff" offer leans on spending cuts
• Obama warns Syria's Assad against use of chemical weapons
• Slovenia police clash with anti-graft protesters
• UK summons Argentine envoy over Falklands "intimidation"
• Five U.S. states to try longer public school day, year in 2013
• Obama asks Democratic Party chair to remain in job
• Small-bore proposals to help avert fiscal cliff
• Airbus CEO upbeat on EADS revamp, profit growth
• Russia, China urge North Korea to drop rocket launch plan
• Analysis: Fiscal struggle puts Detroit under credit cloud
• Cuomo says he's 'optimistic' on Sandy aid
• Louvre satellite seeks to revive bleak French region

5 states to increase class time in some schools Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:07 PM PST Open your notebooks and sharpen your pencils. School for thousands of public school students is about to get quite a bit longer.

Sens. Kerry, McCain poke fun over their ambitions Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:20 AM PST Sen. John Kerry, the next secretary of state?

New EPA rule could upend high court runoff case Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:49 AM PST Wearing his gray morning coat and striped trousers, Justice Department lawyer Malcolm Stewart was the very picture of Supreme Court propriety Monday as he sought to placate the frustrated Chief Justice John Roberts. The bounds of lawyerly good sense, however, meant Stewart could not utter these four apt words: "I told you so."

Merkel to launch campaign with upbeat party congress Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:02 PM PST HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - Angela Merkel kicks off her re-election drive on Tuesday at a congress of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), where the chancellor will be feted like a star for defending German interests in the euro zone crisis. At the peak of her popularity, with approval ratings close to 70 percent, Merkel appears to have a good shot at winning a third term next year despite a precipitous slide in support for her current coalition partner, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP). ...

SEC charges China affiliates of top accounting firms Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:01 PM PST WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Regulators on Monday charged the Chinese arms of five top accounting firms with securities violations over their refusal to produce certain audit papers for U.S.-listed Chinese companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission began proceedings against the Chinese affiliates of Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, BDO and Ernst & Young. It was the SEC's widest enforcement effort yet to procure documents in connection with probes of possible accounting fraud of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, and raised questions about whether talks have stalled between the ...

Chavez will travel to Brazil for summit: ambassador Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:57 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez will travel to Brazil for a regional summit at the end of this week despite cancer-related medical treatment in Cuba, Brazil's ambassador said on Monday. If confirmed, the 58-year-old Chavez's presence at the Mercosur trade bloc meeting would indicate his latest health scare is not as bad as some are speculating. Venezuelan officials would not immediately confirm the ambassador's statement. Chavez was in Cuba on Monday and it was unknown if he would return home first if he should decide to go on to Brazil. ...

Missouri Republican Congresswoman Emerson quits Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:54 PM PST KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Fresh off easily winning re-election, Republican U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri announced on Monday she is resigning the seat she has held for 16 years to take a new job. Emerson, who represents southeast Missouri, said that in February she will become chief executive of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Her resignation is not expected to result in any change in the political balance in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans have a majority. Her seat is safely Republican. ...

GOP issues a new 'fiscal cliff' offer to Obama Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:43 PM PST House Republicans put forth a $2.2 trillion "fiscal cliff" counteroffer to President Barack Obama on Monday, calling for raising the eligibility age for Medicare, lowering cost-of-living hikes for Social Security benefits and bringing in $800 billion in higher tax revenue — but not raising rates for the wealthy. The White House declared the Republicans still weren't ready to "get serious."

US weighing military options if Syria uses WMD Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:40 PM PST The White House and its allies are weighing military options to secure Syria's chemical and biological weapons, after U.S. intelligence reports show the Syrian regime may be readying those weapons and may be desperate enough to use them, U.S. officials said Monday.

Auto sales race to five-year high for November Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:38 PM PST (Reuters) - Auto sales in November raced to a five-year high for that month on a rebound from storm-ravaged October and the need to replace aging vehicles, leaving industry executives optimistic about 2013. Sales in November rose 15 percent to 1.14 million vehicles, the highest level for that month since 2007, before a recession caused a dramatic decline in demand and led to the bankruptcy filings of General Motors Co and Chrysler. "Vehicle sales are one of the encouraging spots of our economy," said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager with Hodges Capital Management in Dallas. ...

Obama: Syria Chemical Weapons 'Totally Unacceptable' Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:32 PM PST President Obama today warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the use of chemical weapons by his regime would be "totally unacceptable" and that he would be "held accountable." "I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command, the world is...

Fourteen Eritrean footballers disappear in Uganda Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:28 PM PST KAMPALA (Reuters) - At least 14 members of the Eritrea soccer squad have disappeared in Uganda while playing in a regional tournament and may eventually claim asylum, Ugandan officials said on Monday. Eritrea is one of the world's most secretive states ruled by a reclusive president. This year United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay accused the Asmara government of meting out summary executions, torture and detaining thousands of political prisoners. ...

US military: Intervention in Mali now would fail Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:18 PM PST The top US military commander in Africa warned Monday against any premature military action in Mali, even as he said that al-Qaida linked extremists have strengthened their hold on the northern part of the country.

Defense sector CEOs say budget deal must include tax hikes Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:12 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. weapons industry executives on Monday urged the White House and Congress to end what one CEO called "political theater" and act to avoid looming automatic budget reductions that will cut projected military spending by another 10 percent this year. Executives from four companies told a news conference that piling an additional $500 billion in spending reductions on top of the $487 billion in cuts already being implemented by the Pentagon would harm their industry and national security. ...

Court voids drug rep's conviction, cites free speech Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:11 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court on Monday threw out the conviction of a sales representative for promoting off-label use of a prescription drug, a ruling that could make it harder for the government to police how drugs are marketed and sold. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York found that the sales representative's free speech rights under the First Amendment had been violated. ...

Syrian spokesman flees country, diplomat says Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:08 PM PST CAIRO/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian foreign ministry spokesman, who was the most public face of Bashar al-Assad's government as it battled a 20-month-old uprising, has fled the country, a diplomat in the region said on Monday. Jihad al-Makdissi, who is in his 40s, previously worked at the Syrian embassy in London and returned to Damascus a year ago to serve as spokesman for the ministry, defending the government's crackdown on the revolt against Assad's rule. He had little influence in a system largely run by the security apparatus and the military. ...

Supreme Court lets GM workers pursue case against State Street Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court is allowing General Motors Co employees whose pension plans lost money to pursue their case against a State Street Corp unit over its management of their retirement savings plans before the automaker went bankrupt. Without comment, the court refused on Monday to review the case and let stand a February ruling from a lower court that allowed the workers to sue State Street Bank and Trust Co. The 2009 lawsuit said the bank should have acted faster to sell a 401(k) investment fund's shares in GM stock after the automaker's business troubles came to light. ...

Dick Cheney working on book about heart treatment Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:04 PM PST Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the world's most prominent heart patients, is working on a book about his many battles with coronary disease and the revolutionary changes in treatment that helped keep him alive.

Obama Taps Debbie Wasserman Schultz to Remain DNC Chair Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:02 PM PST President Obama has tapped Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida to remain at the helm of the Democratic National Committee  as the party looks toward the 2014 midterm election and an opportunity to solidify electoral gains. "I've asked Debbie Wasserman Schultz to continue her excellent...

White House dismisses Republican "fiscal cliff" proposal Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House dismissed a "fiscal cliff" proposal from congressional Republicans that included tax reforms and spending cuts on Monday, saying it did not meet President Barack Obama's pledge to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. "The Republican letter released today does not meet the test of balance. ...

Obama wants Wasserman Schultz to stay on at DNC Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:59 PM PST President Barack Obama wants Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to stay on as his party's chairwoman.

Union calls for teacher certification exam Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:56 PM PST One of the nation's largest teachers unions is proposing a stringent exam teachers would have to pass before entering the profession, much like the bar exam for lawyers.

Save the date: Gay marriages in Maine to start December 29 Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:48 PM PST (Reuters) - Same-sex couples can start marrying on December 29 in Maine, a state that made history on Election Day, joining Maryland and Washington to legalize gay weddings for the first time ever by popular vote. The law goes into effect following a required 30-day waiting period after Governor Paul LePage on November 29 certified the results from the November 6 election, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, Adrienne Bennett, said on Monday. ...

Factbox: Fed officials' comments on economy, policy Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:48 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to debate whether to keep their total monthly asset purchases steady at $85 billion in the new year when they next meet, on December 11-12. They are also discussing whether they should adopt numerical thresholds for inflation and joblessness to signal when they might hike rates. ...

Fed officials laud stimulus, quibble over future plans Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:48 PM PST NEW YORK/LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Central bankers appear satisfied with the impact of their latest monetary stimulus, though there is some disagreement over how forcefully to continue purchasing bonds, remarks by two top policymakers on Monday showed. Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren, one of the most vocal proponents of Fed asset purchases, said there was a "strong case" for the Fed to stay the course on accommodative policies next year and continue buying a total of $85 billion in bonds each month. ...

On Twitter, Obama puts question mark over mortgage deduction Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:47 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Taking to Twitter to press his case in "fiscal cliff" talks with Congress, President Barack Obama said on Monday that tax breaks benefiting middle class families such as the mortgage interest deduction could be at risk if rates for top earners do not rise. Obama is locked in negotiations with Congress to prevent a year-end fiscal crunch. If the administration and lawmakers fail to agree, across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts would go into effect that analysts say would tip the economy back into recession. ...

Factbox: "Fiscal cliff" offers of Republicans, Obama compared Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:47 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Both President Barack Obama and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have made opening offers in negotiations to resolve the "fiscal cliff. Here is a look at the two proposals, which are aimed at averting a more drastic combination of tax increases and spending cuts that economists say could cause a recession: REPUBLICAN OFFER House Republican leaders on Monday called for $2.2 trillion in new deficit reductions over 10 years. ...

Republican "fiscal cliff" offer leans on spending cuts Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:47 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans proposed revenue-generating tax reforms and steep spending cuts on Monday in their first formal proposal to avert a "fiscal cliff" that could push the U.S. economy into recession. After days of stalemate, the Republicans' offer showed deep differences with President Barack Obama as the two sides work to head off across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases due to take effect in January. But the proposal could allow negotiators to begin their work in earnest as both sides now have outlined their visions in concrete terms. ...

Obama warns Syria's Assad against use of chemical weapons Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama issued a warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday not to use chemical weapons against Syrian opposition forces, saying there would be consequences if he were to do so. "I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command: The world is watching," Obama said in a speech to a gathering of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons proliferation experts. ...

Slovenia police clash with anti-graft protesters Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:40 PM PST LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR, Slovenia (Reuters) - At least 12 people were injured when police clashed with protesters in Slovenia's second city Maribor on Monday, in the latest of a series of rallies against budget cuts and graft in the financially-troubled Alpine state. officers said more than 40 people were arrested after some members of the crowd of around 6,000 threw firecrackers, fireworks and rocks. Protesters demanded the resignation of the Mayor Franc Kangler who has been accused of corruption. ...

UK summons Argentine envoy over Falklands "intimidation" Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:34 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Britain summoned Argentina's ambassador to London on Monday after masked men ransacked the offices of a shipping company in Buenos Aires, a move the Foreign Office alleged was aimed at deterring ships from visiting the disputed Falkland Islands. The Foreign Office said the shipping firm, agents for a cruise company, had been attacked on November 19, causing the cancellation of a planned visit to the islands some 300 miles off Argentina's coast. ...

Five U.S. states to try longer public school day, year in 2013 Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:20 PM PST CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - More than 19,000 public school students in five states will have a longer school day and a longer academic year starting next fall as part of a project to improve U.S. education, officials said on Monday. Each of the schools - located in Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, New York and Tennessee - will add 300 hours to the school year starting in 2013, officials said. ...

Obama asks Democratic Party chair to remain in job Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:18 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday he has asked Debbie Wasserman Schultz to stay on as chair of the Democratic National Committee, a move seen as thanking her for helping Democrats make gains in November 6 elections. Democrats came out ahead on November 6: Obama won re-election and Democrats expanded their control of the Senate and narrowed Republicans' majority in the House of Representatives. Wasserman Schultz's active support for Obama in her home state of Florida also helped the president win that battleground state. ...

Small-bore proposals to help avert fiscal cliff Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:01 PM PST Sure the rich may have to pay more in taxes. But a "fiscal cliff" budget deal could mean pain for nearly everyone else, too: higher airline ticket prices, for example, an end to Saturday mail delivery, fewer food stamps and lower farm subsidies.

Airbus CEO upbeat on EADS revamp, profit growth Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:01 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - The chief executive of Airbus moved to head off any concerns about a dip in profits or political interference at the European planemaker as France and Germany edged towards a shake-up of parent group EADS on Monday. In an interview, Fabrice Bregier told Reuters he was confident that Airbus would ride out what some analysts fear could be a bumpy transitional period without either sacrificing record production or seeing its profits sag. But he conceded Airbus was set to drop behind U.S. ...

Russia, China urge North Korea to drop rocket launch plan Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST MOSCOW/BEIJING (Reuters) - Russia and China urged North Korea on Monday not to go ahead with a plan for its second rocket launch of 2012, with Moscow saying any such move would violate restrictions imposed by the U.N. Security Council. North Korea's state news agency on Saturday announced the decision to launch another space satellite and reportedly told neighbors it would take a path similar to that planned for a failed rocket launch in April. "We urgently appeal to the government (of North Korea) to reconsider the decision to launch a rocket," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a ...

Analysis: Fiscal struggle puts Detroit under credit cloud Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:57 PM PST (Reuters) - Detroit's fiscal clock is ticking down again as the city faces running out of money by the end of the year unless a political squabble between the mayor and city council can be resolved. Without a resolution, the state of Michigan will not release cash to keep the city running. Mayor Dave Bing, who contends that bankruptcy or bond defaults are not on the horizon, is prepared to put city workers on unpaid leave to keep the struggling local government operating. ...

Cuomo says he's 'optimistic' on Sandy aid Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:55 PM PST New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo emerged Monday from meetings with top Obama administration officials and congressional leaders "optimistic" that Congress will act quickly to provides tens of billions of dollars to help his state recover from Superstorm Sandy, one of the Northeast's most destructive storms.

Louvre satellite seeks to revive bleak French region Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST LENS, France (Reuters) - The Paris Louvre opens a regional offshoot this week in a former mining town in northern France, hoping to revitalize a region better known for football fans and takeaway chip stands than the noble pursuit of art. The 150 million euro ($195 million) art centre in Lens, to be inaugurated by President Francois Hollande on Tuesday, will house a rotating collection of 205 works from the Louvre museum in Paris, along with temporary exhibitions. ...

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